Season 6 is here and rosters are in. This is the largest season yet at 197 rosters and there are some very surprising things and some… not so surprising things. Let’s see who is leading the meta:
Affiliations
We’re seeing yet more skew towards single affiliation – though I expect that to change when we are allowed 10 tactic cards in the near future:
| Affiliations | Players | % |
| 1 | 134 | 68% |
| 2 | 56 | 28% |
| 3 | 7 | 4% |
Suddenly with a not just viable but great leader, Avengers have come roaring back to be top dog in terms of affiliations:
| Avengers | 39 | 20% |
| Midnight Sons | 33 | 17% |
| Brotherhood of Mutants | 23 | 12% |
| Web Warriors | 22 | 11% |
| Spider Foes | 18 | 9% |
| Defenders | 18 | 9% |
| Criminal Syndicate | 17 | 9% |
| Uncanny X-men | 15 | 8% |
| Dark Dimension | 14 | 7% |
| A-Force | 13 | 7% |
| Cabal | 12 | 6% |
| Unaffiliated | 9 | 5% |
| Asgard | 9 | 5% |
| Inhumans | 9 | 5% |
| Black Order | 9 | 5% |
| X-Force | 8 | 4% |
| Convocation | 7 | 4% |
| Wakanda | 6 | 3% |
| Guardians of the Galaxy | 5 | 3% |
So Sam Spam and the new Midnight Sons aren’t surprises: the new stuff always gets a popularity bump as people want to try it out. But there are some surprises in there. Most people agree that Wakanda and Black Order are the top in terms of competitive advantage, but with only 7 and 9 players respectively (and one of them a dual Black order/Wakanda), they aren’t seeing the play you might expect.
Once you account for the recency skew of the new shiny, it’s really pleasing to see a really good spread of affiliations.
Characters
Okoye continues her reign as queen: no one is surprised. But seeing how high some other characters are is somewhat of a surprise. Iron fist in second wasn’t one I expected, but he’s great in Avengers and Defenders. He was also taken quite a lot in some other affiliations: Cabal (58% of Cabal lists), Convocation (57%), Dark Dimension (44%) and Web Warriors (42%). The fact he brings with him an excellent tactics card doesn’t hurt either.
Enchantress and Medusa are often held up as top quality pieces, but they have both slipped a bit in popularity, whilst despite a reduction in Brotherhood players, both Scarlet Witch and Toad have climbed up the rankings. There are a number of quality 3 threats that are in the top 11 (Zemo just missed out on top 10), which shows a really good diversity at that threat level, with genuine options for out of affiliation 3 costs.
| Character | Rosters | % |
| Okoye | 124 | 63% |
| Iron Fist | 77 | 39% |
| Enchantress | 69 | 35% |
| Toad | 67 | 34% |
| Scarlet Witch | 55 | 28% |
| Medusa | 55 | 28% |
| Valkyrie | 55 | 28% |
| Black Cat | 54 | 27% |
| Moon Knight | 53 | 27% |
| Lizard | 53 | 27% |
| Doctor Voodoo | 47 | 24% |
| Ghost Spider | 43 | 22% |
| Baron Zemo | 42 | 21% |
| Doctor Strange | 41 | 21% |
| Nebula | 40 | 20% |
| Venom | 37 | 19% |
| Black Widow | 35 | 18% |
| Blade | 34 | 17% |
| Quicksilver | 33 | 17% |
| Captain America (Sam Wilson) | 31 | 16% |
| War Machine | 31 | 16% |
| Mysterio | 31 | 16% |
| Domino | 30 | 15% |
| Hawkeye | 30 | 15% |
| Mystique | 29 | 15% |
| Angela | 29 | 15% |
| M.O.D.O.K. | 27 | 14% |
| Luke Cage | 25 | 13% |
| Magneto | 24 | 12% |
