Welcome back to Chase or Pass, a series that talks about the expensive pieces from sets and whether or not you should chase these pieces down or pass them up. Today we’ll be covering X-Men Xavier’s School.

It’s been a little over a month since Xavier’s School released and we’re about 6-8 weeks away from our next set of Infinity (that’s going to be a big set to review). We’ve gotten to see how much the set impacts Modern, and with the release of the rotation for this year (I was mostly right), these chases are potentially more important than any we’ve covered on this series before. I figured now would be a good time to take a break from Team Builds and touch on these chases.

Like our last Chase or Pass articles, I’ll chat about each of the pieces in depth and highlight their strengths and weaknesses, and whether or not you should get them. Each Chase will have two different ratings: casual and competitive.

Thankfully we only got 6 chases in this set which will help quite a bit if you’re a collector. Unfortunately they are all themed after Age of Apocalypse, something fans tend to really like, so that means if you’re amongst those folks, you probably already tracked down all 6 of these.

60 Points, 6 Clicks, 0 Range (Single Target). No Team Ability. Age of Apocalypse and X-Men Keywords.

Angel is a surprising package for just 60 points. He has wonderful attack and damage values for his cost, he’s incredibly mobile, and has the always great X-Men Keyword, making him easy to fit onto teams. His opening suite with Sidestep, Stealth, and conditional Shape Change make him a bigger threat than he seems by just looking at his numbers and powers. With Combat Reflexes, Energy Shields, or Super Senses, he’s very delicate, but difficult to actually land an attack on. Perhaps the best part of his kit is the STOP click that allows him to blow up and hit everyone within 5 squares of him. It’s a valid option, but the STOP is the real important aspect since it gives him a minimum of two hits to KO, which most pieces with this power set don’t get the luxury.

It’s not all perfect though. With no Willpower or Charge, and the desire to keep friendly characters away to pick up Shape Change, Angel has a hard time finding a needed spot on a team that someone else can’t do better. Taxi? Play Rare Storm for 50 points. Mobile Charge? Super Rare Angel is the same cost. His best bet is carrying someone in on turn 1, then using Sidestep to keep himself safe, but that also makes it more difficult to utilize him again. Also, the Survivor of the Age of Apocalypse trait really doesn’t do anything for him by himself since he has no reducers. Typically, he’ll get knocked onto his STOP click from a single hit, and he might be able to pull that trait off one time before exploding. It’s not terrible, but it’s not great either.

I think Angel can best be summarized like this: he’s got a great dial, but it isn’t Chase-worthy. This isn’t something you expect to pull as a 1:20 booster pack, and it certainly isn’t a dial worth the chase prices. He’ll probably do pretty well on a team, but the Chase rarity kind of spoils him.

Casual: He’s great! He’s got a lot of flavor, a gorgeous sculpt, and he’s not overpowered like some chases are, so you shouldn’t have any problems with your friends if you run him.

Competitive: I don’t see him ever seeing play. When other pieces that can fit on the same teams do it better, the odds of seeing play are really low.

AS AN ID SUMMON: A new necessary section for this set! He’s a pretty good call-in, but not grand. The STOP really does a great job of making him a higher-risk target, forcing your opponent to sink two actions to KO him and score points, but then again he isn’t going to do much on his top click from a summon. Your call if you want him for this purpose.

60 Points, 6 Clicks, 0 Range (Single Target). No Team Ability. Age of Apocalypse, Dark X-Men, Exiles, Morlocks, and Scientist Keywords.

Like Angel, this is another dial that’s better than it looks for the same cost, but Dark Beast looks better on paper with a dial chalk-full of powers. Hank has an awfully similar setup with Stealth and Sidestep, but his Outwit, Perplex, Outwit sequence in damage will make him pull double duty on a team since he has 11 Blades for offense. Dark Beast has a killer trait that does allow him to cheat himself onto X-Men teams, so he basically has that Keyword as well, making him more desirable. Again like Angel, he only has ways of avoiding attacks, but no reducers, but that’s understandable at his point level. Three clicks of Steal Energy at the end of his dial with Exploit Weakness and Sidestep give him more bite than one would expect and some possible longevity, while maybe squeezing a bit more out of the Survivor trait.

We see the same issue here, though: a smaller dial with no reducers and a trait that relies on him taking hits to really work and make him good. With no STOP click to save him, Dark Beast has a much bigger chance of going down in one hit and barely making that trait noticeable. Stealth is the only thing that will keep him safe, and with no Charge to get into the fight, it’s pretty easy to read what he’s going to do and who he’s going after. The Steal Energy is nice, but more often than not, it doesn’t make a huge difference when they’re on their last legs.

