Disclaimer: I am a fan of X-Men, actually, as of now, I believe all of you know that I am a fan of Marvel and DC and everything they offer, despite that, I won't be biased in my review, all characters are judged based on their abilities and utility in the game.
Also, there might be some words that you might not understand from this article, these are terms we used in the game,
Beefy - Strong stats
Ramp - Effects that allows you to roll more dice
Ping - Dealing damage to a character
Pump - Additional stats to a character
Spill damage - Damage from overcrush
Swarm - Having way more characters in the field than your opponent and attacking with all of them. Not to be confused with the Swarm Keyword.
New Keywords
Awaken - When a character with this keyword is spin up a level or higher, you may trigger it's ability. This ability is not an active ability, so if you have 2 same dice with awaken, and each of them levels up, you can trigger the ability twice.
Also, each card will be rated according to their ability, cost, stats and affiliation.
1/10- This card is useless, it helps your opponent more than you do.
2/10- This card is almost useless, try not to use it.
3/10- This card is too expensive and the ability is not as great.
4/10- This card is cheap, but the ability could be better, use other cards that have the same cost but better ability instead.
5/10- Mediocre card
6/10- With some set up, you can make this card work, but it really takes a lot of effort to make this card work.
7/10- This card is above average
8/10- This card is great, with the right combo you can destroy your opponent with this card
9/10- This card is amazing, you can use this card in almost any environment
10/10- The perfect card, if you play with this card you have an extremely high chance of winning the game.
(Note: The rating are based on my opinion, your point of view will definitely be different)
Character/Action Cards
This set features a lot of characters with ability to spin up or down a character's level so leveling up and down will be the meta for this set. Angel is a supporter if you are playing that meta. It's not hard to use an action die given that 1 cost action die is available at this stage of the game.
7/10
There are some low cost characters that have ridiculously high stats at level 3 compared to their level 1 and 2, so using Angel is one way to help them to go up to level 3 instantly.
7/10
Well if you really want to help spin up a character, knocking out sidekick is another alternative, it's not hard to knock out a sidekick since they are so weak in defense and with current global abilities it's not hard to field them as well. Angel overall acts as a good supporter since he is low cost and has decent stats, not forgetting he is part of the X-Men.
7/10
Avalanche has decent stats, he can help you wipe out your opponent's field is they are all at level 1 at when he is knocked out. But be careful, your characters cannot be at level 1 or else they will get knocked out when Avalanche ability triggers. It's a decent ability but takes a lot of effort to make sure that things go your way.
6/10
If you have another character that can spin down a character to level 1, you can combo that character with Avalanche and they will form a good combo. There are plenty of basic action die so it's not hard to trigger Avalanche ability. But again, it does takes a lot of effort just to knock out 1 character.
6/10
This is a more usable Avalanche. If any player fields a villain, he deals 1 damage to all opposing character. This can help you to wipe out your opponent's field and your characters with overcrush has a higher chance to deal more spill damage. It will be a great supporter for your villain team and also makes your opponent think twice to field a villain.
8/10
Banshee is one example of a cheap cost character with high stats at level 3. His ability helps your team if you are playing overcrush. Dealing area damage is never a bad thing as it helps you to clear your opponent's field so you have a high chance of dealing more spill damage. Plus, Banshee can exit the field easily so having a fielding ability is great.
7/10
If you like to punish your opponent with non-combat damage, Banshee is an option for you. For only 3 cost, he can help you to punish your opponent if they rely on action dice in their team. Action dice are so common in the game so your opponent will more or less use it in their game.
9/10
Something similar to the uncommon version but only limit to basic action dice instead of any action dice. That doesn't make it bad, it cost more but it deals more damage to your opponent and his ability triggers when they draw a basic action die, so they don't even have to use it to take damage. When they purchase a basic action die, you can be sure that Banshee ability will trigger.
9/10
Beast, for only 2 cost, has decent stats and it's easy to trigger his ability. To add dice into your bag is a small advantage but it is an advantage nevertheless. It gives you an almost guaranteed chance of drawing the dice your added in your bag next turn. For only 2 cost, no complains here.
7/10
Beast ability can be triggered easily, you can use him to block your opponent's character and he can be easily knocked out or just ping him. You can choose to do so if you wish to prep a basic action die in your used pile.
6/10
Having lots of Beast in your beast die to roll isn't a bad thing, he is only 2 cost and you will buy all 4 of his dice in no time. One way you can use him well is to hope to roll 4 of his dice in a turn, 2 character face and 2 energy face, then field the character dice and spend the energy face on something, on your opponent's turn knock both of the beast die out and you get 4 Beast dice in your prep area next turn, it can get pretty crazy with the ramping part.
7/10
I hate to see another usable Bishop in the game. Preventing damage from a certain energy type isn't a totally bad thing but for 5 cost you would expect a stronger ability. He does help you to prevent damage from a Mask character with overcrush but it's very situational. I would rather use another better 5 cost character.
3/10
Switching blockers can make a massive difference in the combat. You can attack switch blockers in your favor such that your characters can deal more spill damage. However, you need to have multiple attackers, each with a different blockers and overcrush in order to make his ability useful.
6/10
Finally, a meta Bishop. Preventing non-combat damage saves you a lot in the game simply because a lot of offensive moves in current meta are based on non-combat damage and to neutralize them gives you a huge advantage. This is definitely one of the rare to look out for in this set.
9/10
For 5 cost to gain a revive ability seems decent. You can use her aggressively and when she is knocked out, put a mask and keep her as a blocker next turn. The issue is that she is 5 cost and her stats are not very powerful. You can definitely use her as a blocker that can never leave the field as long as you can pay the mask energy to revive her.
6/10
Blink has the similar ability as Common Angel in this set but she cost more and has a slightly better stats. You can combo her with Angel so each time you use an action die you can spin 2 character up a level or a character up 2 level.
7/10
Those who don't know what Infiltrate is, I suggest you to look at my Guardians of Galaxy set review, there are lots of Infiltrators in the set. Blink can be an addition to the Infiltrators team, her ability is not hard to trigger since there exist a 1 cost action card.
7/10
Our very first Super rare card in this set. Unfortunately I would say that she isn't the best super rare in the set. Her ability is hard to trigger since you need to field and attack with her on the same turn. And it depends a lot on luck, you need to roll on an energy face on a die in your used pile just to KO all opposing character of that energy type. Firstly, you have a 50% chance of failing, secondary, knocking out opposing character of that energy type won't make much difference if your opponent has other energy type characters in the field. Just based on the luck part it's very risky to use her in your team. You deserve a better winning condition card.
4/10
First of all, for only 3 cost, Blob has amazing stats, especially for a blocker. His ability helps you to confiscate your opponent's sidekick so it naturally counters a sidekick combo and you remove some characters from your opponent's field. I say that it's a great card.
7/10
Well, if capturing a sidekick is not your thing, then how about capturing a character? Blob's ability allows him to capture a character, not for a turn, but as long as he is in the field. You can use him to remove your opponent's winning condition or the character that has potential of countering your team.
9/10
I love how they make Blob such a usable character. This is a total lock down for your opponent. Instead of capturing, he simply prevent your opponent from buying or fielding a character. That is really OP. This is another rare that you need to look out for in the game.
10/10
This is a common card, like this is really a common card. The ability is so powerful, Boom Boom is only 2 cost and there are so many cheap basic action card in the game so you can form a cheap combo using Boom Boom and a cheap basic action. For a 2 cost character to deal your opponent 2 damage each time you use a basic action die is OP, OP to the max. In a draft, just keep a copy of this card, you can never go wrong using her in the game. She literally makes previous other character with similar ability but high cost or lower damage look so bad.
10/10
Instead of using a basic action die, you can simply use Boom Boom to deal 1 damage to your opponent each turn by using a global ability. The damage seems small but overtime you can shut your opponent's life down to 0. Boom Boom is the MVP here, just keep a lookout for her cards in the draft.
9/10
If the common and uncommon version of Boom Boom is so deadly, the Super rare is on par with them as well. Instead of using basic action die or global to deal damage, this version relies on your active characters. You can deal as much as 9 damage to your opponent if you have all your characters and a sidekick in your field and when you trigger her ability. She is only 3 cost and she can exit the field easily so just buy a few cheap cost character and field all of them and use Boom Boom to finish your opponent. I have a feeling the creator of the game is a huge fan of Boom Boom :p
10/10
An undead Colossus is deadly, you can go really aggressive with him and not afraid that he will get knocked out because of his beefy stats and even if he does get knocked out, you can return him to the field at level 1 if you have a level 3 character (not hard to get). You can keep him at an attacker and blocker because as long as you have a level 3 character, even a low cost one, he won't leave the field, and his level 1 stats is decent. The issue is he is a 7 cost and he doesn't posses a lot of threat to your opponent.
6/10
With so many supporters that can spin up or down a character die, it's possible for Colossus to simply be unblockable. Preventing level 3 from character from blocking him ensures that blockers are not at their best stats when they block Colossus so he has a higher chance of dealing more spill damage. No other version of Colossus can compared to the rare version of Colossus from the AVX set but this one does justify his 7 cost.
7/10
Apart from helping you to deal some damage to your opponent, Colossus does help you to increase your field. It's easy for his ability to trigger simply because his stats is so beefy, you can always pumped him and also he already possess overcrush. It does depend on luck but it's like an additional ability, what's the worse that can happen? You don't get an extra character, that's about it, that die still goes back into your used pile. But if you do field a character from his ability, you can have an extra blocker during your opponent's next turn and you can trigger the fielding ability of that character as well. From my point of view, I don't think there's anything bad about his ability, it's not imbar, but it's not weak.
