I had a chance to catch up with Nathan Stickney – Sooner5 on Discord. He’s been stress testing the Wakanda affiliation for a couple of months, including in an online league of over 30 people run during the lockdown we find ourselves in. Our conversation was shortly before his last game: the finals between the two undefeated (4-0) players.

Xavier Protocols: What is your current roster?

Nathan:

• Black Panther
• Shuri
• Okoye
• Killmonger
• Vision
• Winter Solider
• Valkyrie
• Rocket
• Captain America
• Thor

• Brace for Impact
• Wakanda Forever
• Avengers Assemble
• Patch Up
• Field Dressing
• Drop Off
• Vibranium Shielding
• Usurp the Throne

• Fear Grips World As “Worthy” Terrorize Cities
• Mystic Wakandan Herbs: Fact or Fiction?
• Panic Grips City As Evacuation Efforts Continue!

• Infinity Formula Goes Missing!
• Riots Spark Over Extremis 3.0
• Gamma Wave Sweeps Across Midwest

XP: What were your main thoughts when putting your roster together?

N: So I wanted to play Wakanda, but I think it pairs well with Avengers because of the Black Panther overlap. I really like Vision at the 17 point mark and either Thor or Valkyrie and Rocket at the 18 threat mark. For 15 threat I just take out Okoye from my 17 threat list.

XP: What drew you to Wakanda?

N: I really enjoy the control of the faction. I also think they do every aspect well and don’t have a ton of weaknesses. Also I just had painted up all my Wakandans.

Also they have the most consistent dice by far and in a game of such high dice variance that is a huge draw to me.

XP: In what situations did you plan to play Avengers?

N: Honestly, none! However, if I wasn’t stress testing Wakanda, I’d say slower scenarios or meteors

XP: If you won priority, which crisis were you aiming for?

N: Secures, 100%. I want to force Infinty Formula. If I don’t get that, then Extremis Consoles.

XP: Why do you like Infinity Formula with them?

N: They are very good at spread at scenarios: it increases their power generation which is key; Killmonger and Black Panther are very good at challenging the back objectives, and Vision with Shuri on one flank is extremely hard to beat.

XP: Did that theory play out in practice?

N: Absolutely. I had infinity formula all games but one, and that one was extremis. I’ve noticed other players pick extracts because there are more options there, usually, if I lose priority roll.

XP: What was your plan on early turns in those Infinity formula games?

N: Get whatever extracts I needed to and get to the back two formulas for extra power. I split my team up in flanks usually depending on my opponents deployment. Second turn, Killmonger, Vision and Black Panther can threaten the far objectives while Shuri sits on a close objective while being in upgrades range for the far objective.

XP: What sort of team gave you trouble on the other side of the table?

N: My closest game was my last one. He ran Asgard: Thor, Hela, Valkyrie, Rocket, Shuri. Hela is a huge problem because she generates so much power and sits on a back objective being able to shoot the other objective. That team also has a very high damage output which counters a little my resilience.

XP: Is resilience a key feature of this list?

N: Control is more a key feature, but it is in the game plan. I always take patch up and field dressing to improve that game plan and will prob add Med Pack once I get it.

XP: How do you use your control elements?

N: In infinity formula, control is very strong because things are spread out. So many times only one character is on an objective after activation: obvious Shuri pushes, Black Panther pushes, Vision throwing them off, and Killmonger dazing them scores objectives constantly.

XP: If your opponent had chosen to choose Secures, which Extract would you have preferred?

N: Worthy or civilians and that’s just cause I haven’t played herbs much.

XP: Did you have a plan on either of those?

N: Both play similarly: the main game plan would be counter deploying on whatever secure they chose.

XP: Can you explain what you mean by counter deploying?

N: So if they play Shuri on one side, then I deploy Black Panther across from her as he counters her well. If they have someone weak to energy attacks, I deploy vision across from them. Killmonger usually deploys across from Thor cause he is in EVERYONE’S list, but Killmonger counters him well.

A lot of strategy of this game is picking who fights who, because if you get the matchups you want, you have increased chance of winning.

XP: Which tactics cards did you tend to pick with your main 17 threat team?

N: Brace for impact, patch up, Wakanda forever and usurp the throne every game. Field dressing was usually the fifth but I believe I took shielding one or two games

XP: How much damage did you find yourself typically patching up?

N: So I usually gamble and wait til a character is almost dazed or ko’d, so many times it’s 4 or 5 damage I’m removing. I also really like the field/patch up comboN:

XP: Do you think you’ll replace Patch Up with Madpac?

N: I might run both, but yes there is a good chance as med pac is a small upgrade to patch up.

XP: Looking back on your roster, what would you change?

N: So winter soldier was just a throw in: he could be anyone. Since I knew I was playing Wakanda every game I really only needed about 8 spots.

XP: Do you feel that Wakanda is a credible single affiliation roster?

N: Yes. Terrain may be the biggest weakness they have, but vision helps that a little.

XP: Who might you fill those last two spots with to help with that?

N: Captain Marvel, Spider-Man, Ultron, and Star-Lord are all good options. Doc Ock is also a very good option.

XP: Where do you rank Wakanda compared to other affiliations?

N: At worst top 3, I’d argue they are just as good as any faction out there. Asgard can give them some trouble.

XP: What about Asgard is tricky for them?

N: The fact that Hela, Thor, and Valkyrie can all deal so high of damage at long ranges. You can’t control opponents if you are all dazed. And they have decent survivability.

XP: Any final thoughts on Wakanda?

N: I think Wakanda has a high learning curve, but once you learn the strengths of the affiliation and how to properly play them they are very strong. I also think certain characters are really strong in the affiliation like Vision.

XP: So what’s next for your testing?

N: Honestly I’ve been testing Wakanda even before the league; I’m very confident in them right now. I will prob switch to test another faction: maybe Guardians of the Galaxy (once they are all out) or Asgard next.