| Amazing Spider-man | 23 | 12% |
| Carnage | 23 | 12% |
| Lockjaw | 21 | 11% |
| Vision | 21 | 11% |
| Spider-Man (Miles Morales) | 21 | 11% |
| Baron Mordo | 20 | 10% |
| Wong | 19 | 10% |
| Beast | 19 | 10% |
| Kingpin | 19 | 10% |
| Infinity Gem: Soul | 17 | 9% |
| Storm | 16 | 8% |
| Kraven the Hunter | 16 | 8% |
| Shuri | 16 | 8% |
| Crystal | 15 | 8% |
| Cable | 15 | 8% |
| Omega Red | 15 | 8% |
| Ghost Rider | 14 | 7% |
| Dormammu | 13 | 7% |
| Ant-Man | 13 | 7% |
| Captain America (Steve Rogers) | 13 | 7% |
| Hood | 13 | 7% |
| She-Hulk | 13 | 7% |
| Bob Agent of Hydra | 12 | 6% |
| Crossbones | 11 | 6% |
| Deadpool | 11 | 6% |
| Rocket Raccoon | 11 | 6% |
| Thor Prince of Asgard | 11 | 6% |
| Corvus Glaive | 10 | 5% |
| Proxima Midnight | 10 | 5% |
| Wolverine | 10 | 5% |
| Black Panther | 10 | 5% |
| Infinity Gem: Mind | 10 | 5% |
| Infinity Gem: Reality | 9 | 5% |
| Infinity Gem: Time | 9 | 5% |
| Loki God of Mischief | 9 | 5% |
| Red Skull | 9 | 5% |
| Jean Grey | 9 | 5% |
| Black Bolt | 8 | 4% |
| Killmonger | 8 | 4% |
| Cyclops | 8 | 4% |
| Thanos | 8 | 4% |
| Ancient One | 7 | 4% |
| Clea | 7 | 4% |
| Green Goblin | 7 | 4% |
| Hulk | 7 | 4% |
| Sin | 7 | 4% |
| Taskmaster | 7 | 4% |
| Doctor Octopus | 6 | 3% |
| Ronan the Accuser | 6 | 3% |
| Sabretooth | 5 | 3% |
| Captain Marvel | 4 | 2% |
| Doctor Strange Sorcerer Supreme | 4 | 2% |
| Drax the Destroyer | 4 | 2% |
| Groot | 4 | 2% |
| Star-Lord | 4 | 2% |
| Mister Sinister | 3 | 2% |
| Cassandra Nova | 3 | 2% |
| Gamora | 3 | 2% |
| Hela | 3 | 2% |
| Infinity Gem: Power | 3 | 2% |
| Iron Man | 3 | 2% |
| Wasp | 3 | 2% |
| Black Widow Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. | 2 | 1% |
| Black Dwarf | 2 | 1% |
| Daredevil | 2 | 1% |
| Ultron | 2 | 1% |
| Punisher | 1 | 1% |
| Viper | 1 | 1% |
| Winter Soldier | 1 | 1% |
| Bullseye | 0 | 0% |
| Ebony Maw | 0 | 0% |
| Infinity Gem: Space | 0 | 0% |
| Spider-Man (Peter Parker) | 0 | 0% |
Ultron avoids the ignoble fate of no picks; something not avoided by Bullseye, Ebony Maw, the Space Gem or, in a bit of a surprise, core set Peter Parker. With the release of Amazing Spider-Man, it’s understandable given the Alter Ego rule currently, but I’m sure he’ll come bounding back once that gets changed. One last suprise: Mysterio was taken more than M.O.D.O.K. 26th in the rankings, the giant head is going to be seen a lot less than previously!
Crises
| Secures | Rosters | % |
| Demons Downtown! Has Our Comeuppance Come Due? | 92 | 47% |
| Infinity Formula Goes Missing! | 80 | 41% |
| Gamma Wave Sweeps Across Midwest | 78 | 40% |
| S.W.O.R.D. Establishes Base on Moon’s Blue Area | 74 | 38% |
| Mutant Madman Turns City Center Into Lethal Amusment Park | 59 | 30% |
| Riots Spark Over Extremis 3.0 | 49 | 25% |
| Portals Overrun City with Spider-People! | 43 | 22% |
| Terrigen Cloud Sweeps Over City | 38 | 19% |
| Cosmic Invasion! Black Order Sweeps Across Earth | 32 | 16% |
| Mayor Fisk Vows to Find Missing Witnessess | 24 | 12% |
| Deadly Meteors Mutate Civilians | 22 | 11% |
Gamma continues to slip in popularity: down to third, with Demons taking the top spot. S.W.O.R.D. has a good showing, so make sure you have your 14 threat team worked out!