7/10
Crossover Super rares are so hard to purchase, so it's best for them to possess powerful ability. X-23 here has a great ability, all you need is to attack with her and some other attackers and give her and one other attacker overcrush. If she is blocked, she will deal to every blocker and even at level 1, 3 damage to all blockers is no joke especially when one of the attacker has overcrush. This will make your opponent think very carefully on how to block to minimize damage, they probably will just leave X-23 unblocked, and you can use the chance to pump her up to deal more combat damage to your opponent. Her burst face gave her a guaranteed damage to your opponent if she is blocked, so that's a great add on.
8/10
With supporters in this set that helps you to spin up or down a character, Cyclops' ability won't be hard to trigger. You can keep spinning him up and down just to deal 3 damage to a character. This 3 damage may seem small but it can help to knock out a beefy character if stacked or assist an overcrush character to deal more spill damage. You can also use it to ping your own character for it to exit the field.
7/10
This set is filled with X-Men character, and Cyclops can act as one of your source of attack if you are using a X-Men team. All you need to do is keep Cyclops in the field and field cheap X-Men and he deals a damage to your opponent.
8/10
Remember the time when Hulk:Green Goliath existed? I do, when my field of character gets sweep by Hulk. Cyclops does the same thing but he deals only 1 area damage, still, it's a freaking area damage that can caused massive destructive. Exaggeration aside, You can ping Cyclops to help you to clear the field, and make your overcrush character deal more damage or simply swarm your opponent when their field gets smaller. The issue is that Cyclops has low health so you need to pump his defense to ping him a lot of times to clear the field.
6/10
Czar Colossus does have a great fielding ability, you get to knock out sidekicks and deal damage to your opponent. Even if your opponent have no sidekicks, you still can deal damage by fielding lots of sidekick before fielding Colossus. Plus, have you seen his stats, it's so beefy for a 4 cost character. He will have issue exit the field so you need to go really aggressive on him so you can trigger his ability over again.
7/10
This action die is a double edge sword. You have a chance to shrink down your opponent's field but you have a chance to shrink down your own field as well. It's best use when your opponent has more character than you but in any game, try not to have way lesser character than your opponent. This action acts as a neutralizer in case you are outnumbered, but in any case, you shouldn't need this action if you play well.
6/10
There's a reason why this card is called the Danger room, it makes every character so vulnerable. When this action is in play, when you ping a character, no matter how beefy that character is, it is knocked out. It's again another double edge sword so make sure that you used character that benefits from exiting the field, because your opponent will also make use of the chance to knock out your beefy characters, so try not to have them when the action is in play.
7/10
If you are in need of villain or making your characters villain, this action will suits you. You can use it to remove any opposing affiliation related abilities as well. The global gave you the opportunity to ping any character after the action is play, can come in handy.
7/10
Doop isn't hard to get knocked out at level 1 and 2, so you can use him to capture characters. The effect last until the start of your next turn so your opposing cannot use the captured character on the turn after Doop is knocked out. Although the ability lasted only for 1 full turn, your opponent cannot target Doop because he is knocked out and not in the field, so the capture is immune to most effect, so your opponent cannot do anything about it. If there's nothing worthy to capture, you can keep him at level 3, the beefiest stats.
7/10
You know there's a way to capture multiple character in a turn, keep spinning him up and down and he will capture multiple characters in a turn. When your opponent has lesser field, you can go ahead and swarm him/her. With the right combo, you can capture all your opponent's character in a turn.
8/10
I am sorry, but a more costly version of Doop doesn't make it better. To capture an opposing character, you need to attack with Doop and capture your own character. Even if Doop is at level 3, for him to capture at most 1 character for each die and the effect lasted only until end of your turn is a little weak for a capturing ability. Not forgetting that he does cost more.
3/10
Emma Frost is back! Her ability may seem dumb, but it isn't. You can ping Emma and redirect that damage to one of your character, and then if that character doesn't get knocked out by that damage, spin it up a level. So you can use a ping source to spin up a character. However, for 5 cost, it does seem expensive for such supportive ability.
6/10
A meta Emma Frost, like finally. Emma helps to prevent damage for you, so in any cases, you can prevent as little as 1 damage to as much as 20 damage in a turn. You can use effect that deals damage to both players and let Emma protect you while you still deal damage to your opponent or you can simply use her defensively. Either way, it's always good to have her around. Use her with Bishop rare and your opponent probably can't hurt you much in the game.
9/10
Interesting fact, Emma Frost appears in only 2 Dice Masters set and in both sets, there's a super rare version of her. Emma Frost plays control here, your opponent needs to pay 1 energy just to declare a non-villain as an attacker. This will exhaust their energy in the long run and they have to save up an energy just to attack with a character. You can slow down your opponent's aggression with Emma. On the side note, I am happy that there's a super rare version of Emma that is usable.
7/10
Havok can act as a good blocker because when he takes damage, he deals as much damage to an opposing character. So if an attacker deals 6 damage to him when he blocks, he can deal 6 damage to a character and have a chance of knocking that character out.
6/10
Using energy to deal damage to character or opponent is never a bad thing. You can farm up some shield or wild energy in your reserve pool, then get someone or use an action to spin Havok up a level, and start turning those energy into damage.
8/10
Havok acts as a supporter instead for this version. You can use him to spin up your X-men character, just keep him active and ping an X-Men to spin that X-Men up a level. His ability only limits to X-Men so that does reduce his rating.
6/10
Similar to his Uncanny X-Men version, Ice Man has the ability to double his attack value when you spin him up a level, nothing too fancy or too powerful, but nothing bad as well.
6/10
Ice Man can get pretty beefy if you keep fielding characters in a turn. However, you need to make use of those pump before they are gone. I would flip his stats and give him overcrush.
6/10
Knocking out an opposing attacker is decent. However, it's not easy for Ice Man to get knocked out, and even if he gets knocked out by blocking, usually that character will have overcrush, and if that character has overcrush, you would want to bock with as many blocker to reduce the spill damage, and with so many blockers, you probably knock out that attacker, so Ice Man's ability won't be needed.
5/10
Jean Grey's ability helps you to weaken your opponent's character but yours as well. She isn't really easy to exit the field so fielding ability isn't suitable for her. To be honest, it doesn't do much impact on your opponent and might hurt your team as well, and that's coming from a 6 cost character.
3/10
A much better Jean Grey. She deals at least 1 damage to an opposing character when it's fielded so if you can spin her to level 3, it's 3 damage to an opposing character when they get fielded, and that would knock most of them out before they could do much, even if they aren't, they get weaken and it makes it easier to knock them out. It more or controls your opponent's field so she can be useful against weak characters.
7/10
If you need the easiest way to spin up or down a character, simply use Jean Grey. While she is active, all you need are bolt energy to spin up and down a character you control, so it makes awaken ability super powerful given that you can use Jean Grey to spin up and down your characters as and when you want as long as you have the energy to do so. Your opponent will not have the luxury to use them since it's not a global ability.
7/10
For only 2 cost to be able to deal area damage to the opposing field is simply awesome. In the early game you can use her ability to knock out all the weak characters and sidekicks so your characters can be unblocked and in the late game, you can use characters to support her so she can use awaken several times to wipe out the opposing field. Either way, for only 2 cost, she is a force to be reckon with.
8/10
And again for only 2 cost, you can abuse Jubilee's ability. When an opposing character is knocked out, which is not hard to set that up, you get to spin her up a level and because you spun her up a level, you get to use her awaken ability to deal damage to your opponent. Her stats are good for a 2 cost character so once she is at level 3, and you don't have anything to spin her down a level, you can go aggressive with her.
7/10
This version of Jubilee is another super rare to look out for. You can use her with sidekicks and ally and each time you field a sidekick character, you deal your opponent 1 damage. It's that simple.
8/10
Juggernaut's awaken is very unique. He helps you to knock out sidekicks or simply remove a sidekick dice from your opponent's prep area, thus slowing down your opponent's ramp. It definitely isn't as efficient as some character that can directly move character from the field to the used pile but he does compensate that with really good stats.
5/10
Sidekicks are one of the easiest thing to knock out in the game if they didn't get pumped. So Juggernaut can get very deadly even if 1 sidekick is knocked out. Plus, your sidekicks counts as well, so even if your opponent doesn't want to field sidekick, you can knock out your own sidekick to pump Juggernaut. Once he get pumped up, give him overcrush for him to deal some massive damage.
8/10
Juggernaut should never get a fielding ability, you know he's not easy to leave the field. Reducing your opponent's attack does makes it harder for your opponent to knock out your character through combat damage. Still, for 6 cost, you would expect more from a character.
5/10
For 4 cost and unblockable ability, it's worthy and in draft you can use her as a secondary attacker. You couldn't go wrong with an unblockable Kitty Pryde, if you think her stats are low, just pumped her.
7/10
Awaken with the right supporters can be very deadly especially if the awaken ability itself has lethal effect. Kitty Pryde can get really powerful with those pump and she can act as a great attacker with overcrush or unblockable or simply a good blocker with beefy stats.
8/10
This version of Kitty Pryde instead of being unblockable, it forces your opponent to save 1 energy just to negate her ability. You can play mind games with your opponent by having a few Kitty Pryde in the few, your opponent would have to save 1 energy every turn just to prevent her from being unblockable.
7/10
Magneto helps you to spin down non-Brotherhood characters and make them weaker. So it's best use if you are using Brotherhood team. Brotherhood characters are not common in the constructed format so your opponent is most likely affected by Magneto's ability. Since lower level characters are weaker, you can use the chance to overpowered them by giving your Brotherhood character overcrush to deal more spill damage.
6/10
Magneto again helps the Brotherhood of Evil, this time round, he gives them Infiltrate. However, Brotherhood characters are powerful enough and they don't really need infiltrate mainly because you would want them to deal full combat damage and leave the field instead of just 1 damage and return back to the field. This card has potential in case more Brotherhood characters comes out and can use the Infiltrate ability better but as of now, I rather use another 6 cost character to support a Brotherhood team.
