The Book of Professor X (Illuminati)

[Arkham]

This passes.

Option 1 seems like the favorite then.

[MrNobody]

So he's at 190 now?

[Arkham]

Yeah, following Initials I felt he was in the 180-200 range. Wanted to see how 190 feels, to give the faction a little more options point wise.

Thanks for signing up!

[toyhandle]

NAME OF THE PLAYTEST UNIT: Professor X (Visionary)
Version Tested:

Spoiler Alert!

NAME = PROFESSOR X
SECRET IDENTITY = CHARLES XAVIER

SPECIES = MUTANT
UNIQUENESS = UNIQUE HERO
CLASS = VISIONARY
PERSONALITY = RESOLUTE

SIZE/HEIGHT = MEDIUM 4

LIFE = 4

MOVE = 4
RANGE = 4
ATTACK = 4
DEFENSE = 4

POINTS = 190

TELEPATHIC CLOAK
While there is an Order Marker on this card, Professor X and adjacent friendly Unique Heroes cannot be targeted by non-adjacent enemy figures for any attacks or special powers that require clear sight, unless that enemy figure is an Android, Construct, Telepath, or has the Mental Shield special power.

MASSAGE THE TRUTH
Once per game, if you lose initiative, you may instead win initiative.

MIND BLAST X
Once per round, instead of attacking with Professor X, you may roll X unblockable attack dice against a figure within 10 spaces of him that is not an Android, Construct, destructible object, and does not have the Mental Shield special power. X equals the number on the Order Marker you revealed this player turn.

MENTAL SHIELD
An opponent may never take temporary or permanent control of Professor X.

Army Test
Map: Ivy’s Greenhouse
Units:
Professor X (190), Cyclops (II) (240), Angel (90), Psylocke (250), Nightcrawler (AoA) (230) (1000)
Luke Cage (190), Ronin (180), Daredevil (200), Two-Gun Kid (140), Wolverine (280), Skrull Infiltrator (10)
Results:
Big win for the X-Men. Angel and Professor X make a very tough-to-crack pod that keeps Cyclops safe. 

R5T3 is where I realized I had misplayed Nightcrawler starting from R4T2 by targeting the same figure for multiple teleports, so, likely the Fighters would have evened things up a bit more, but that’s not a Professor X thing, and the X-Men basically had the game locked by that point anyway.
The Fighters lack range in general, but Prof X forced Two-Gun Kid and Ronin to engage.
Mental Blast was devastating against Luke Cage, who thought better to retreat after the initial two wounds from Mental Blast in R1T3. Its a bad map for Luke as well, due to being long, and not easy to cross without the single-file bridges on the side, which the X-Men took hold of quickly.
Didn’t have to use Massage the Truth because Cyclops already boosts initiative and I had the advantage through the duration of the match.
Spoiler Alert!

Spoiler Alert!

Game Summary:

Prof X is Two-Gun Kid’s bounty
Initiative: Fighters
R1T1(Player): Luke and Ronin move up
R1T1(Player): Cyclops, Angel and Psylocke move up.
R1T2(Player): Ronin and Luke move up
R1T2(Player): Cyclops fails to wound Ronin, Angel moves him back, and Psyclock fails to wound tree.
R1T3(Player): Two-Gun moves up
R1T3(Player): Cyclops fails to wound tree. Angel carries up Prof X, Mind Blast X lands two wounds on Luke.

Initiative: X-Men
R2T1(Player): Cyclops fails to wound palm, Nightcrawler gets rid of Evergreen.
R2T1(Player): Ronin is blocked by Psylocke. Luke retreats.
R2T2(Player): Cyclops puts 1 wound on Ronin. Angel repositions Prof X.
R2T2(Player): Ronin retreats.
R2T3(Player): Cyclops puts 2 wounds on Ronin. Angel carries up X. Prof X’s Mental Blast whiffs.
R2T3(Player): Two-Gun attacks Cyclops twice, Angel carries Prof X and Cyclops away.

