The late-1980's mini-series from Marvel Comics that pitted a severely weakened X-Men team against Marvel's First Family was something of a mixed bag, but no matter the quality of the story-telling, it certain can inspire some interesting force builds in HeroClix.

To see a 700-point force of X-Men assisted by a very noble scientist, follow the link!

Synopsis: This mini-series took place immediately after the "Mutant Massacre" of 1986. Shadowcat's molecules have become unstable, and the X-Men seek the help of Reed Richards, only to be denied...so they opt to seek the help of the benevolent leader and super-scientist of Latveria, Dr. Doom.

The Fantastic Four don't take kindly to the snub, so they travel to Latveria to make false accusations against kind-hearted Dr. Doom as he tries to help a mis-understood team of mutants lead by Magneto.

169 (Galactic Guardians 019) Dr. Doom
113 (Marvel HeroClix 10th Anniversary 015) Magneto
75 (Giant-Size X-Men Fast Forces 005) Rogue
70 (Incredible Hulk 035) Wolverine
66 Unique (Mutant Mayhem 085) Longshot
65 Experienced (Armor Wars 056) Psylocke
48 (Mutations and Monsters 011) Dazzler
44 Veteran (Mutant Mayhem 039) Havok
40 Experienced (Xplosion 083) Storm

= 690 points

This mini-series is really more about the Fantastic Four (who have top billing) than the X-Men, but the non-F4 force is more interesting in my humble opinion. The highest point figure on this force is the Dr. Doom from the Galactic Guardians booster set. This version of the character has the neat "...Superior" trait that plays well against Fantastic Four forces, and can also be used along with the Wolverine I've put on this force. The dial is interesting in that it looks as if it compliments large teams well, without relying on Mastermind. Whenever Doom is on defense, her should be copying the Fantastic Four Team Ability from Wolverine, but don't forget his ability to play well with X-Men team ability figures too!

E Dr. Doom Points: 169 Range: 8
Team: Minions of Doom
Keywords: Armor, Fantastic Four, Mystical, Ruler, Scientist

8 11 18 3

8 11 17 3

8 10 17 3

7 9 17 3

7 10 17 3

7 9 16 3

6 9 16 3

6 9 16 3

KO KO KO KO

See? I Am Still Your Superior: When another character possessing the Fantastic Four keyword or team ability is KO'd, heal Dr. Doom of 1 damage.

Doom Will Solve Your Problems, Feeble Ones: When attacking a character that another friendly character missed with an attack this turn, Dr. Doom modifies his attack value and damage values by +1.

At the point in the Marvel Universe when this mini-series was published, Magneto had been left in charge of the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning by Charles Xavier. Magneto is desperate to help his injured charges, and this version of the character, from the Marvel HeroClix 10th Anniversary set fills the role nicely. This is a decent figure that ought to be able to make plenty of attacks to try for a 'promotion'.

E Magneto Points: 113 Range: 8
Team: Brotherhood of Mutants
Keywords: Acolytes, Brotherhood of Mutants, Ruler, X-Men

8 11 17 4

8 10 17 3

9 10 16 3

9 9 16 2

8 9 15 2

8 8 15 2

KO KO KO KO

Battlefield Promotion: Magneto: When Magneto hits one or more opposing characters, after actions resolve, place a Promotion Token on his character card. You may then roll a d6 that can't be rerolled and add 1 for each Promotion Token on his character card; on a result of 8 or higher, you may replace this character with M10A #019 Magneto on the same click number.

If Magneto 'promotes', here is the dial. Note that the promoted figure will be 250 points, no matter where on the dial he appears. This means it will be possible to heal (via the X-Men team ability) past the blue line that signifies the starting click of the 125-point abbreviated dial.

V Magneto Points: 250 Range: 8
Team: X-Men
Keywords: Acolytes, Brotherhood of Mutants, Hellfire Club, New Mutants, Ruler, X-Men

9 11 18 4

8 10 17 3

8 10 17 3

| | |

8 9 17 3

7 9 16 2

7 10 16 2

7 10 16 3

7 9 17 3

KO KO KO KO

Magnetic Debris: Magneto begins the game without the Magnetic Debris. If the Magnetic Debris is attached, Magneto modifies his defense and damage values by +1 and when Magneto is hit by a close combat attack, the attacker is dealt 1 unavoidable damage after the attack is resolved. Magnetic Debris remains attached to Magneto until he takes damage from an opponent's attack.

Master of Magnetism: Magneto can use Pulse Wave and Quake. When he uses either and hits, attach the Magnetic Debris to him.

The Giant-Size X-Men Fast Forces Rogue is a surprisingly simple interpretation of the character and a very budget-friendly point-cost. The special damage power would have been much better handled as a trait, but as it stands, it is still an interesting (if somewhat unreliable) special white power.

E Rogue Points: 75 Range: 0
Team: X-Men
Keywords: Brotherhood of Mutants, X-Men

8 10 17 2

8 9 17 3

7 9 16 2

6 10 16 3

6 9 15 3

6 9 15 2

KO KO KO KO

Absorb Psyche: Rogue can use Outwit. She can only use it to target an adjacent character, but does not require a line of fire. If she uses Outwit in this way to counter a standard power other than Outwit, she can use that power until she uses this Outwit again.