3/10
Magneto makes your opponent's character unable to reach level 3, but apart from that, he really don't do much threat against your opponent. It really depend a lot on luck because there are some characters that would be better at lower level for their abilities or simply because it makes them easier to leave the field. So I would much rather invest my 6 cost on a stronger character.
5/10
Mimic has really low stats but that can change when you field him. There's plenty of ways you can use him, you could use him to copy a powerful character's stats and go aggressive with him, or you could make him copy a sidekick stats and each time you field a sidekick this turn after fielding him, you get to ramp 2 dice, that's a crazy ramp. His ability do last only a turn so you need to make him exit the field so you can reuse his ability over and again, he'll return to his printed stats after your turn ends and given his stats, he should be able to leave the field easily.
9/10
It's good to copy a powerful character stats but it's another thing to be unblocked. Even if you copy an opposing weak character stats, if your opponent doesn't want that character to be knocked out, he/she will definitely block Mimic. If you can make Mimic unblockable, then it's worth using him, you can make him copy a powerful character stats, then make him unblockable, and then knock out that character.
6/10
Well, instead of copying the stats of a character for a turn, why not copy the ability as well until he leaves the field. Copycats have it's use, you can make mimic copy a character's attacking ability and attack with him during your turn, if he isn't knock out, you can use him to copy a character's blocking or active ability on your opponent's turn, he is so versatile and I can even use my opponent's character against them by making mimic copy that ability. I am impressed with the super rare in this set.
8/10
Morph has an amazing ability, he basically copies a character's ability when that character is fielded. The thing is that he retains this ability so he can essentially copy multiple character's ability in a turn. You can field 4 different character with attacking ability while Morph is active and then attack with 4 of them and morph, it will be like triggering your attacking abilities twice, and if you have 2 copies of Morph, thrice and so on. He can get very dangerous if paired with the right character. Also, he can copy opposing character's ability too during your opponent's turn so that's a bonus. The drawback is that his ability is only available at level 2 and 3, but with so many methods to spin up a character die, it won't be a major issue.
8/10
There are some basic action cards with really good effect on a double burst face, and it's so hard to use that effect because of the odds of getting double burst on your basic action die. Morph can solve that issue for you. You can trigger a basic action card effect each time you attack with Morph. You can also choose a 5 or 6 cost basic action for his ability so technically, you save a few cost for using Morph to trigger the effect instead of using the basic action itself. Since it's a fielding ability, he does lose the ability after a turn, so make sure he can exit the field for you to use his ability again next turn.
8/10
Copying an opposing character is fun, you can use your opponent's winning condition against them. However, the ability only last for 1 turn so you need to make full use of it. Decent ability, nothing bad, can be a game changer.
7/10
Controlling an opposing character is always fun for the game. However, Nocturne only allows you to control a character with attack value 2 or less, so it limits your option and most likely you end up controlling a sidekick. Since the ability happens right after the roll and reroll step, you don't get any chance to mitigate any character's stats so you can't control any opposing beefy characters. You could however control characters with weak attack and high defense that have good active or blocking ability. So if you are using Nocturne you need to hope that your opponent has such character for you to control.
6/10
This ability can be useful at times, if you opponent wants to use global to prevent a character from attacking, remove it from the attack zone, pump a character, prevent a character from blocking, flip the stats or a character, ping a character etc, you could redirect it to another character, even an opposing one to waste your opponent's energy on that global. It can save you at times and most importantly make your opponent waste energy for global.
7/10
Action die that can give Fast, Overcrush, Unblockable, deals damage or knock out a character can be lethal if used on the right character. Nocturne can change the outcome of a combat simply by redirecting the effect of that action die to someone else. It neutralize a lot of action dice that targets. Imagine your opponent could win a game after giving a character overcrush with an action die but Nocturne change the target to your own character and you survive for another turn. If your opponent really wants to win with those action dice, they will have to use 2 copies of it and that will waste energy.
7/10
An blockable Onslaught sure is deadly but you need to trigger it's awaken ability first. It's a 7 cost so it might take some time to field him, all just to deal 4 to 6 damage before any pump. I would rather use a low cost character and make it unblockable through action dice since it does take less effort to buy a low cost character and a mid cost action than buying a high cost character.
6/10
At level 1, Onslaught stats are not very powerful compared to his level 3, so his ability might not be that useful in the long run since your opponent can always block him with sidekicks. You could give him overcrush and spin up all opposing character to level 3 to prevent as many blockers to him so he could deal more spill damage but that amount of effort is too much in my opinion.
5/10
An easier to trigger unblockable ability. You could just convert an opposing character to villain if it isn't one to make him unblockable. For a 6 cost character to be unblockable is still very expensive though, but if you have ways to make him stronger, by all means use him.
6/10
Phoenix Storm will have some difficulty leaving the field, so a fielding ability isn't very ideal. Her ability is awesome though, it does depend on luck but you can deal as little as 1 damage to as much as 10 damage to your opponent and his/her character. The thing about her ability is not to draw any sidekick dice so you need to keep your sidekicks away from your bag when you use Phoenix Storm. You can also fill your bags with high cost character so you can deal more damage. Since her ability can be lethal if luck is on your side, I would make some effort to ensure that her ability is at her best.
7/10
Polaris can be a good counter against overcrush. If your opponent uses global or action die when she is active, all your characters gain 2D and thus making them more durable, and you most likely won't take any spill damage from your opponent's character. You could also bait your opponent into using global on your turn so you could get those pump and use them aggressively by flipping the stats of your characters.
7/10
A 3 cost Polaris is decent but nothing too crazy. Given that there are stronger 3 cost character, she won't really stand out with her ability.
5/10
Polaris know makes your character undead as long as you have the energy to revive them. If you have a powerful character that gets knocked out for any reason, fear not, use Polaris and a shield energy to revive it. She make sure that you can feel free to attack aggressively and not worry that your character will get knocked out, because she can always revive them.
9/10
If you want to spin up your X-Men character, there are cheaper and easier ways to do so. Prof X is just expensive. To fully utilize his ability, you would have to buy as many X-Men character as you can before fielding him so your X-Men can be spun up to at least level 2 at the start of your turn. Spinning up a character level is good but not too significant that it can make a huge difference, I would much rather use a cheaper supporter.
6/10
There's nothing bad for a character that pumps the stats of other character, Prof X is a little expensive just to pump your X-Men for 1A and 1D. The additional stats will make some difference but it just doesn't justify his expensive cost, I mean avengers pump from Nick Fury cost 2, JLA pumo from Aquaman cost 3, GOTG pump from Starlord cost 4, so why is an X-Men pump so expensive?
6/10
Prof X here act as a sidekick supporter, making them more durable. Even if you don't want to field him, you can use his global to field sidekicks, in a draft, this will be super useful. I still miss the old days where Prof X global is a major game changer, but the past aside, this global is useful in it's way.
7/10
If you intend to play a bolt team, Pyro will help you to destroy your opponent's strongest character. He isn't hard to get knocked out, so his ability will trigger easily, and he deals damage for each bolt character not active bolt character, so even if you have 10 low cost bolt character in your field, triggering Pyro's ability will deal 10 damage to an opposing character, that should be able to knock out almost any character.
7/10
If you are playing a bolt team, you will have a higher chance of rolling bolt energy every turn, so Pyro will just deal 2 damage to your opponent every turn. You don't even have to spend those energy, just roll it will trigger the ability. It's not catastrophic damage, but it's better than nothing.
7/10
This is a scary Pyro, if you have save enough bolt energy in your reserve pool. You can abuse his awaken ability and deal as many damage as you can for each time a Pyro die is spun up. You could finish off your opponent in a turn with Pyro. Plus, those energy are not even spent yet, since you can use the awaken ability anytime during your turn, you can trigger the awaken ability and deal damage, then use those energy to buy your things.
8/10
Quicksilver impulse ability is an additional bonus if you want to use it. On the turn you purchase Quicksilver, without any help of any ramp effect, he should be inside your used pile, if you don't draw him during your next turn, you can field him regardless. The drawback is that if you pay that bolt for his ability and you draw his dice during the next draw step, you kinda waste a die because you can field him at level 1 regardless of his location. Apart from being a cheap Brotherhood character, Quicksilver doesn't really do much in the field, so you might want to spend on something else.
5/10
Quicksilver helps you to ramp dice, to prep a die is a good thing given that you can use the die next turn. Since it's a fielding ability you will need to make him exit the field to reuse his ability, in the long run, you need to keep using his ability to make it worthy of being purchased.
7/10
Fielding cost can be ridiculous at times, fielding a character for free helps you to save energy in the long run. You can abuse the awaken ability and start fielding characters for free, do make combo him well with a good supporter and a beefy character so you can save as much fielding cost as possible.
7/10
Sabretooth does have a decent ability, spinning your characters up a level is nothing bad but the thing is he is hard to exit the field and the fielding ability isn't too powerful that you would go through so much effort just for him to trigger his ability over and again.
6/10
Spinning an attacker up a level helps you to increase that characters stats, so it can be advantageous towards you. Since it's an attacking ability, you can use this as a way to spin your attacker up a level every turn as long as he attacks.
7/10
Sabretooth can be the perfect blocker against overcrush character. Since he doesn't take damage, your opponent cannot knock him out and cannot deal spill damage. Plus, you don't need to spam his awaken ability, just need to use it once and no damage can be done to him for that turn.
8/10
Sasquatch helps your team if you have a series of attacker and someone has overcrush. That 1 damage dealt can be meaningless but with an overcrush attacker, it makes a different. Plus, how often do you see a 6A 6D character with only a fielding cost of 1.
7/10
There are other characters in the game with equally great stats and lower cost, if you just need a beefy character, there are a lot other options. Sasquatch for this version just helps you to spin him up faster, he doesn't have any awaken ability, so you are just using him for stats purpose, and again, there are a lot other characters with stats like that but cheaper or has better abilities.