Initiative: X-Men
R3T1(Player): Cyclops fails to wound Two-Gun, Angel moves Psylocke to Two-Gun, and she inflicts 3 wounds.
R3T1(Player): Wolverine moves up.
R3T2(Player): Cyclops destroys Two-Gun. Angel moves up Prof X.
R3T2(Player): Wolverine and Luke move up.
R3T3(Player): Ronin blocks Cyclops, Xavier destroys Luke with Mental Blast, Angel moves Prof X.
R3T3(Player): OM3 Luke.

Initiative: Fighters
R4T1(Player): Wolverine puts 2 wounds on Psylocke.
R4T1(Player): No one wounds Wolverine
R4T2(Player): Wolverine puts 1 wound on Psyclocke.
*R4T2(Player): Cyclops, Psylocke and Nightcrawler put combined total of 4 wounds on Wolverine.
R4T3(Player): Psylocke takes 1 wound. Wolverine heals.
*R4T3(Player): Cyclops, Nightcrawler, and Professor X’s combined effort destroys Wolverine. Skrull takes his place.

Initiative: Fighters
R5T1(Player): Ronin moves up and whiffs
*R5T1(Player): Psylocke destroys Infiltrator. Nightcrawler destroys Ronin.
R5T2(Player): Daredevil moves up.
R5T2(Player): Nightcrawler destroys a tree.
***R5T3(Player): Daredevil takes 1 ruthless Teleport wound, and inflicts 1 wound on Nightcrawler.
R5T3(Player): Xavier and Nightcrawler inflict 1 wound each.

Initiative: X-Men
R6T1(Player): Nightcrawler makes Daredevil go the distance.
R6T1(Player): Daredevil fails to wound Nightcrawler
R6T2(Player): Cyclops destroys Daredevil.

Who won?
Psylocke 4 wounds, Nightcrawler 1 wound, Cyclops, Angel, Xavier unwounded.

Army Test
Map: Conflict Chernobyl
Units:
Professor X (190), Black Panther (210), Beast (200), Rick Jones (80), Doctor Strange (320) (1000)
Upside-Down Man (705), Tarot: The Fool, Flesh to Stone, Hypnotize, Mesmerize, Final Ruin Mystic Flames x5, Lightning Bolts x4, Hellfire: Fireball x3, Healing Energy x3, Hellfire: Fireline x1
Results:
This was extremely quick, with the Illuminati destroying Upside-Down Man from start to finish in round 2.
Massage the truth gave the initiative I needed, despite Upside-Down Man’s 20+ initiative, and luck went all my way after that. Strange landed 6 skulls vs 1 shield, Rick Jones miraculously clung on for two turns in Round 2, which helped Strange and Beast land the wounds I needed before Prof X finished the job with Mental Blast R2T3.
Telepathic Cloak was bypassed by some of UDM's spells, but he still had to get fairly close to use them.
Out of habit, I had my OM3 on Strange for Round 1, so losing initiative meant no Mental Blast. I adjusted Round 2 by putting OM3 on Xavier.
Spoiler Alert!

Spoiler Alert!

Game Summary:

Astute Avenger will not affect Upside-Down Man
Initiative: UDM
R1T1(Player): UDM moves up, no wounds on Palm from Lightning bolt.
R1T1(Player): Strange moves to Prof X.
R1T2(Player): UDM moves up, no wounds on Palm from a Lightning Bolt.
R1T2(Player): Strange retreats further into Startzone.
R1T3(Player): A 2-Skull Mystic Flames bypasses Telepathic Cloak, but is blocked by Black Panther, Rick Jones, Beast and Professor X .
R1T3(Player): Strange is blocked.

Rick moves up
Initiative: Upside-Down man uses The Fool to add 10 to his initiative for 20+, but the Illuminati win, thanks to Massage the truth
R2T1(Player): UDM mesmerizes Strange, who still inflicts 2 wounds, and Beast inflicts 2 wounds.
R2T1(Player): Upside-Down Cruelty fails, Fending Daggers fails. Fireline inflicts 2 wounds on Rick, and 1 on Beast, who repositions. Rick blocks attack.
R2T2(Player): Strange inflicts 5 wounds, Beast inflicts 3 wounds.
R2T2(Player): Cruelty destroys Rick, a Palm, and inflicts a wound on Strange. Healing Energy heals 1 wound. Attacks for 1 wound on Strange.
R2T3(Player): Mental blast destroys UDM.

