-Scott Rubin

WizKids is starting off 2018 with quite a splash, introducing a new HeroClix set that’s got fans and collectors super excited.  After finishing off 2017 with DC’s Harley Quinn and Star Trek Away Team: The Original Series, here comes Marvel HeroClix X-Men Xavier’s School!  Obviously this set is going to be chock full of mutants and along with X-folk will be new ID Cards, student and headmaster figures, Blue Team, Gold Team, Magneto’s X-Men, plenty of previously unclixed characters, and more.  WizKids has starting previewing the set with some really cool reveals, and Scott Porter is doing his usual early brick unboxing.  We’re here today to continue the hype train with not one, not two, but three figure reveals!  So sit back and check out Old Man Logan, White Queen, and Mister Sinister.

In 2008 the Wolverine comic took a radical departure, leaping into a dystopian alternate future where, frankly, things are pretty bleak.  Here Wolverine has put away his claws and lives in peace with his family, but gets dragged back into the fray and trying to save the world.  A version of this “Old Man Logan” more recently reappeared as part of the Secret Wars and was subsequently integrated into the mainstream continuity.  Joining the X-Men Xavier’s School set is Old Man Logan from his original appearance in Wolverine #66, and he’s a super rare at number 055.  The former Wolverine is dressed in his civilian duds, charging forward with his claws popped now that he’s been pushed past the edge; and of course he’s rocking the iconic white hair and shaggy mutton chops!

Logan is a lean 75 points with Indomitable and two traits.  “The Longest Road Trip” is apparently a shared trait (so expect a Hawkeye at least) that says when a friendly character with it is KO’ed in an opponent’s starting area you take an extra turn after your next one!  Get a buddy over there and sacrifice him and your Logan is going to be doing a lot of shredding.  Meanwhile, “Broken Healing Factor” gives Old Man Logan permanent Regeneration but when he uses it he heals 1 fewer click.

On the dial you can see that Wolverine has slowed down a bit but is no less deadly.  He starts with one click of Charge, Blades/Claws/Fangs with stellar attack values, Combat Reflexes, and a special damage power giving him Empower and adjacent allies Combat Reflexes or (if they can already use it) a defense buff.  The next two clicks share those powers but switch to Sidestep, and then Old Man Logan switches to Super Senses and Exploit Weakness as his movement and defense drops but his attack and damage values stay strong.  Logan has the X-Men and Future keywords and will work great on any team as a budget melee attacker, though of course he’s going to want some other “Longest Road Trip” allies for that crazy extra turn shenanigans!

Emma Frost has had an incredible story arc in the pages of X-Men comics, transitioning from a villain all the way to a leader of the X-Men and a headmaster at their school.  Coming in at #059b in the new set is White Queen as she appeared in the 90s’ Generation X!  This super rare Prime figure captures Frost in her unique white body suit costume with yellow boots and accents and a big red “X” on her belt.  She focuses her powers, launching a translucent pink bolt at her enemies.

White Queen is 100 points with the X-Men team ability, a 7 range with two targets, Indomitable, and a version of the shared “Headmaster” trait tailored for Generation X (she gets permanent Leadership, can Perplex only Generation X allies, and can bring with her one STUDENT ID Card for free).  On the dial Emma has two distinct modes, starting with Penetrating/Psychic Blast, Super Senses, and a special power giving her Mind Control, Sidestep, and Stealth.  The back half of her dial features Mind Control, Precision Strike, and Energy Shield/Deflection.

Meanwhile, the very top and bottom of her dial has another special power giving her bigger area of effect Empower AND Enhancement (for allies with a shared keyword only), while the middle of her dial features Outwit.  She’s a strong ranged attacker with a ton of buffs for her allies, playing best with Generation X figures (obviously) as well as Hellfire Club and X-Men.  She can also be played at 50 points starting at click #4.

How about checking out a chase?  We’ve already seen that at least some of this set’s most rare figures come from the super popular Age of Apocalypse, and continuing the trend is the seemingly immortal X-Men villain Mister Sinister!  The eternal manipulator upgrades his look with banded metal limbs, heavy blue gloves and boots, a red unitard with cut outs, and the iconic cape made up of strips.  He also has his usual bone white face and red eyes adding a red diamond in his forehead, dreadlocks, and a sinister goatee, and here sports a swirling translucent yellow energy effect on his right hand.

Mister Sinister is 100 points with a 6 range, the “Man of Mystery” trait giving him permanent Shape Change, and the shared chase trait “Survivor of the Age of Apocalypse… For Now” that gives Revenge tokens to attackers who damage him, buffs his attack and damage against them, and potentially blows up an enemy with those tokens when Sinister is KO’ed.

On the dial Nathaniel starts with Penetrating/Psychic Blast, Invincible, Leadership, and a special power packing Stealth, Sidestep, and the ability to place him next to a friendly figure within 6 squares (though he can’t then make an attack this turn).  on click #2 he drops Leadership in exchange for Outwit, then mid-dial switches modes to Running Shot and Toughness.  Late-dial Sinister stays strong with Sidestep, Precision Strike, and Probability Control, ending with one click of Regeneration to get back in the fight.  He has the keywords Age of Apocalypse, Horsemen of Apocalypse, and Scientist.

We hope you’ve enjoyed these previews for figures from the upcoming Marvel HeroClix X-Men Xavier’s School set!  The expansion releases in early February with a special pre-release event happening later this month, so make sure your local comic book or game store will be participating.  Stay tuned to Figures.com for more HeroClix content soon, and head to HeroClix.com for even more information!

-Scott Rubin

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