3/10
A 6A and 6D character seem harmless, until when it possess overcrush. Global are so essential that everyone will use them in any game, so Sasquatch will reach level 3 in no time and since he already has overcrush, you can go ahead and attack with him.
7/10
If you have issue dealing with action dice, Scarlet Witch would one of the solution. Making your opponent reroll an action face on an action die decrease the chance of your opponent using that action, and Scarlet Witch also prevents them from rerolling an action die if it's on an energy face. Your opponent needs to be very lucky to be able to use an action die when Scarlet Witch is active. For 3 cost, no complaints here.
9/10
There are some character that would be best at a certain level. Scarlet witch helps you to spin them up or down even before they are fielded so you have a higher chance of getting them at a certain face. I would give this card a higher rating if she could spin them up in the field, however, because of her ability, your character's awaken ability won't be triggered by her. Despite that, she is still useful, just not too powerful.
7/10
Here is another awaken ability you could abuse in the game. First of all, Scarlet Witch is only 3 cost, so it's not hard to get her out, second of all, with the right supporter, awaken ability can be triggered fairly easily, third of all, you are able to field a character that you just bought, for free, so what's the harm? She would be a must in a team if you want to get your Brotherhood characters out in the field as soon as possible.
8/10
A 3 cost villain with a potential 6A and 6D, why not?
7/10
It's easy to get Shaw up to level 3 with his ability given that you can always ping a character but not knocked them out. So you are paying a higher cost for a guaranteed level 3 Shaw. Sounds cool.
7/10
I apologize if i overuse the word abuse for awaken ability, because with certain effects that can spin a character up a level and another one that can spin a character down a level, it seems that awaken ability can be used multiple times with the right set up. Shaw would be a good ramp if you have good supporters for awaken ability, imagine the number of dice in your prep area if you use his awaken effect multiple times in a game. Plus, I can't emphasize this enough, his level 3 has really good stats.
7/10
Sentinels are made to target the mutants, in the game, it is usually used against X-Men character. In a draft, since there are so many X-Men in the set, using a Sentinel would be ideal since each time your opponent fields an X-Men, he/she takes 2 damage. However, in a constructed format, it's not common to see an X-Men, so you might waste a spot in your team if you were to include Sentinel.
3/10
Sentinel has such a beefy stats so fielding ability on him is a NO. Even in a draft, I wouldn't rely on Sentinel to help me to knock out X-Men because I need to roll him at level 3 to guaranteed any legal X-Men target. So in constructed format, the more I won't use him.
2/10
It's 7 cost now and the ability is great to counter an X-Men team, that's all. It would be useless against any other team.
3/10
Giving Storm Regenerate is a bonus, nothing bad. However, with so many other X-Men that has better ability and at a lower cost, Storm's ability does not really stand out. I mean after she regenerates, she does not provide any threat against my opponent and her stats isn't really the best for a 3 cost.
5/10
She literally make rare version of Shaw looks really best given that they both have the same ability but she cost less, way lesser. You can use her as a cheap ramp if you have characters to support her awaken, as said, this ability can go really crazy if you ramp enough dice for a turn.
8/10
If you want to reduce your opponent's field, Storm can help you to do so. Once you start using her awaken ability, you can get rid of any opposing dice you want, the thing is, it doesn't goes to the prep area or reserve pool, but the used pile, so it's a bummer for your opponent when their characters leave the field through Storm's ability. Plus, you don't need to be afraid that you might spin them up or down a level because if the rolled dice doesn't show an energy face, it will return to it's original face.
8/10
A 5 cost Sunfire can have a potential 8A 6D. However, the ability cannot be stacked and it's a fielding ability so it will be gone after your turn ends. That doesn't seem like an ability that you would spend 5 energy for. Plus, if you don't field any character, you won't get anything from fielding Sunfire.
3/10
Sunfire thrives well if you can use him to support a wall of characters in your field. The additional pump would come in handy for overcrush, unblockable or simply blocking.
6/10
If you need a protector for your X-Men, look no further. Sunfire helps to reduce damage dealt to your X-Men, so a 1 or 2 damage ping would not harm them and they will be more durable to block against your opponent's character and they are more likely to survive a combat when they attack. Also, 1 or 2 damage area attack against your X-men team will be neutralize by Sunfire. With his ability, even at level 1, your opponent cannot ping him and knock him out using non-combat damage, but please, don't let him stay at level 1, his level 3 is so much more powerful.
8/10
This action is perfect if you are using an X-Men team. It simply drains your opponent's energy just for them to block an X-Men. If your opponent has no energy in the field and when this action is used, your X-Men are as good as unblockable. It's more of a mind game to force your opponent into saving energy to block your characters, and you can troll them by not using this action when they saved the energy to block your characters, it's always fun to troll your opponent.
8/10
The action effect is also good for your X-Men if you want to protect your X-Men from global or action effect. The global ability however can be used in any game. You can use it to block a global ability so no one can use it, you can stop your opponent from using globals such as removing attacker, force block, force attack etc. It basically counters any global counters to your team. You could also ramp using a global first and use this global to stop your opponent from using that ramp global on his/her turn, another level of playing with your opponent.
9/10
Let's do the math here, if you want to purchase a 7 cost X-Men character, and you have 6 active low cost X-Men characters in the field, you can use this action to purchase that 7 cost X-Men for only 1 cost. That of course is the extreme level, you can simply use this action to reduce an X-Men cost, you can even use it to reduce fielding cost, so if you have 3 active X-Men in the field, your X-Men are basically free to field and that saves a lot of energy in the long run coming from an effect of a 2 cost action.
8/10
If X-Men has a good supporter, a villain team should have one too. Hellfire club helps a villain team, fielding a villain for free is definitely a good thing and to be able to prep a die for each villain you field is a great bonus for this 2 cost action. This is a good ramp for a villain team.
8/10
Getting a character with the highest attack value is not impossible, you can always mitigate a character's attack with global, action or character's ability. The action helps you to wipe out the entire field except your character with the highest attack, but you must make sure that you have the character with highest attack for the effect to even take place. It takes a lot of effort just to wipe out the field and if you can't win on the round when you use this action, your opponent could roll his/her characters back and swarm you, so be careful.
6/10
This action can cause some chaos in the field zone. I see this action as a disadvantage to you more than your opponent, because you are obligated to attack, if your characters don't attack, they will get knocked out, your opponent on the other hand can always choose to block and even if the blockers get knocked out, they have a chance to roll them back into the field on their turn, plus, everyone gets the additional 2A, so your attacker is most likely to get knocked out as well. It kinda forced the aggression onto you, for that additional 2A, it doesn't really put much pressure in your opponent's character, they can always roll their characters back before you do, I feel that there are better ways to boost a character's stats. This action helps you to boost your opponent's stats as well, just doesn't make much sense.
3/10
One way to spin up your X-Men character up a level. It's an attacking ability so you can always use him over and again easier than a fielding ability. You can use him to support your X-Men with awaken abilities, spinning a bunch of characters up at the same time compared to one at a time sure is more powerful.
7/10
Instead of spinning only X-Men character up a level, Thunderbird does the favor for any of your character. The issue is that it is a knocked out ability instead of an attacking ability, and looking at his stats, it's not an easy job to do so. He has such a great stats so it's a bit of a waste to knock him out just to trigger his ability.
5/10
Another option to act as a supporter for awaken abilities for your X-Men. If you field your X-Men at level 1 or 2, and if Thunderbird is active, you get to use their awaken abilities instantly, that doesn't seem like a bad idea, it can form a pretty good combo and you don't even need to attack, block or knocked out Thunderbird to do so.
7/10
Wolverine is great at level 3, I mean his is a beast at level 3, but there are more efficient ways to spin him up to level 3 instead of making him attack alone to do so, so I would pass on this card.
3/10
You could go super aggressive with Wolverine, like giving him overcrush and even if he is knocked out, you can deal his attack value to any character and I believe that that damage would pretty much knock out any character. Decent ability.
7/10
There is a dilemma here, if your opponent has a lot of characters in the field, Wolverine gets more pump from his ability, but even if he attacks alone and you give him overcrush, your opponent would just blocker him in a way where he/she doesn't take any spill damage. If your opponent has a few characters in the field, Wolverine gets lesser pump so he can't deal as many damage as he should. Either way, attacking alone is great in the early game, but he is 6 cost, so I doubt he would be out in the field that early. Plus, his level 1 and 2 prevents you to from using global to pump him, so that's another concern.
3/10
This is another great way to spin your characters up a level and can help awaken abilities. The action is best use for X-Men team because of the burst effect, but for any other team, you can use it to prep a die as well, so for 3 cost to spin your characters up a level as well a chance to prep a die, it's really valuable.
8/10
A 2 cost action dice that is best used for an X-Men team. You can use it for a chance to field your X-Men faster, and even if you draw sidekick dice for this effect, you can choose to put them into your used pile, so nothing bad at all.
8/10
This action is basically a ramp effect, for 2 cost, you can prep a die. Still, it's more suitable for an X-Men team, because you get to prep an X-Men die and place the others, which is most likely your sidekick into the used pile, that can help you to get rid of weaker dice in your bag. If you use this in a non-X-Men team, you will end up ramping 1 die but your other dice goes to your used pile and it makes it harder for you to manage your dice, so not recommended unless you are playing X-Men.
7/10
Conclusion
If you haven't realize, this set focus on a lot of spinning up or down a character's level, that is the main mechanics for this set. It's nice to see that spinning character's level has become sort of significant in this set because they don't seem like a big deal in the past. Great job to wizkids for that!
There are a lot of X-Men in this set, I believe they are almost on par with JLA and Avengers at this point, or even better. I love to see the X-Men back in the game. It sort of bring back the nostalgic feeling when I first play the game. Plus, they actually use the same design on most of the character's dice, it does lacks creativity but it brings back good memories of the past. The art design of the cards are amazing too.
