You can read the thought process behind the teams by clicking on THIS LINK! We'll start by recapping the teams:
Apocalypse and his 4 Horsepeople:
199 WKM-002 Apocalypse
189 GX053 Magneto
99 WXM067 Archangel
107 WXM065 Storm
62 WKM-020 Psylocke
10 IIMR100 Power Plant
2 IIMR006 Ice Blast
2 IIMR009 Electro Blast
2 IIMR101 Disintegration Beam
2 IIMR007 Matter Rearranger
2 IIMR002 Vortex Beam
2 IIMR004 Flame Blast
12 JLF007 Contingency Plan
10 MUF005 Outsmart
700 Total
Sweet Dreams X-Men Team:
123 GX036 Professor X
140 UXM053A Phoenix
75 UXM054 Quicksilver
97 WXM062 Beast
75 FFGSX002 Cyclops
82 DOFP018 Mystique
28 DOFP016 Moira MacTaggert
80 DOFP009 Nightcrawler
700 Total
Map Choice/Roll:
The X-Men won the roll, and settled on the Avengers Tower Indoor/Outdoor map, and The Horsemen positioned themselves outdoor side of the map.
First turn:
The X-Men confidently swarmed one side of the map close to the staircase, hoping to cut off the Horsemen from having any decent positioning. Everyone was on the 2nd level except for Beast who was on the 3rd, and Moira and Professor X who hung back on the 1st level.
Psylocke chose the Flame Blast Ring, Apocalypse Perplexed his range up to be able to blow a hole on the 3rd level wall. Magneto used his Magnetic Mastery special power and flung Psylocke onto the freshly made debris, and placed Archangel nearby on level 1. Psylocke Drained a Ring's Power (Ice Blast) to ensure she would hit Beast, and luckily Beast missed his Super Senses and took 3. Psylocke used Perplex on Archangel's attack, and he Charged at Quicksilver with Precision Strike and got a Critical Hit! He hit for a total of 4, and knocked him off level 2 to level 1 for another 2 damage which ended up knocking him out.
Second Turn:
Phoenix rolled a 6 for her Power is Surging Through Me Uncontrollably special power, Mystique hit Leadership which took a token off Nightcrawler. Professor X used Outwit on Archangel's Invulnerability as he was still in the starting area thanks to In Contact with Cerebro. Phoenix and Cyclops made short work of Archangel, and Nightcrawler got a Perplex boost on his attack by Mystique, and went after Psylocke to hit for 2 damage with his Burst of Flame and Stench of Brimstone movement special power. Phoenix used Sidestep to get closer to the enemies carrying Mystique.
Storm took the Electro Blast ring, and got a Perplex boost on her attack, and Psylocke used Sidestep to clear a path for Apocalypse. Magneto pushed to use his Magnetic Mastery again to place Apocalypse where Psylocke was, and Storm within striking distance of Phoenix. Storm missed her attack, but Apocalypse managed to crack through Nightcrawler's defenses. Thanks to Draining a Ring's Power (Matter Rearranger) he hit Nightcrawler for 4.
Third Turn:
Phoenix rolled a 5, getting +1 to all her combat values, and inched closer with Mystique to take on Storm the following turn. Professor X (through Beast) and Nightcrawler managed to take out Psylocke, and the rest of the team cleared.
Storm Drained a Ring's Power (Matter Rearranger) and pushed to attack and rolled a critical hit on Phoenix to hit for a total of 7 to knock her out in one hit (4 from her Lightning Attenuation trait, +1 for Electro Blast, +1 Drain Ring's Power, +1 Critical Hit = 7)! Her Energy Explosion area of effect included Mystique who took 3. Magneto and Apocalypse cleared.
Fourth Turn:
Mystique and Cyclops both missed their attack's on Storm. Beast hit Apocalypse with a Close Combat Expert attack for 2.
Apocalypse chose the Vortex Beam and used Telekinesis to bring Magneto to the fight, and Magneto used Running Shot to hit both Nightcrawler and Beast for 2 each. Storm cleared.
Fifth Turn:
The X-Men, now desperate, used all they could to try and take down at least one more foe, but were eventually overwhelmed by Apocalypse, his remaining Horsemen, and several bad rolls.
Lessons Learned/Team Strategy:
*If you can't beat them, Outwit them...or give them +1 attack: The Outsmart feat helped Psylocke out when Beast and Professor X tried to Outwit her, and even though she missed her Shape Change rolls it prevented it from being an easy KO as they had to work for it. Apocalypse's Stealth kept him on top of the Outwit game as they couldn't draw a line of fire to him. The Contingency Plan feat also came into play a lot in the beginning giving random +1 attack as needed.
*It's better to be lucky than good: I hate that sometimes this is true, but it's the nature of the game. The X-Men got some pretty low rolls here and there, which allowed the Horsemen some wiggle-room to roll 2 very crucial critical hits. Even the hit on Nightcrawler was brutal as Apocalypse had to roll two 8's. Most of the X-Men's attacks were hit and miss, and they never really got a good string of attacks outside of their first turn.
*No Quarter: For a 700 point team the Horsemen have to be aggressive. There was an opening with Archangel that forced him to overextend, but it ended up paying off as it knocked out one of their more potent figures. Same with Storm and Psylocke as they kept pushing to keep the pressure away from Apocalypse and Magneto.
*Cut Them Off: Once Magneto joined the fray he began flanking the X-Men to cut off their retreat towards Moira. Beast and Mystique tried to make a break towards her for some heals, but out in the open they were no match for him.
That's it for this installment of Head to Head. There should be another one coming up involving the Black Lantern Corps vs an Uncanny X-Men team, so keep an eye out for that. Thanks for reading!
