Let’s take a look at summer 2021’s Rise & Fall’s set.

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L059 APOCALYPSE (Mutations And Monsters, 2007)

THEN: He was kinda the worst sort of tentpole … immobile, lacked Indomitable (which wasn’t in the game yet in 2007) and Outwit-bait. Even his long 10 range was no good when, at the time, a cheap 40-something Batman could safely turn off his reducers from 10 squares away, too, and set him up for the other 250-ish points of his team to wear him down to KO.

NOW: The inability to push is no longer a concern. More importantly, he gains Outwit immuntiy via Cosmic Energy, a bit of move+attack via Charge in his Speed SP in addition to the Phasing and Plasticity it offered before. He also gets a new Strength token trait accrued by racking up KOs that extend his Giant Reach in his Speed SP, his number of bolts in his later Attack SP (which also has Incap and PPB), and boosts his AV/DV on his end-dial Defense SP (which also upgraded from Toughness to Invulnerability and grants an ultra-Regen that can heal extra by spending the Strength tokens).

He lost Shape Change and Mind Control, so it’s not all gains. But he’s WAY better overall — and should be since he still costs the whopping 250 points.

F.U.N.? He’s still pretty grossly overcosted for the modern game, but at least he functions as a tentpole much better than before.

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L078 DEADPOOL (Mutant Mayhem, 2004)

THEN: Dial design wasn’t super innovative back then and the point formula really made stuff cost a lot if you had too many clicks in a row of the same power. He was essentially a Stealthy shooter who’d cut you with Blades if you got close — and with Stealth being MUCH more difficult to deal with back then, you really HAD to get close.

NOW: Stealth is way weaker. So is Perplex. So his price gets slashed from 85 to just 50 — and he gets the wildcard Team Player TA and, to bolster his complete lack of defense powers aside from his original Regen, he also gets traited Super Senses and Combat Reflexes. (This is also to make up for how much weaker Stealth is these days.)

F.U.N.? The flavor text is outta sight. If I owned this piece, I’d run it just for that.

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L022 DESTINY (X-Plosion, 2003)

THEN: She was the cheapest Probability Control in a time when Prob was cheaply to be had in general. A staple on every balanced team, she could move into position without burning any of your 3 actions (via the old Brotherhood TA) and affect the field from 10 squares away. That was far enough that you didn’t care her DV was only 13.

NOW: The range for Prob is way more restricted and she’s potentially a much easier target to nail. So she gets to use a crossbow via a new trait granting a 4 range, 9 AV and 1 penetrating damage RANGE shot. More vitally, her other trait allows her to copy the DV of an adjacent ally so she doesn’t have to ONLY rely on Super Senses to live.

F.U.N.? She’s a nice budget version of Destiny if the Rise & Fall rare doesn’t quite fit.

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L053 MAGNETO (Giant-Size X-Men, 2011)

THEN: One of the best Magnetos to ever be made, he had the ability to carry a team — literally and figuratively — as a mega taxi (4 passengers) and 10-range double-TK figure who could attack (+2 for a whopping 5 damage — TWICE!) and transport with equal aplomb. A bit too pricey at 189 points, but still worth it just outside of competitive. 

NOW: Telekinesis has entirely lost its attack capability, so the new card removes the double TK, lowering his quick damage output a lot. He also can’t carry more than one passenger. On the surface, that’s where it looks like his new 175-point cost came from, but he kept a LOT: his traited ESD, his stat boost from debris markers, his nerfing of enemy shooters targeting him. He also gains a lot more: Sidestep; SAFEGUARD: Mind Control and PPB; he can FREE destroy blocking squares (and get free Regen, too, when in debris); SP Invulnerability instead of his old SP Toughness; SP Willpower instead of being vulnerable to pushing; +1 stats just for being near debris instead of occupying it; and his range nerf works whether enemies target him or not.

F.U.N.? Still too many points, but on balance, he’s actually much, much better than before.

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L001 WOLVERINE (Wolverine and the X-Men, 2013)

THEN: He wasn’t the first free-healing Wolvie in the game — or even the third. But he had Toughness, at least. Also he had a trait allowing him to “Track & Kill” an enemy target — a trait that was a little hard to use. 

NOW: The beginning of turn free healing is replaced with an end of turn version that’s effectively FREE Regeneration. He also loses the tracking trait, gaining instead Reflexes and a FREE attack against targets who miss attacks on him or breakaways from him.

F.U.N.? He’s still 100 points and just OK for the price. An average Wolverine and not the best at what he does, but F.U.N. enough.

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L052 CYCLOPS (X-Men: Xavier’s School, 2018)

THEN: When ID cards ruled the day, he was on every meta team. But at his actual costs of 150 and 50 points, he never quite seemed to pull that weight despite an array of great powers.

NOW: Shaving down to 125 and 40 points, respectively, he loses a lot of tricks (Sidestep; his variable ES/D and P/PB depending on where he was on the map; his Perplex for other X-Men; his FREE attack on enemies who attacked his X-Men) while gaining just a little: +2 action Leadership and giving the team Sidestep when he hits.

F.U.N.? The extra Leadership is quite good but everything else is blah. At least he’s simpler to play now?

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LG002 SENTINEL (X-Men Dark Phoenix Saga, 2019)

THEN: Still legal, this generic has a bunch of 2-click dials to choose from at 33 points or just 25 if you’re OK with a random choice.

NOW: Still legal, this card allows you to add them at 25 without the random dial. It also loses the free 1-square movement at the beginning of turn.

F.U.N.? The wording makes it look like you need a legacy card for each Sentinel to play them at lower cost. That’s … kinda bad. Though for the casual games where this would be played, this probably won’t be an issue.

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L003 STORM (Uncanny X-Men, 2016)

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WizKids is doing well with these cards. Nothing’s returning to their old dominance or going to newly warp the game. We’ll see how long this keeps up.