The Wolverine from the Incredible Hulk booster set made this team for several reasons. Dr. Doom, Magneto and the X-Men are contributing the team abilities to trigger the trait. The Fantastic Four keyword and team ability can play well with Dr. Doom. On a team like this, Wolverine may be ignored, which will be unfortunate for opponents within "Lunge" range!

E Wolverine Points: 70 Range: 0
Team: Fantastic Four | X-Men
Keywords: Fantastic Four, X-Men

8 11 17 3

8 10 17 2

7 10 16 2

7 10 16 2

6 10 15 2

6 9 15 2

KO KO KO KO

My First Non-X Team: Modify Wolverine's attack value by +1 if other friendly characters on the map possess 3 or more different team symbols among them.

Lunge: When Wolverine is given a close combat action, immediately before making the attack he may automatically break away and may move up to 2 squares.

Joining the force is Cyclops' brother, Havok. The REV/LE from Mutant Mayhem was one of the more respected X-figures from the past because of the respectable range, attack and damage values. This is an older figure that is worth tracking down because if it is ever remade, I doubt that it will be for less than 44-points.

V Havok Points: 44 Range: 8
Team: X-Men
Keywords: X-Factor, Starjammers, X-Men

7 10 16 4

6 9 15 3

6 8 15 3

5 8 14 2

5 7 13 2

4 6 13 1

KO KO KO KO

The final four figures on the force are ones that I discussed in a previous Longbox article, featured in a different mini-series from the same era. My opinions haven't changed from my earlier discussion. Storm was injured for part of this mini-series, so if you choose to leave the non-powered version of the character off the force to spend more points on another character, that seems fine by me. You can of course opt to use either of the lower cost rookie (or LE Betsy Braddock) versions of Psylocke as well...one of them even contributes another Team Ability for Wolverine (S.H.I.E.L.D.)!

U Longshot Points: 66 Range: 6
Team: X-Men
Keywords: Exiles, X-Men

8 10 17 2

7 9 16 2

7 9 16 2

6 8 15 2

6 8 15 2

5 7 14 2

KO KO KO KO

E Psylocke Points: 65 Range: 8
Team: X-Men
Keywords: Mutant, Psychic, X-Men

8 9 15 2

7 8 15 2

7 8 15 2

6 7 14 1

6 7 14 1

5 6 13 1

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

R Dazzler Points: 48 Range: 8
Team: No Affiliation
Keywords: Celebrity, Mutant, X-Men

8 9 15 2

7 9 15 2

7 8 14 2

6 8 14 1

6 7 14 1

6 7 13 1

KO KO KO KO

E Storm Points: 40 Range: 0
Team: X-Men
Keywords: Twelve, X-Men

8 9 15 2

7 8 14 2

6 8 14 1

5 7 13 1

5 7 13 1

KO KO KO KO

FF would kill X-men in terms of current HCX state

That's highly debatable, what with the new Dark Phoenix, Magneto, and Professor X. The Fantastic Four are good, but never underestimate the X-Men, especially with a team ability that doesn't rely on death to trigger.

I disagree I believe it was a very well told story, maybe some of the plot twist are a bit weak I think overall is a good read.
compared to most of the superhero comics we are getting today, the writing of this story is great
also I love bogdanove's art

my 2 cents

Looking back at these issues, I was primarily dismayed by seeing Franklin Richards crying his eyes out on the covers of issues 1 and 2, his being shot in the back on the cover of issue 3 and 'demon possessed' on the cover of issue 4. I do think it was neat to see (at this point of the Marvel Universe) the X-Men genuinely try to get help for their fallen teammates from other parts of the Marvel Universe.

A new Havoc is sorely needed.

I agree with the poster who said to never underestimate the X-Men. In heroclix, the X-Men are the epitomie of "team tactics". Every X-Man fills a role and fills it well. The same could be said for the FF to an extent however unlike the Fantastic Four, the X-Men have a lot better low cost options to fill in on teams then the FF.

Take the Vet Havok talked about in the article. 44 points dishing out 4 damage at 8 range. That's insane. He's a piece that if you don't take out quickly, he's going to cause havoc (pun intended). So now you're worried about taking out a 44 point character opposed to a Dark Phoenix or a GSX Cyclops or a TabApp Wolverine or a GSX Professor X. The X-Men have a lot of those type of dangerous, useful low cost options that the Fantastic Four don't have.

Obviously in heroclix it comes down to dice, positioning and tactics so a game could go either way. However saying that the FF will kill the X-Men all day, every day? Inaccurate and highly improbably.

Tidge scores bonus points for his accurate and unbiased summary of the mini-series. Especially the parts about Doom.

Yeah, this is one of my favorite TPBs. I do like it, there's a lot of different angles to all the different characters, though it really isn't "X-Men versus FF" that much. This is definitely one of the better tellings of Doctor Doom, in both the scope of his plans as well as his general "noblesse oblige."

It does suffer from the "covers have nothing to do with the plot" syndrome.

Fantastic Four have an abundance of 11 attacks, and perplexes. X-men keyword pieces have ten attacks and not a lot of perplex

Yes i agree that was not a pretty sight, probably I overlooked it because I got the tpb that features an alternate cover and the originals are crammed into 1 page so they do not look that disturbing

ABSOLUTELY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!