| Extract | Rosters | % |
| Fear Grips World as “Worthy” Terrorize Cities | 117 | 59% |
| Research Station Attacked! | 100 | 51% |
| Spider-Infected Invade Manhattan | 76 | 39% |
| Struggle for the Cube Continues | 61 | 31% |
| Deadly Legacy Virus Cured? | 53 | 27% |
| Alien Ship Crashes in Downtown! | 49 | 25% |
| The Montesi Formula Found | 43 | 22% |
| Skrulls Infiltrate World Leadership | 29 | 15% |
| Mutant Extremists Target U.S. Senators! | 29 | 15% |
| Mystic Wakanda Herbs: Fact or Fiction? | 22 | 11% |
| Panic Grips City as Evacuation Efforts Continue! (R) | 12 | 6% |
Hammers stay popular, but Research Station is right up there with it, ahead of the pack. 13 rosters though spending a restricted slot on Panic Grips would pan out for them. 6 of those are in Midnight Sons, so watch out for janky round 1 plays in that matchup.
Tactic Cards
So there’s this card, that probably needs to be looked at…
| Tactics Card | Rosters | % |
| Bitter Rivals | 125 | 63% |
| All You’ve Got (R) | 110 | 56% |
| Advanced R&D | 108 | 55% |
| Field Dressing (R) | 99 | 50% |
| Heroes for Hire | 72 | 37% |
| Brace for Impact (R) | 65 | 33% |
| Medpack (R) | 60 | 30% |
| Blind Obsession | 46 | 23% |
| Avengers Assemble | 38 | 19% |
| Climbing Gear | 38 | 19% |
| Disarm | 36 | 18% |
| No More Mutants | 33 | 17% |
| Siege of Darkness | 31 | 16% |
| Lethal Protector | 30 | 15% |
| Deception | 28 | 14% |
| Sacrifice | 27 | 14% |
| Asteroid M | 21 | 11% |
| Bats the Ghost Hound | 21 | 11% |
| All Webbed Up | 20 | 10% |
| Can I Borrow That? | 19 | 10% |
| Carnage Rules | 19 | 10% |
| Doomed Prophecy (R) | 17 | 9% |
| Mission Objective | 16 | 8% |
| Patch Up (R) | 16 | 8% |
| The Grand Illusion | 15 | 8% |
| Sinister Traps | 15 | 8% |
| Spider-Tracker | 14 | 7% |
| First Class | 13 | 7% |
| Dark Restoration | 12 | 6% |
| Pentagram of Farallah | 12 | 6% |
| No Matter the Cost | 12 | 6% |
| Follow Me | 12 | 6% |
| Special Delivery | 12 | 6% |
| All According to Plan | 10 | 5% |
| Deal with the Devil | 10 | 5% |
| Warpath | 9 | 5% |
| Stalwart Determination | 9 | 5% |
| The Whims of Chaos | 9 | 5% |
| Dark Reign | 8 | 4% |
| Hood’s Gang | 8 | 4% |
| Magnetic Refraction | 8 | 4% |
| Mothership | 8 | 4% |
| Shadow Organization | 8 | 4% |
| Birds of Prey | 7 | 4% |
| Usurp the Throne | 7 | 4% |
| X-Ceptional Healing | 7 | 4% |
| To Me My X-Men | 7 | 4% |
| Odin’s Blessing | 7 | 4% |
| Seance | 6 | 3% |
| A-Force Assemble! | 6 | 3% |
| Bar with no Doors (Moons of Munnopor side only) | 6 | 3% |
| Execute | 6 | 3% |
| Grievous Wounds | 6 | 3% |
| Mental Domination | 6 | 3% |
| Second Wind | 6 | 3% |
