The Hellfire Club holds a weird place in my heart. The X-Men animated series that ran from 1992-1997 was my first introduction to all things comic book related. Incidentally, the Dark Phoenix Saga was when I jumped into the series and I remember thinking what an interesting villain Mastermind was. Fast forward several years when I was old enough to purchase comic books and I collected the entire "Essential X-Men" series so I could read more about the superhero team that sparked my interest in comic books.
The Books Are Better
Of course they are! The Hellfire club was created by the legendary Chris Claremont and John Byrne. In the book we get to see the real duplicitous nature of Jason Wyngarde AKA Mastermind as he has Jean Grey in his thrall.
Thrall you say? This is actually the reason I chose WKM15-004 Mastermind as the central piece in my two-stepping Hellfire Club team.
The Team
75 WKM15-004 Mastermind 66 WXM077 White Queen 53 GX020 Harry Leland
37 GX004 Hellfire Club Guard
37 GX004 Hellfire Club Guard 6 ATA111 Hellfire Club Inner Circle 6 ATA111 Hellfire Club Inner Circle 6 ATA111 Hellfire Club Inner Circle 6 ATA111 Hellfire Club Inner Circle 6 ATA111 Hellfire Club Inner Circle
298 points
Team Roles
The Hellfire Club Inner Circle additional team ability will grant each character Stealth, so you don't need to worry too much about being so exposed to ranged attacks. The Hellfire Club Guards will of course be your damage sponges, plus they can be tie-up pieces if you need them to and are great fodder for your themed team probability control tokens and Mastermind damage. Mastermind (the character) is your only true source of Perplex and Probability Control, so be extra cautious on his positioning, and don't be afraid to push him into his 2nd click once he has a Thrall token placed on someone. Be on the lookout for powers you can Outwit that may dampen the team strategy. White Queen can help with that if you push her to her second click, which I recommend doing as she also gets Mind Control. Harry Leland will lead the charge with a Hellfire guard in tow to soak up damage and slow enemy movements with his Mass Increase area of effect. This is a very tough team to play as they lack move and attack and they don't do much damage. It is a "finesse" team if you will. It may require you to play around with it a couple of times to really get the hang of their roles in combat.
Team Combos
White Queen's trait "A Step in the Wrong Direction" will allow you to reposition enemy units to keep them stalled within Harry's area of effect and let your friendly units reposition to shoot around corners. This trait is really helpful as this team lacks move and attack powers, and it can also get enemies to move into Harry Leland's area of effect for more mayhem.
Last Gasp
I tried to capture a slow methodical feeling when coming up with this team to really capture the flavor of the comic book this team is based off of. They'll more than likely end up like Mastermind (pictured here) against several teams, but that doesn't mean you can't have fun Mind Controlling and Masterminding the damage back to your opponents!
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