Who won?
Strange with 2 wounds, Beast with 1 wound, Black Panther and Prof X unwounded.

THOUGHTS ON THE TESTED UNIT'S COST, BALANCE, & DRAFTABILITY:
Extremely draftable, should go up some points with some balancing measures to make him less oppressive.
I would consider making Telepathic Cloak require an unrevealed OM on the card, so if you win initiative, and there is no X on the card, that means your opponent can target you on their Turn 3 once you reveal OM3. Also means you don’t get to use the X to boost Cyclops (II)’s initiative on top of using it for Telepathic Cloak.

I would also cut down the range on Mental Blast so that a character like Luke Cage isn’t charging to his death in order to reach Xavier. I might go so crazy as to reduce it down as far as Range 4. If the range goes down that far, I don’t think his points would need to go up that dramatically. Strange's Teleportation or a Reed invention can help him with his lack of mobility.

Alternatively, he can keep the Range 10ish, but substitute X unblockable attack dice for X D20 rolls, requiring a 14 or higher.

GENERAL THOUGHTS ON THE TESTED UNIT:
Nails the theme, and will benefit the Illuminati by forcing engagements and providing reliable autowounds. He does pose some risk by encouraging tight pods against opponents with AoE attacks that don’t require clear sight, but that is niche. Really shined in Cyclops (II)’s army, and I’m sure will do great with Chuckernaut.

SHIFTREX’S THOUGHTS:
In his most competitive builds I think this unit is too overpowering. Taking away all ranged interaction with himself and all adjacent friendlies is a huge impact in how you play the game. You have an 'invisible' pod that can still take ranged actions. In the build with Scott, Xavier can just throw unblockables at the end of the round with very little commitment. I would expect that he needs to cost more, the themes are correct and I completely buy Xavier being able to do something like this. I think he is a bit polarizing at this point total, he brings a lot to the table and is a great figure. Xavier slots into some strong builds and makes them considerably stronger.

[Arkham]

Sweet, thanks for testing!

I'm a little skeptical of Prof. X being the leading factor of those wins fwiw.

In Game 1, Cage's team obv. were gonna struggle on that map as you mentioned, and I just don't think that's one of the better assortments of Fighters there for that point value. I saw it mentioned that Cage started retreating as well once he got Mind Blasted for 2 wounds, which I can't say retreating makes much sense against the Illuminati, or against what Prof. X is doing, as if anything you should bull rush them ASAP. This is because his power builds as the round goes on, with a decent coverage, so running away your key bonding piece isn't going to help anything. Those wounds are also not guaranteed, and on average, at best, are 1.5 a round?

In Game 2, I just struggle to see how Upside Down Man is worth his cost at his lower survivability, and I said as much before, so I'm not too surprised at that outcome against a pretty viable team? Especially when it's mentioned there was some hot dice on the Illuminati side to a degree. Really would like to see him in action sometime just to get a feel for what he's capable of.

That analysis aside from the write-up. I'm totally cool with reigning him in a hair just based on your guys' instincts and suggestions!

TELEPATHIC CLOAK
If you win initiative and there is an Order Marker on this card, Professor X and adjacent friendly Unique Heroes cannot be targeted by non-adjacent enemy figures for any attacks or special powers that require clear sight, unless that enemy figure is an Android, Construct, Telepath, or has the Mental Shield special power.

MASSAGE THE TRUTH
Once per game, if you lose initiative, you may instead win initiative.

MIND BLAST 14
Once per round, instead of attacking with Professor X, you may roll the 20-sided die X times. For each roll of 14 or higher, Professor X may inflict a wound on a figure within 10 spaces, that is not an Android, Construct, destructible object, nor has the Mental Shield special power. X equals the number on the Order Marker you revealed this player turn.

MENTAL SHIELD
An opponent may never take temporary or permanent control of Professor X.

The initiative requirement on the Cloak should keep him leaning towards Illuminati/Cyclop builds, which is a good thing, while letting his Massage the Truth help him out beyond that as a once per game safety net.

Switching to a d20 roll on Mind Blast lowers the odds by 15% on each roll, so that should also help that feel a little less dooming.

[MrNobody]

I dig those changes and I'll play my last game with them if that's okay!