I am still surprised that there isn't a supportive cards for the X-Force, hopefully in the future, I hope they have a usage for their affiliation one day.
This set is very thematic so if you are an X-Men fan, do get it, if you are not, look out for some powerful cards, they are really OP. Lastly, hope my review helps and thanks for reading!
New Keywords
Awaken - When a character with this keyword is spin up a level or higher, you may trigger it's ability. This ability is not an active ability, so if you have 2 same dice with awaken, and each of them levels up, you can trigger the ability twice.
Also, each card will be rated according to their ability, cost, stats and affiliation.
1/10- This card is useless, it helps your opponent more than you do.
2/10- This card is almost useless, try not to use it.
3/10- This card is too expensive and the ability is not as great.
4/10- This card is cheap, but the ability could be better, use other cards that have the same cost but better ability instead.
5/10- Mediocre card
6/10- With some set up, you can make this card work, but it really takes a lot of effort to make this card work.
7/10- This card is above average
8/10- This card is great, with the right combo you can destroy your opponent with this card
9/10- This card is amazing, you can use this card in almost any environment
10/10- The perfect card, if you play with this card you have an extremely high chance of winning the game.
(Note: The rating are based on my opinion, your point of view will definitely be different)
Character/Action Cards
This set features a lot of characters with ability to spin up or down a character's level so leveling up and down will be the meta for this set. Angel is a supporter if you are playing that meta. It's not hard to use an action die given that 1 cost action die is available at this stage of the game.
7/10
There are some low cost characters that have ridiculously high stats at level 3 compared to their level 1 and 2, so using Angel is one way to help them to go up to level 3 instantly.
7/10
Well if you really want to help spin up a character, knocking out sidekick is another alternative, it's not hard to knock out a sidekick since they are so weak in defense and with current global abilities it's not hard to field them as well. Angel overall acts as a good supporter since he is low cost and has decent stats, not forgetting he is part of the X-Men.
7/10
Avalanche has decent stats, he can help you wipe out your opponent's field is they are all at level 1 at when he is knocked out. But be careful, your characters cannot be at level 1 or else they will get knocked out when Avalanche ability triggers. It's a decent ability but takes a lot of effort to make sure that things go your way.
6/10
If you have another character that can spin down a character to level 1, you can combo that character with Avalanche and they will form a good combo. There are plenty of basic action die so it's not hard to trigger Avalanche ability. But again, it does takes a lot of effort just to knock out 1 character.
6/10
This is a more usable Avalanche. If any player fields a villain, he deals 1 damage to all opposing character. This can help you to wipe out your opponent's field and your characters with overcrush has a higher chance to deal more spill damage. It will be a great supporter for your villain team and also makes your opponent think twice to field a villain.
8/10
Banshee is one example of a cheap cost character with high stats at level 3. His ability helps your team if you are playing overcrush. Dealing area damage is never a bad thing as it helps you to clear your opponent's field so you have a high chance of dealing more spill damage. Plus, Banshee can exit the field easily so having a fielding ability is great.
7/10
If you like to punish your opponent with non-combat damage, Banshee is an option for you. For only 3 cost, he can help you to punish your opponent if they rely on action dice in their team. Action dice are so common in the game so your opponent will more or less use it in their game.
9/10
Something similar to the uncommon version but only limit to basic action dice instead of any action dice. That doesn't make it bad, it cost more but it deals more damage to your opponent and his ability triggers when they draw a basic action die, so they don't even have to use it to take damage. When they purchase a basic action die, you can be sure that Banshee ability will trigger.
9/10
Beast, for only 2 cost, has decent stats and it's easy to trigger his ability. To add dice into your bag is a small advantage but it is an advantage nevertheless. It gives you an almost guaranteed chance of drawing the dice your added in your bag next turn. For only 2 cost, no complains here.
7/10
Beast ability can be triggered easily, you can use him to block your opponent's character and he can be easily knocked out or just ping him. You can choose to do so if you wish to prep a basic action die in your used pile.
6/10
Having lots of Beast in your beast die to roll isn't a bad thing, he is only 2 cost and you will buy all 4 of his dice in no time. One way you can use him well is to hope to roll 4 of his dice in a turn, 2 character face and 2 energy face, then field the character dice and spend the energy face on something, on your opponent's turn knock both of the beast die out and you get 4 Beast dice in your prep area next turn, it can get pretty crazy with the ramping part.
7/10
I hate to see another usable Bishop in the game. Preventing damage from a certain energy type isn't a totally bad thing but for 5 cost you would expect a stronger ability. He does help you to prevent damage from a Mask character with overcrush but it's very situational. I would rather use another better 5 cost character.
3/10
Switching blockers can make a massive difference in the combat. You can attack switch blockers in your favor such that your characters can deal more spill damage. However, you need to have multiple attackers, each with a different blockers and overcrush in order to make his ability useful.
6/10
Finally, a meta Bishop. Preventing non-combat damage saves you a lot in the game simply because a lot of offensive moves in current meta are based on non-combat damage and to neutralize them gives you a huge advantage. This is definitely one of the rare to look out for in this set.
9/10
For 5 cost to gain a revive ability seems decent. You can use her aggressively and when she is knocked out, put a mask and keep her as a blocker next turn. The issue is that she is 5 cost and her stats are not very powerful. You can definitely use her as a blocker that can never leave the field as long as you can pay the mask energy to revive her.
6/10
Blink has the similar ability as Common Angel in this set but she cost more and has a slightly better stats. You can combo her with Angel so each time you use an action die you can spin 2 character up a level or a character up 2 level.
7/10
Those who don't know what Infiltrate is, I suggest you to look at my Guardians of Galaxy set review, there are lots of Infiltrators in the set. Blink can be an addition to the Infiltrators team, her ability is not hard to trigger since there exist a 1 cost action card.
7/10
Our very first Super rare card in this set. Unfortunately I would say that she isn't the best super rare in the set. Her ability is hard to trigger since you need to field and attack with her on the same turn. And it depends a lot on luck, you need to roll on an energy face on a die in your used pile just to KO all opposing character of that energy type. Firstly, you have a 50% chance of failing, secondary, knocking out opposing character of that energy type won't make much difference if your opponent has other energy type characters in the field. Just based on the luck part it's very risky to use her in your team. You deserve a better winning condition card.
4/10
First of all, for only 3 cost, Blob has amazing stats, especially for a blocker. His ability helps you to confiscate your opponent's sidekick so it naturally counters a sidekick combo and you remove some characters from your opponent's field. I say that it's a great card.
7/10
Well, if capturing a sidekick is not your thing, then how about capturing a character? Blob's ability allows him to capture a character, not for a turn, but as long as he is in the field. You can use him to remove your opponent's winning condition or the character that has potential of countering your team.
9/10
I love how they make Blob such a usable character. This is a total lock down for your opponent. Instead of capturing, he simply prevent your opponent from buying or fielding a character. That is really OP. This is another rare that you need to look out for in the game.
10/10
This is a common card, like this is really a common card. The ability is so powerful, Boom Boom is only 2 cost and there are so many cheap basic action card in the game so you can form a cheap combo using Boom Boom and a cheap basic action. For a 2 cost character to deal your opponent 2 damage each time you use a basic action die is OP, OP to the max. In a draft, just keep a copy of this card, you can never go wrong using her in the game. She literally makes previous other character with similar ability but high cost or lower damage look so bad.
10/10
Instead of using a basic action die, you can simply use Boom Boom to deal 1 damage to your opponent each turn by using a global ability. The damage seems small but overtime you can shut your opponent's life down to 0. Boom Boom is the MVP here, just keep a lookout for her cards in the draft.
9/10
If the common and uncommon version of Boom Boom is so deadly, the Super rare is on par with them as well. Instead of using basic action die or global to deal damage, this version relies on your active characters. You can deal as much as 9 damage to your opponent if you have all your characters and a sidekick in your field and when you trigger her ability. She is only 3 cost and she can exit the field easily so just buy a few cheap cost character and field all of them and use Boom Boom to finish your opponent. I have a feeling the creator of the game is a huge fan of Boom Boom :p
10/10
An undead Colossus is deadly, you can go really aggressive with him and not afraid that he will get knocked out because of his beefy stats and even if he does get knocked out, you can return him to the field at level 1 if you have a level 3 character (not hard to get). You can keep him at an attacker and blocker because as long as you have a level 3 character, even a low cost one, he won't leave the field, and his level 1 stats is decent. The issue is he is a 7 cost and he doesn't posses a lot of threat to your opponent.
6/10
With so many supporters that can spin up or down a character die, it's possible for Colossus to simply be unblockable. Preventing level 3 from character from blocking him ensures that blockers are not at their best stats when they block Colossus so he has a higher chance of dealing more spill damage. No other version of Colossus can compared to the rare version of Colossus from the AVX set but this one does justify his 7 cost.
7/10
Apart from helping you to deal some damage to your opponent, Colossus does help you to increase your field. It's easy for his ability to trigger simply because his stats is so beefy, you can always pumped him and also he already possess overcrush. It does depend on luck but it's like an additional ability, what's the worse that can happen? You don't get an extra character, that's about it, that die still goes back into your used pile. But if you do field a character from his ability, you can have an extra blocker during your opponent's next turn and you can trigger the fielding ability of that character as well. From my point of view, I don't think there's anything bad about his ability, it's not imbar, but it's not weak.
7/10
Crossover Super rares are so hard to purchase, so it's best for them to possess powerful ability. X-23 here has a great ability, all you need is to attack with her and some other attackers and give her and one other attacker overcrush. If she is blocked, she will deal to every blocker and even at level 1, 3 damage to all blockers is no joke especially when one of the attacker has overcrush. This will make your opponent think very carefully on how to block to minimize damage, they probably will just leave X-23 unblocked, and you can use the chance to pump her up to deal more combat damage to your opponent. Her burst face gave her a guaranteed damage to your opponent if she is blocked, so that's a great add on.