Perhaps the most annoying aspect of Dark Beast is his name. With ‘Dark’ added on and the removal of real names on ID cards, you can’t use him as an ID summon, which is where he would shine.

Casual: Another great pick. His dial is mean enough to warrant his point cost, but isn’t busted that your friends will be upset that you played him.

Competitive: He’s a pass. There isn’t anything that Dark Beast is providing that someone else can’t do. A lack of Willpower and no Charge make him slow and pretty easy to score points on.

100 Points/60 Points, 6 Clicks/4 Clicks, 8 Range (Single Target). No Team Ability. Age of Apocalypse, Horsemen of Apocalypse Keywords.

We see a few new additions to Cyclops that we didn’t see on the last two; a move and attack ability (Running Shot), and Indomitable, both of which really increase his value. At 100 points, Cyclops starts with a great opening click with lots of pain and the ability to boost his allies through Enhancement. Sure, the Toughness isn’t amazing, but it does keep him safe from Poison and smaller hits while the 18 value keeps him healthy. At 60 points, you get a very good sniper with some big potential for punching above his weight class, at least for a single click. Leadership on top dial is a welcome addition, although the lack of good Keywords will make it a little difficult to make full use of with the new rules. Attack values are fantastic the whole way through, and every click can punch through reducers. Improved targeting is icing.

While Cyke does have a better chance at benefiting from the Survivor trait than the other two Chases thanks to Toughness, we all know that it’s the least desirable of the reducers, so again he might benefit once, MAYBE twice from it. Perhaps the biggest problem with Cyclops are his Keywords. With Uncanny X-Men rotating out, the only folks he can pull tokens from are the other Chases in the set (or those lower points than him). He’s hard to fit onto theme teams, which is a big disadvantage.

If he’s played well and you don’t mind missing Theme Team, there’s no reason Scott can’t pull his weight around. If he manages to land 2 hits on his top click, you’re going to be in the green.

Casual: Yeah, he’s good. He’s not overpowered so you should be safe to play him in friendly games, but if you play him well enough, he could be a very strong primary attacker. Don’t take his Enhancement for granted.

Competitive: Most likely not. Frankly, there are much better snipers in the game right now, and at lower costs with better Keywords. The Super Rare Cyclops at 50 points is a much better play for half the points.

AS AN ID SUMMON: Probably a good idea to pick him up. Pieces with two point values are very good as summons, and Cyclops can punch through whichever piece on the opposing force that you need. If a big cannon call-in is appealing, Sideline him at 100. If a Precise Sniper is more what you need or you want more people to be able to call him in, 60 points is there. Either way, he’s high damage for the cost of calling him in.

175 Points/60 points, 9 Clicks/4 Clicks, 7 Range (Two Targets).No Team Ability. Age of Apocalypse and X-Men Keywords

There’s always at least one chase that simply blows the others out of the water, and I’m sure you know by now that Iceman is that chase. At full points, Iceman is a dangerously deadly Pulse Wave piece with great reducers, a massive dial, Indomitable, and the wonderful X-Men Keyword to build with. At 60 points, you get an incredibly efficient Pulse Wave piece with decent defenses, the ability to help his ally snipers out, and a tough piece to one-shot without large guns. At either point level, you get a ridiculous trait that pumps out bystander tokens that are no joke, all free of charge. When he’s running at full points, these serve as wonderful tie-up pieces and tempo drainers to help offset your 175 point monstrosity whereas at 60 points, you’re effectively doubling or tripling Iceman’s overall value. With his deep dial and fantastic reducers at full value, he really makes the Survivor trait work for him at full points.

While there aren’t many downsides to Iceman, they do exist. His massive point value is one, as he costs more than Jakeem Thunder, Uni-Mind, Killing Joke Joker… heck the list goes on. For that value, you’re not getting a totally crazy first click. Sure, the Running Shot/Pulse Wave for 4 is great, but overall this is not a 175 point starting click. With just a single click of damage, Bobby ditches his only click of Running Shot, greatly impacting his effectiveness and aggression. 18 Impervious is great on paper, but easily destroyed by Pen/Psy or Outwit and while I would argue that’s not normally enough to say it’s bad, it is when you’re paying this many points for it. With the lower dial, he’s a lot better off and you won’t feel the impact that you do on his full point value. If he’s paired with a medic on full, he’s a bit better.

Casual: Stay away from this guy if you don’t want dirty looks. While he isn’t as brutal to play against as the Super Rare from Uncanny X-Men, he’s the money piece and will no-doubt obliterate casual players with that opening click.