[Arkham]

Yep, sounds good!

[MrNobody]

C3G STANDARD PLAYTEST FEEDBACK FORM

NAME OF THE PLAYTEST UNIT: Professor X

Army Test 1
Map: Conflict Chernobyl (No Glyphs)
Units: Team 1 (1,060): Professor X (190), Avengers Thor (440), New Avengers Captain America (220), Avengers Black Panther (210)
Team 2 (1,060): IJL Gorilla Grodd (285), IJL Deathstroke (285), Ultra-Humanite (255), Giganta (235)

Pre-game thoughts: Non-Illuminati Avengers feels like a bit of a weird build for Xavier, but I think this has potential. Cap can move Xavier around, making use of his Telepathic Cloak, while Thor keeps everyone protected.

Summary of the game:

Spoiler Alert!

Round 1: T1 wins initiative
-Slade inflicts a wound on Thor
-Ultra-Humanite (UH) influences Thor, inflicting a wound on Cap
-Xavier Mind Blasts Grodd, inflicting a wound
-Deathstroke inflicts a wound on Thor

Round 2: T1 wins initiative
-Thor inflicts 2 wounds on Slade
-Giganta deters Thor, inflicting a wound
-UH influences Cap, inflicting a wound on Black Panther (BP)
-Cap inflicts a wound on Deathstroke
-UH influences Slade, inflicting a wound on Thor
-Xavier Mind Blasts Deathstroke inflicting a wound

Round 3: T2 wins initiative due to Massage The Truth
-Thor takes out Slade
-Thor inflicts 2 wounds on Giganta and 1 wound on UH
-Giganta retaliates, inflicting 1 wound on Thor
-Xavier inflicts 2 wounds on UH
-UH inflicts 2 wounds on Thor
-Giganta would take out Thor, but UH takes over
-Xavier blasts UH/Thor to death anyways
-Mjolnir goes flying far away
-T2 had OM3 on Deathstroke, so they lose a turn

Round 4: T2 wins initiative
-BP fends off Giganta, inflicting a wound
-Giganta takes out Cap
-T1 had OM2 on Cap so they lose a turn
-BP fends off Grodd, inflicting a wound

Round 5: T2 wins initiative
-Grodd inflicts 3 wounds on Xavier
-BP inflicts a wound on Grodd
-Grodd takes out Xavier
-T1 had OM3 on Xavier, so they lose a turn

Round 6: T1 wins initiative
-Grodd takes out Panther

Special power usages:
Normal attack: 2 wounds inflicted (2 on Ultra-Humanite)
Telepathic Cloak: Hid Xavier, Panther, and Cap for most of the game, preventing attacks/powers
Massage The Truth: Used in R3
Mind Blast: 4 wounds inflicted (1 on Gorilla Grodd, 1 wound on Deathstroke, 2 on Thor (controlled by UH))

Who won? List figures remaining in the winning army (include life remaining for heroes): Gorilla Grodd (3/6 wounds), Giganta (3/5 wounds)

Post-game thoughts: Cap going down so fast was definitely a blow to Team 1 - I’ve seen that dude survive a ton of death blows. Thor taking 4 wounds in a single turn felt equally unlucky. Overall though, it felt like a fairly even match. Xavier felt like he did all of his things, and he did them well.

___________________________________________________________

Army Test 2
Map: Conflict Chernobyl (No Glyphs)
Units: Team 1 (1,000): Professor X (190), Avengers Doctor Strange (320), Avengers Spider-Woman (250), Captain America (240)
Team 2 (1,000): Cybermen x3 (360), Android 18 (270), 1st Doctor (90), TARDIS (200), Cyber-Conversion Unit (80)

Pre-game thoughts: Trying the new tweaks. I feel like Team 2 is a little weak, but they should hopefully put up at least a decent fight.

Summary of the game:

Spoiler Alert!