8/10
With supporters in this set that helps you to spin up or down a character, Cyclops' ability won't be hard to trigger. You can keep spinning him up and down just to deal 3 damage to a character. This 3 damage may seem small but it can help to knock out a beefy character if stacked or assist an overcrush character to deal more spill damage. You can also use it to ping your own character for it to exit the field.
7/10
This set is filled with X-Men character, and Cyclops can act as one of your source of attack if you are using a X-Men team. All you need to do is keep Cyclops in the field and field cheap X-Men and he deals a damage to your opponent.
8/10
Remember the time when Hulk:Green Goliath existed? I do, when my field of character gets sweep by Hulk. Cyclops does the same thing but he deals only 1 area damage, still, it's a freaking area damage that can caused massive destructive. Exaggeration aside, You can ping Cyclops to help you to clear the field, and make your overcrush character deal more damage or simply swarm your opponent when their field gets smaller. The issue is that Cyclops has low health so you need to pump his defense to ping him a lot of times to clear the field.
6/10
Czar Colossus does have a great fielding ability, you get to knock out sidekicks and deal damage to your opponent. Even if your opponent have no sidekicks, you still can deal damage by fielding lots of sidekick before fielding Colossus. Plus, have you seen his stats, it's so beefy for a 4 cost character. He will have issue exit the field so you need to go really aggressive on him so you can trigger his ability over again.
7/10
This action die is a double edge sword. You have a chance to shrink down your opponent's field but you have a chance to shrink down your own field as well. It's best use when your opponent has more character than you but in any game, try not to have way lesser character than your opponent. This action acts as a neutralizer in case you are outnumbered, but in any case, you shouldn't need this action if you play well.
6/10
There's a reason why this card is called the Danger room, it makes every character so vulnerable. When this action is in play, when you ping a character, no matter how beefy that character is, it is knocked out. It's again another double edge sword so make sure that you used character that benefits from exiting the field, because your opponent will also make use of the chance to knock out your beefy characters, so try not to have them when the action is in play.
7/10
If you are in need of villain or making your characters villain, this action will suits you. You can use it to remove any opposing affiliation related abilities as well. The global gave you the opportunity to ping any character after the action is play, can come in handy.
7/10
Doop isn't hard to get knocked out at level 1 and 2, so you can use him to capture characters. The effect last until the start of your next turn so your opposing cannot use the captured character on the turn after Doop is knocked out. Although the ability lasted only for 1 full turn, your opponent cannot target Doop because he is knocked out and not in the field, so the capture is immune to most effect, so your opponent cannot do anything about it. If there's nothing worthy to capture, you can keep him at level 3, the beefiest stats.
7/10
You know there's a way to capture multiple character in a turn, keep spinning him up and down and he will capture multiple characters in a turn. When your opponent has lesser field, you can go ahead and swarm him/her. With the right combo, you can capture all your opponent's character in a turn.
8/10
I am sorry, but a more costly version of Doop doesn't make it better. To capture an opposing character, you need to attack with Doop and capture your own character. Even if Doop is at level 3, for him to capture at most 1 character for each die and the effect lasted only until end of your turn is a little weak for a capturing ability. Not forgetting that he does cost more.
3/10
Emma Frost is back! Her ability may seem dumb, but it isn't. You can ping Emma and redirect that damage to one of your character, and then if that character doesn't get knocked out by that damage, spin it up a level. So you can use a ping source to spin up a character. However, for 5 cost, it does seem expensive for such supportive ability.
6/10
A meta Emma Frost, like finally. Emma helps to prevent damage for you, so in any cases, you can prevent as little as 1 damage to as much as 20 damage in a turn. You can use effect that deals damage to both players and let Emma protect you while you still deal damage to your opponent or you can simply use her defensively. Either way, it's always good to have her around. Use her with Bishop rare and your opponent probably can't hurt you much in the game.
9/10
Interesting fact, Emma Frost appears in only 2 Dice Masters set and in both sets, there's a super rare version of her. Emma Frost plays control here, your opponent needs to pay 1 energy just to declare a non-villain as an attacker. This will exhaust their energy in the long run and they have to save up an energy just to attack with a character. You can slow down your opponent's aggression with Emma. On the side note, I am happy that there's a super rare version of Emma that is usable.
7/10
Havok can act as a good blocker because when he takes damage, he deals as much damage to an opposing character. So if an attacker deals 6 damage to him when he blocks, he can deal 6 damage to a character and have a chance of knocking that character out.
6/10
Using energy to deal damage to character or opponent is never a bad thing. You can farm up some shield or wild energy in your reserve pool, then get someone or use an action to spin Havok up a level, and start turning those energy into damage.
8/10
Havok acts as a supporter instead for this version. You can use him to spin up your X-men character, just keep him active and ping an X-Men to spin that X-Men up a level. His ability only limits to X-Men so that does reduce his rating.
6/10
Similar to his Uncanny X-Men version, Ice Man has the ability to double his attack value when you spin him up a level, nothing too fancy or too powerful, but nothing bad as well.
6/10
Ice Man can get pretty beefy if you keep fielding characters in a turn. However, you need to make use of those pump before they are gone. I would flip his stats and give him overcrush.
6/10
Knocking out an opposing attacker is decent. However, it's not easy for Ice Man to get knocked out, and even if he gets knocked out by blocking, usually that character will have overcrush, and if that character has overcrush, you would want to bock with as many blocker to reduce the spill damage, and with so many blockers, you probably knock out that attacker, so Ice Man's ability won't be needed.
5/10
Jean Grey's ability helps you to weaken your opponent's character but yours as well. She isn't really easy to exit the field so fielding ability isn't suitable for her. To be honest, it doesn't do much impact on your opponent and might hurt your team as well, and that's coming from a 6 cost character.
3/10
A much better Jean Grey. She deals at least 1 damage to an opposing character when it's fielded so if you can spin her to level 3, it's 3 damage to an opposing character when they get fielded, and that would knock most of them out before they could do much, even if they aren't, they get weaken and it makes it easier to knock them out. It more or controls your opponent's field so she can be useful against weak characters.
7/10
If you need the easiest way to spin up or down a character, simply use Jean Grey. While she is active, all you need are bolt energy to spin up and down a character you control, so it makes awaken ability super powerful given that you can use Jean Grey to spin up and down your characters as and when you want as long as you have the energy to do so. Your opponent will not have the luxury to use them since it's not a global ability.
7/10
For only 2 cost to be able to deal area damage to the opposing field is simply awesome. In the early game you can use her ability to knock out all the weak characters and sidekicks so your characters can be unblocked and in the late game, you can use characters to support her so she can use awaken several times to wipe out the opposing field. Either way, for only 2 cost, she is a force to be reckon with.
8/10
And again for only 2 cost, you can abuse Jubilee's ability. When an opposing character is knocked out, which is not hard to set that up, you get to spin her up a level and because you spun her up a level, you get to use her awaken ability to deal damage to your opponent. Her stats are good for a 2 cost character so once she is at level 3, and you don't have anything to spin her down a level, you can go aggressive with her.
7/10
This version of Jubilee is another super rare to look out for. You can use her with sidekicks and ally and each time you field a sidekick character, you deal your opponent 1 damage. It's that simple.
8/10
Juggernaut's awaken is very unique. He helps you to knock out sidekicks or simply remove a sidekick dice from your opponent's prep area, thus slowing down your opponent's ramp. It definitely isn't as efficient as some character that can directly move character from the field to the used pile but he does compensate that with really good stats.
5/10
Sidekicks are one of the easiest thing to knock out in the game if they didn't get pumped. So Juggernaut can get very deadly even if 1 sidekick is knocked out. Plus, your sidekicks counts as well, so even if your opponent doesn't want to field sidekick, you can knock out your own sidekick to pump Juggernaut. Once he get pumped up, give him overcrush for him to deal some massive damage.
8/10
Juggernaut should never get a fielding ability, you know he's not easy to leave the field. Reducing your opponent's attack does makes it harder for your opponent to knock out your character through combat damage. Still, for 6 cost, you would expect more from a character.
5/10
For 4 cost and unblockable ability, it's worthy and in draft you can use her as a secondary attacker. You couldn't go wrong with an unblockable Kitty Pryde, if you think her stats are low, just pumped her.
7/10
Awaken with the right supporters can be very deadly especially if the awaken ability itself has lethal effect. Kitty Pryde can get really powerful with those pump and she can act as a great attacker with overcrush or unblockable or simply a good blocker with beefy stats.
8/10
This version of Kitty Pryde instead of being unblockable, it forces your opponent to save 1 energy just to negate her ability. You can play mind games with your opponent by having a few Kitty Pryde in the few, your opponent would have to save 1 energy every turn just to prevent her from being unblockable.
7/10
Magneto helps you to spin down non-Brotherhood characters and make them weaker. So it's best use if you are using Brotherhood team. Brotherhood characters are not common in the constructed format so your opponent is most likely affected by Magneto's ability. Since lower level characters are weaker, you can use the chance to overpowered them by giving your Brotherhood character overcrush to deal more spill damage.
6/10
Magneto again helps the Brotherhood of Evil, this time round, he gives them Infiltrate. However, Brotherhood characters are powerful enough and they don't really need infiltrate mainly because you would want them to deal full combat damage and leave the field instead of just 1 damage and return back to the field. This card has potential in case more Brotherhood characters comes out and can use the Infiltrate ability better but as of now, I rather use another 6 cost character to support a Brotherhood team.
3/10
Magneto makes your opponent's character unable to reach level 3, but apart from that, he really don't do much threat against your opponent. It really depend a lot on luck because there are some characters that would be better at lower level for their abilities or simply because it makes them easier to leave the field. So I would much rather invest my 6 cost on a stronger character.