Competitive: At 175? He most likely won’t see play. At 60? Almost guaranteed. That short dial is incredibly efficient. There’s so much it provides for such a low point-investment and can really make X-Men teams shine.

AS AN ID SUMMON: Huge. Once rotation hits, call-ins with Pulse Wave will be exceedingly rare, and while Iceman won’t be able to use it without moving the person who called him in away (unless there are some nice walls to Sidestep around), it’s still an option. Plus, he drops an Ice Clone for you to keep.

90 Points/60 Points, 6 Clicks/4 Clicks, 8 Range (Single Target). X-Men Team Ability. Age of Apocalypse and X-Men Keywords.

Jean wins the award for stupid powerful but unassuming of the Chases. Most players will look at this dial, see Willpower on top click for 90 points and say “no thanks”, but veterans and pros will tell you that this dial packs so much punch and utility that it’s absolutely worth it. With a combo of Pen/Psy and Outwit, there’s no defense that Jean can’t completely obliterate and hit for 3 damage. With 10 Running Shot and Flight, there really isn’t much standing in her way of getting there either. Her free TK, even at 3 squares is insanity and takes so much of the risk of playing her away. Whether she positions herself into safety after the Running Shot or uses it to propel someone just a little closer, or even pushing herself to 13 squares to nail a necessary Outwit, that power is going to be brutal. Sure, it’s not as insane as the Fast Forces Jean Grey from two years ago, but there most likely never will by anything like that again. At lower points, she sacrifices a measly -1 to movement and speed, and then swaps to a Mind Control/Pen Psy/Regen piece that gets to use Barrier for free, but with just 1 token. No matter which way she’s played, she’s golden.

I suppose the downside to Jean is that she does only have Willpower to start which makes her easily the easiest of the Chases to take down, and also makes her Survivor trait completely pointless if you’re only running her. Aside from that, there really aren’t any downsides.

Jean is a monster in disguise, and I guarantee that once you get the hang of playing around that Willpower defense, she’s going to punch above her point class 10/10 times. Every click on this dial is good, and that’s a rarity.

Casual: Absolutely! Most people will do what I talked about, see the Willpower up top, and say “sounds good!” Just prepare yourself to shelf her after a few games and they see her power.

Competitive: Most likely. Jean has a very good dial for her points, and has a potential future once rotation hits and the Fast Forces Jean is no longer around to break the rules. It’s not often we get a TK piece that has this much aggression.

AS AN ID SUMMON: 100%, should chase down. It’s incredible how much this piece accomplishes, at either point level, when called in. From punching through a piece for 3 damage to Outwitting another piece, to TK’ing another attacker into place… the list goes on. Versatility is her game, and she’s the queen of it.

100 Points, 6 Clicks, 6 Range (Single Target). No Team Ability. Age of Apocalypse, Horsemen of Apocalypse, and Scientist Keywords.

Mr. Sinister wins an award too; the “wait, where the heck is Apocalypse?” award! All joking aside, Sinister has an okay dial for a fairly high cost. The traited Shape Change along with Invincible for two clicks and the Stealth + Sidestep combo that both Angel and Dark Beast have will make him difficult to actually hit. With Pen/Psy and 6 range, Sinister can be a nice sniper with some very good defenses to prevent him from going down quick like Cyclops. The placement ability on his first two clicks is really neat, but it hurts that you aren’t able to make an attack if you use it. It’s basically there to move up without giving him action tokens so that he’s always a threat. If he does drop down from his first click, he picks up Outwit which is really nice. Like Iceman, Sinister is going to profit from the Survivor trait better than most.

There’s a reason why Sinister is ranked as the lowest of the Chases in most people’s eyes; he doesn’t really accomplish anything. He has more 9’s on his dial for attack than any other number. His defense goes from an impressive Invincible while in Stealth to Toughness while he’s in the open. The single click of Leadership makes the dial clunky because that Outwit teases you, but you don’t want to sacrifice a -1 to attack and defense. Nothing flows on Sinister.

I hate saying that a Chase is bad because I know some people open that piece as their Chase, but we have to be honest with ourselves. Sinister just doesn’t work well. Sure, he’ll pull his weight in some games, but pretty much every other Chase here will put in more.

Casual: Have at it. This is Sinister’s home, and there’s no reason why anyone should give you a hard time if you play him.

Competitive: No chance.

What are your thoughts on these chases? Do you think I hit the mark or did I make a complete goof? Let us know in the comments below!

I hope those of you taking part in WKO’s or the brand new Majestix circuit are doing well and I wish you the best of luck. See you guys next week on Clix Fix.

Remember, the real fun begins when you’re Two Clicks From KO!