Round 1:​​ T1 wins initiative
-Strange inflicts a wound on 18
-18 returns kind, inflicting a wound on Strange
-Xavier inflicts a wound on 18 with a Mind Blast (she’s not an Android, I checked )
-The Tardis materializes
-18 fires Infinity Bullets at Strange, inflicting 2 wounds

Round 2: T2 loses initiative
-Doctor Strange botched his Arcane Avenger, so Spider-Woman (SW) receives a wound
-18 fires Infinity Bullets, inflicting a wound on Strange
-Cap inflicts a wound on 18
-Strange would inflict 3 wounds on Android 18, but the Doctor saves her with the Tardis
-Xavier inflicts 2 wounds on Android 18 with a Mind Blast

Round 3: T1 wins initiative (due to Xavier)
-Strange heals SW
-Cap takes out 18
-Cybermen emerge from the Tardis
-A Cyberman inflicts 2 wounds on SW
-Strange takes out a Cyberman
-A Cyberman inflicts a wound on Cap
-A Cyberman abducts Strange
-Xavier takes out a Cyberman with a Mind Blast
-A Cyberman inflicts a wound on Cap
-Strange’s conversion begins

Round 4: T1 wins initiative
-Cap takes out 2 Cybermen with a Shield Throw
-Cybermen inflict 2 wounds on SW
-SW dances around, taking out 2 Cybermen
-A Cyberman takes out SW
-A Cyberman inflicts a wound on Cap
-Strange is fully converted into a Cyberman

Round 5: T1 wins initiative
-Cybermen take out Cap
-T1 had OM1 on Cap, so they lose a turn
-Cybermen inflict 2 wounds on Xavier
-Xavier takes out a Cyberman with a Mind Blast
-The Cybermen capture Xavier for conversion…technically the game is still going, but it’s over

Special power usages:
Normal attack: 0 wounds inflicted
Telepathic Cloak: Protected most of the team from ranged attacks, forcing enemies to leave height to attack
Massage The Truth: Used in R3
Mind Blast: 3 wounds inflicted (2 on Android 18, 1 on Cybermen)

Who won? List figures remaining in the winning army (include life remaining for heroes): Cybermen (3 figures), The Doctor (0/6 wounds) Tardis (0/13 wounds), Cyber-Conversion Unit (0/3 wounds)

Post-game thoughts: Not as big of a loss as the results make it seem since DOs were involved, but still surprised the Cyborgs won this one. Xavier was useful, but no incredibly so - his Mind Blast especially is naturally weak to squaddies.

___________________________________________________________

GENERAL THOUGHTS ON THE TESTED UNIT: I buy him at 190 - I don’t think he’ll be the most competitive piece in the Illuminati/X-Men factions, but that seems fine.

One suggestion I might make for Mind Blast, just to boost him back up a bit:

MIND BLAST 14
Once per round, Instead of attacking with Professor X, you may roll the 20-sided die X times. For each roll of 14 or higher, Professor X may inflict a wound on a figure within 10 spaces, that is not an Android, Construct, destructible object, nor has the Mental Shield special power. X equals the number on the Order Marker you revealed this player turn.

That makes him a bit of a long range nuisance, meaning I might feel the need to come after him a little earlier if I'm the opponent. Could drop him down to R1A3 then as well if you felt like it.

[Arkham]

Thanks!

Looks like you didn't have quite the domination with him pre-changes like toy/shift experienced, which your experience lines up more with mine, so that's a bit re-assuring to see at least.

You're probably right on the lack of need for "Once per round" with it being harder to hit now. Though, that could still get fairly nasty when boosted by someone like Destiny and Sage? Granted, an army like that would take a lot to put together leaving little points for any sort of defense/protection to make it last.

[MrNobody]

One thing I did want to try was a Magneto (AoA) build, since you can position Xavier next to Erik and have Erik Reactive Toss everyone out of adjacency. That was before the initiative change on Professor X, but it still seems like it has the potential to be nasty if you add in Jean Grey and Destiny or something like that.

[Ericth74]

Originally Posted by MrNobody

One thing I did want to try was a Magneto (AoA) build, since you can position Xavier next to Erik and have Erik Reactive Toss everyone out of adjacency. That was before the initiative change on Professor X, but it still seems like it has the potential to be nasty if you add in Jean Grey and Destiny or something like that.

I'll try something like that in my tests

[IAmBatman]

Originally Posted by Ericth74

I'll try something like that in my tests

If either Utopian or AoA Cyclops fits in that build, they might be worth trying as both help with initiative.