5/10
Mimic has really low stats but that can change when you field him. There's plenty of ways you can use him, you could use him to copy a powerful character's stats and go aggressive with him, or you could make him copy a sidekick stats and each time you field a sidekick this turn after fielding him, you get to ramp 2 dice, that's a crazy ramp. His ability do last only a turn so you need to make him exit the field so you can reuse his ability over and again, he'll return to his printed stats after your turn ends and given his stats, he should be able to leave the field easily.
9/10
It's good to copy a powerful character stats but it's another thing to be unblocked. Even if you copy an opposing weak character stats, if your opponent doesn't want that character to be knocked out, he/she will definitely block Mimic. If you can make Mimic unblockable, then it's worth using him, you can make him copy a powerful character stats, then make him unblockable, and then knock out that character.
6/10
Well, instead of copying the stats of a character for a turn, why not copy the ability as well until he leaves the field. Copycats have it's use, you can make mimic copy a character's attacking ability and attack with him during your turn, if he isn't knock out, you can use him to copy a character's blocking or active ability on your opponent's turn, he is so versatile and I can even use my opponent's character against them by making mimic copy that ability. I am impressed with the super rare in this set.
8/10
Morph has an amazing ability, he basically copies a character's ability when that character is fielded. The thing is that he retains this ability so he can essentially copy multiple character's ability in a turn. You can field 4 different character with attacking ability while Morph is active and then attack with 4 of them and morph, it will be like triggering your attacking abilities twice, and if you have 2 copies of Morph, thrice and so on. He can get very dangerous if paired with the right character. Also, he can copy opposing character's ability too during your opponent's turn so that's a bonus. The drawback is that his ability is only available at level 2 and 3, but with so many methods to spin up a character die, it won't be a major issue.
8/10
There are some basic action cards with really good effect on a double burst face, and it's so hard to use that effect because of the odds of getting double burst on your basic action die. Morph can solve that issue for you. You can trigger a basic action card effect each time you attack with Morph. You can also choose a 5 or 6 cost basic action for his ability so technically, you save a few cost for using Morph to trigger the effect instead of using the basic action itself. Since it's a fielding ability, he does lose the ability after a turn, so make sure he can exit the field for you to use his ability again next turn.
8/10
Copying an opposing character is fun, you can use your opponent's winning condition against them. However, the ability only last for 1 turn so you need to make full use of it. Decent ability, nothing bad, can be a game changer.
7/10
Controlling an opposing character is always fun for the game. However, Nocturne only allows you to control a character with attack value 2 or less, so it limits your option and most likely you end up controlling a sidekick. Since the ability happens right after the roll and reroll step, you don't get any chance to mitigate any character's stats so you can't control any opposing beefy characters. You could however control characters with weak attack and high defense that have good active or blocking ability. So if you are using Nocturne you need to hope that your opponent has such character for you to control.
6/10
This ability can be useful at times, if you opponent wants to use global to prevent a character from attacking, remove it from the attack zone, pump a character, prevent a character from blocking, flip the stats or a character, ping a character etc, you could redirect it to another character, even an opposing one to waste your opponent's energy on that global. It can save you at times and most importantly make your opponent waste energy for global.
7/10
Action die that can give Fast, Overcrush, Unblockable, deals damage or knock out a character can be lethal if used on the right character. Nocturne can change the outcome of a combat simply by redirecting the effect of that action die to someone else. It neutralize a lot of action dice that targets. Imagine your opponent could win a game after giving a character overcrush with an action die but Nocturne change the target to your own character and you survive for another turn. If your opponent really wants to win with those action dice, they will have to use 2 copies of it and that will waste energy.
7/10
An blockable Onslaught sure is deadly but you need to trigger it's awaken ability first. It's a 7 cost so it might take some time to field him, all just to deal 4 to 6 damage before any pump. I would rather use a low cost character and make it unblockable through action dice since it does take less effort to buy a low cost character and a mid cost action than buying a high cost character.
6/10
At level 1, Onslaught stats are not very powerful compared to his level 3, so his ability might not be that useful in the long run since your opponent can always block him with sidekicks. You could give him overcrush and spin up all opposing character to level 3 to prevent as many blockers to him so he could deal more spill damage but that amount of effort is too much in my opinion.
5/10
An easier to trigger unblockable ability. You could just convert an opposing character to villain if it isn't one to make him unblockable. For a 6 cost character to be unblockable is still very expensive though, but if you have ways to make him stronger, by all means use him.
6/10
Phoenix Storm will have some difficulty leaving the field, so a fielding ability isn't very ideal. Her ability is awesome though, it does depend on luck but you can deal as little as 1 damage to as much as 10 damage to your opponent and his/her character. The thing about her ability is not to draw any sidekick dice so you need to keep your sidekicks away from your bag when you use Phoenix Storm. You can also fill your bags with high cost character so you can deal more damage. Since her ability can be lethal if luck is on your side, I would make some effort to ensure that her ability is at her best.
7/10
Polaris can be a good counter against overcrush. If your opponent uses global or action die when she is active, all your characters gain 2D and thus making them more durable, and you most likely won't take any spill damage from your opponent's character. You could also bait your opponent into using global on your turn so you could get those pump and use them aggressively by flipping the stats of your characters.
7/10
A 3 cost Polaris is decent but nothing too crazy. Given that there are stronger 3 cost character, she won't really stand out with her ability.
5/10
Polaris know makes your character undead as long as you have the energy to revive them. If you have a powerful character that gets knocked out for any reason, fear not, use Polaris and a shield energy to revive it. She make sure that you can feel free to attack aggressively and not worry that your character will get knocked out, because she can always revive them.
9/10
If you want to spin up your X-Men character, there are cheaper and easier ways to do so. Prof X is just expensive. To fully utilize his ability, you would have to buy as many X-Men character as you can before fielding him so your X-Men can be spun up to at least level 2 at the start of your turn. Spinning up a character level is good but not too significant that it can make a huge difference, I would much rather use a cheaper supporter.
6/10
There's nothing bad for a character that pumps the stats of other character, Prof X is a little expensive just to pump your X-Men for 1A and 1D. The additional stats will make some difference but it just doesn't justify his expensive cost, I mean avengers pump from Nick Fury cost 2, JLA pumo from Aquaman cost 3, GOTG pump from Starlord cost 4, so why is an X-Men pump so expensive?
6/10
Prof X here act as a sidekick supporter, making them more durable. Even if you don't want to field him, you can use his global to field sidekicks, in a draft, this will be super useful. I still miss the old days where Prof X global is a major game changer, but the past aside, this global is useful in it's way.
7/10
If you intend to play a bolt team, Pyro will help you to destroy your opponent's strongest character. He isn't hard to get knocked out, so his ability will trigger easily, and he deals damage for each bolt character not active bolt character, so even if you have 10 low cost bolt character in your field, triggering Pyro's ability will deal 10 damage to an opposing character, that should be able to knock out almost any character.
7/10
If you are playing a bolt team, you will have a higher chance of rolling bolt energy every turn, so Pyro will just deal 2 damage to your opponent every turn. You don't even have to spend those energy, just roll it will trigger the ability. It's not catastrophic damage, but it's better than nothing.
7/10
This is a scary Pyro, if you have save enough bolt energy in your reserve pool. You can abuse his awaken ability and deal as many damage as you can for each time a Pyro die is spun up. You could finish off your opponent in a turn with Pyro. Plus, those energy are not even spent yet, since you can use the awaken ability anytime during your turn, you can trigger the awaken ability and deal damage, then use those energy to buy your things.
8/10
Quicksilver impulse ability is an additional bonus if you want to use it. On the turn you purchase Quicksilver, without any help of any ramp effect, he should be inside your used pile, if you don't draw him during your next turn, you can field him regardless. The drawback is that if you pay that bolt for his ability and you draw his dice during the next draw step, you kinda waste a die because you can field him at level 1 regardless of his location. Apart from being a cheap Brotherhood character, Quicksilver doesn't really do much in the field, so you might want to spend on something else.
5/10
Quicksilver helps you to ramp dice, to prep a die is a good thing given that you can use the die next turn. Since it's a fielding ability you will need to make him exit the field to reuse his ability, in the long run, you need to keep using his ability to make it worthy of being purchased.
7/10
Fielding cost can be ridiculous at times, fielding a character for free helps you to save energy in the long run. You can abuse the awaken ability and start fielding characters for free, do make combo him well with a good supporter and a beefy character so you can save as much fielding cost as possible.
7/10
Sabretooth does have a decent ability, spinning your characters up a level is nothing bad but the thing is he is hard to exit the field and the fielding ability isn't too powerful that you would go through so much effort just for him to trigger his ability over and again.
6/10
Spinning an attacker up a level helps you to increase that characters stats, so it can be advantageous towards you. Since it's an attacking ability, you can use this as a way to spin your attacker up a level every turn as long as he attacks.
7/10
Sabretooth can be the perfect blocker against overcrush character. Since he doesn't take damage, your opponent cannot knock him out and cannot deal spill damage. Plus, you don't need to spam his awaken ability, just need to use it once and no damage can be done to him for that turn.
8/10
Sasquatch helps your team if you have a series of attacker and someone has overcrush. That 1 damage dealt can be meaningless but with an overcrush attacker, it makes a different. Plus, how often do you see a 6A 6D character with only a fielding cost of 1.
7/10
There are other characters in the game with equally great stats and lower cost, if you just need a beefy character, there are a lot other options. Sasquatch for this version just helps you to spin him up faster, he doesn't have any awaken ability, so you are just using him for stats purpose, and again, there are a lot other characters with stats like that but cheaper or has better abilities.
3/10
A 6A and 6D character seem harmless, until when it possess overcrush. Global are so essential that everyone will use them in any game, so Sasquatch will reach level 3 in no time and since he already has overcrush, you can go ahead and attack with him.
7/10
If you have issue dealing with action dice, Scarlet Witch would one of the solution. Making your opponent reroll an action face on an action die decrease the chance of your opponent using that action, and Scarlet Witch also prevents them from rerolling an action die if it's on an energy face. Your opponent needs to be very lucky to be able to use an action die when Scarlet Witch is active. For 3 cost, no complaints here.
9/10
There are some character that would be best at a certain level. Scarlet witch helps you to spin them up or down even before they are fielded so you have a higher chance of getting them at a certain face. I would give this card a higher rating if she could spin them up in the field, however, because of her ability, your character's awaken ability won't be triggered by her. Despite that, she is still useful, just not too powerful.
7/10
Here is another awaken ability you could abuse in the game. First of all, Scarlet Witch is only 3 cost, so it's not hard to get her out, second of all, with the right supporter, awaken ability can be triggered fairly easily, third of all, you are able to field a character that you just bought, for free, so what's the harm? She would be a must in a team if you want to get your Brotherhood characters out in the field as soon as possible.
8/10
A 3 cost villain with a potential 6A and 6D, why not?
7/10
It's easy to get Shaw up to level 3 with his ability given that you can always ping a character but not knocked them out. So you are paying a higher cost for a guaranteed level 3 Shaw. Sounds cool.
7/10
I apologize if i overuse the word abuse for awaken ability, because with certain effects that can spin a character up a level and another one that can spin a character down a level, it seems that awaken ability can be used multiple times with the right set up. Shaw would be a good ramp if you have good supporters for awaken ability, imagine the number of dice in your prep area if you use his awaken effect multiple times in a game. Plus, I can't emphasize this enough, his level 3 has really good stats.
7/10
Sentinels are made to target the mutants, in the game, it is usually used against X-Men character. In a draft, since there are so many X-Men in the set, using a Sentinel would be ideal since each time your opponent fields an X-Men, he/she takes 2 damage. However, in a constructed format, it's not common to see an X-Men, so you might waste a spot in your team if you were to include Sentinel.
3/10
Sentinel has such a beefy stats so fielding ability on him is a NO. Even in a draft, I wouldn't rely on Sentinel to help me to knock out X-Men because I need to roll him at level 3 to guaranteed any legal X-Men target. So in constructed format, the more I won't use him.
2/10
It's 7 cost now and the ability is great to counter an X-Men team, that's all. It would be useless against any other team.
3/10
Giving Storm Regenerate is a bonus, nothing bad. However, with so many other X-Men that has better ability and at a lower cost, Storm's ability does not really stand out. I mean after she regenerates, she does not provide any threat against my opponent and her stats isn't really the best for a 3 cost.
5/10
She literally make rare version of Shaw looks really best given that they both have the same ability but she cost less, way lesser. You can use her as a cheap ramp if you have characters to support her awaken, as said, this ability can go really crazy if you ramp enough dice for a turn.
8/10
If you want to reduce your opponent's field, Storm can help you to do so. Once you start using her awaken ability, you can get rid of any opposing dice you want, the thing is, it doesn't goes to the prep area or reserve pool, but the used pile, so it's a bummer for your opponent when their characters leave the field through Storm's ability. Plus, you don't need to be afraid that you might spin them up or down a level because if the rolled dice doesn't show an energy face, it will return to it's original face.
8/10
A 5 cost Sunfire can have a potential 8A 6D. However, the ability cannot be stacked and it's a fielding ability so it will be gone after your turn ends. That doesn't seem like an ability that you would spend 5 energy for. Plus, if you don't field any character, you won't get anything from fielding Sunfire.
3/10
Sunfire thrives well if you can use him to support a wall of characters in your field. The additional pump would come in handy for overcrush, unblockable or simply blocking.
6/10
If you need a protector for your X-Men, look no further. Sunfire helps to reduce damage dealt to your X-Men, so a 1 or 2 damage ping would not harm them and they will be more durable to block against your opponent's character and they are more likely to survive a combat when they attack. Also, 1 or 2 damage area attack against your X-men team will be neutralize by Sunfire. With his ability, even at level 1, your opponent cannot ping him and knock him out using non-combat damage, but please, don't let him stay at level 1, his level 3 is so much more powerful.
8/10
This action is perfect if you are using an X-Men team. It simply drains your opponent's energy just for them to block an X-Men. If your opponent has no energy in the field and when this action is used, your X-Men are as good as unblockable. It's more of a mind game to force your opponent into saving energy to block your characters, and you can troll them by not using this action when they saved the energy to block your characters, it's always fun to troll your opponent.
8/10
The action effect is also good for your X-Men if you want to protect your X-Men from global or action effect. The global ability however can be used in any game. You can use it to block a global ability so no one can use it, you can stop your opponent from using globals such as removing attacker, force block, force attack etc. It basically counters any global counters to your team. You could also ramp using a global first and use this global to stop your opponent from using that ramp global on his/her turn, another level of playing with your opponent.
9/10
Let's do the math here, if you want to purchase a 7 cost X-Men character, and you have 6 active low cost X-Men characters in the field, you can use this action to purchase that 7 cost X-Men for only 1 cost. That of course is the extreme level, you can simply use this action to reduce an X-Men cost, you can even use it to reduce fielding cost, so if you have 3 active X-Men in the field, your X-Men are basically free to field and that saves a lot of energy in the long run coming from an effect of a 2 cost action.
8/10
If X-Men has a good supporter, a villain team should have one too. Hellfire club helps a villain team, fielding a villain for free is definitely a good thing and to be able to prep a die for each villain you field is a great bonus for this 2 cost action. This is a good ramp for a villain team.
8/10
Getting a character with the highest attack value is not impossible, you can always mitigate a character's attack with global, action or character's ability. The action helps you to wipe out the entire field except your character with the highest attack, but you must make sure that you have the character with highest attack for the effect to even take place. It takes a lot of effort just to wipe out the field and if you can't win on the round when you use this action, your opponent could roll his/her characters back and swarm you, so be careful.
6/10
This action can cause some chaos in the field zone. I see this action as a disadvantage to you more than your opponent, because you are obligated to attack, if your characters don't attack, they will get knocked out, your opponent on the other hand can always choose to block and even if the blockers get knocked out, they have a chance to roll them back into the field on their turn, plus, everyone gets the additional 2A, so your attacker is most likely to get knocked out as well. It kinda forced the aggression onto you, for that additional 2A, it doesn't really put much pressure in your opponent's character, they can always roll their characters back before you do, I feel that there are better ways to boost a character's stats. This action helps you to boost your opponent's stats as well, just doesn't make much sense.
3/10
One way to spin up your X-Men character up a level. It's an attacking ability so you can always use him over and again easier than a fielding ability. You can use him to support your X-Men with awaken abilities, spinning a bunch of characters up at the same time compared to one at a time sure is more powerful.
7/10
Instead of spinning only X-Men character up a level, Thunderbird does the favor for any of your character. The issue is that it is a knocked out ability instead of an attacking ability, and looking at his stats, it's not an easy job to do so. He has such a great stats so it's a bit of a waste to knock him out just to trigger his ability.
5/10
Another option to act as a supporter for awaken abilities for your X-Men. If you field your X-Men at level 1 or 2, and if Thunderbird is active, you get to use their awaken abilities instantly, that doesn't seem like a bad idea, it can form a pretty good combo and you don't even need to attack, block or knocked out Thunderbird to do so.
7/10
Wolverine is great at level 3, I mean his is a beast at level 3, but there are more efficient ways to spin him up to level 3 instead of making him attack alone to do so, so I would pass on this card.
3/10
You could go super aggressive with Wolverine, like giving him overcrush and even if he is knocked out, you can deal his attack value to any character and I believe that that damage would pretty much knock out any character. Decent ability.
7/10
There is a dilemma here, if your opponent has a lot of characters in the field, Wolverine gets more pump from his ability, but even if he attacks alone and you give him overcrush, your opponent would just blocker him in a way where he/she doesn't take any spill damage. If your opponent has a few characters in the field, Wolverine gets lesser pump so he can't deal as many damage as he should. Either way, attacking alone is great in the early game, but he is 6 cost, so I doubt he would be out in the field that early. Plus, his level 1 and 2 prevents you to from using global to pump him, so that's another concern.
3/10
This is another great way to spin your characters up a level and can help awaken abilities. The action is best use for X-Men team because of the burst effect, but for any other team, you can use it to prep a die as well, so for 3 cost to spin your characters up a level as well a chance to prep a die, it's really valuable.
8/10
A 2 cost action dice that is best used for an X-Men team. You can use it for a chance to field your X-Men faster, and even if you draw sidekick dice for this effect, you can choose to put them into your used pile, so nothing bad at all.
8/10
This action is basically a ramp effect, for 2 cost, you can prep a die. Still, it's more suitable for an X-Men team, because you get to prep an X-Men die and place the others, which is most likely your sidekick into the used pile, that can help you to get rid of weaker dice in your bag. If you use this in a non-X-Men team, you will end up ramping 1 die but your other dice goes to your used pile and it makes it harder for you to manage your dice, so not recommended unless you are playing X-Men.
7/10
Conclusion
If you haven't realize, this set focus on a lot of spinning up or down a character's level, that is the main mechanics for this set. It's nice to see that spinning character's level has become sort of significant in this set because they don't seem like a big deal in the past. Great job to wizkids for that!
There are a lot of X-Men in this set, I believe they are almost on par with JLA and Avengers at this point, or even better. I love to see the X-Men back in the game. It sort of bring back the nostalgic feeling when I first play the game. Plus, they actually use the same design on most of the character's dice, it does lacks creativity but it brings back good memories of the past. The art design of the cards are amazing too.
I am still surprised that there isn't a supportive cards for the X-Force, hopefully in the future, I hope they have a usage for their affiliation one day.
This set is very thematic so if you are an X-Men fan, do get it, if you are not, look out for some powerful cards, they are really OP. Lastly, hope my review helps and thanks for reading!