| Neoenetic Recombinator | 6 | 3% |
| Dark Empowerment | 5 | 3% |
| Tactical Analysis | 5 | 3% |
| Cat and Mouse | 5 | 3% |
| Illicit Tech | 5 | 3% |
| A.I.M Lackeys | 5 | 3% |
| Cosmic Invigoration | 5 | 3% |
| Iron Bound Books of Shuma-Gorath | 5 | 3% |
| Last-Minute Save | 5 | 3% |
| Seven Suns of Cinnibis | 5 | 3% |
| Well-Laid Plans | 5 | 3% |
| Eyes on the Prize | 5 | 3% |
| Rainbow Bridge | 5 | 3% |
| Wakanda Forever | 5 | 3% |
| Difficult to Please | 4 | 2% |
| Attilan Rising | 4 | 2% |
| Astral Ring | 4 | 2% |
| Deadly Duo | 4 | 2% |
| Lovable Misfits | 4 | 2% |
| Orb of Agamotto | 4 | 2% |
| Cruelty | 3 | 2% |
| Smash | 3 | 2% |
| Aunt May’s Wheat Cakes | 3 | 2% |
| Banishment | 3 | 2% |
| Blood to Spare | 3 | 2% |
| Book of Cagliostro | 3 | 2% |
| Carbonadium Synthesizer | 3 | 2% |
| Extreme Conditioning | 3 | 2% |
| Gamma Launch | 3 | 2% |
| Heave Ho | 3 | 2% |
| Plane of Polhldahk | 3 | 2% |
| Terrigenesis | 3 | 2% |
| Children of the Atom | 3 | 2% |
| Battle Lust | 3 | 2% |
| Marked for Death | 3 | 2% |
| Cloning Banks | 2 | 1% |
| Elemental Infusion | 2 | 1% |
| Escort to Safety | 2 | 1% |
| Inhuman Royal Family | 2 | 1% |
| Inspiring Monologue | 2 | 1% |
| Jean!!! | 2 | 1% |
| K’un-Lun Training | 2 | 1% |
| Magnetic Crush | 2 | 1% |
| One-Two Punch | 2 | 1% |
| Pretty Sneaky Sis | 2 | 1% |
| Psychic Shielding Device (P.S.D.) | 2 | 1% |
| Pym Particles | 2 | 1% |
| Sibling Rivalry | 2 | 1% |
| The Books of Truth | 2 | 1% |
| The Cat and the Spider | 2 | 1% |
| Thunderwave | 2 | 1% |
| Wand of Watoomb | 2 | 1% |
| Acute Senses | 2 | 1% |
| Crew of the Milano | 2 | 1% |
| Forced Extraction | 1 | 1% |
| Agents of S.M.A.S.H. | 1 | 1% |
| Anger Management | 1 | 1% |
| Daughters of Thanos | 1 | 1% |
| Face Me | 1 | 1% |
| Kick ‘Em While They’re Down | 1 | 1% |
| Power of the Cosmos | 1 | 1% |
| Professionals | 1 | 1% |
| Recalibration Matrix | 1 | 1% |
| Reversal | 1 | 1% |
| Ricochet Blast | 1 | 1% |
| Seeing Red | 1 | 1% |
| The Age of Ultron | 1 | 1% |
| The Air Force | 1 | 1% |
| There Will Be Carnage | 1 | 1% |
| Till the End of the Line | 1 | 1% |
| To Ash and Cinder | 1 | 1% |
| Trip Up | 1 | 1% |
| Vapors of Valtorr | 1 | 1% |
| Weapon X Program | 1 | 1% |
| Web Barrier | 1 | 1% |
| Bane of Damballah | 1 | 1% |
| Blood Red and Personal | 0 | 0% |
| Chimichangas | 0 | 0% |
| Dirty Work | 0 | 0% |
| Fearful Symmetry | 0 | 0% |
| Heavy Firepower | 0 | 0% |
| Heavy Ordnance | 0 | 0% |
| Highway to Hell | 0 | 0% |
| Monkey Brain is Lizard Home | 0 | 0% |
| No Escape | 0 | 0% |
| Price of Failure | 0 | 0% |
| Psychic Fortress | 0 | 0% |
| Red Room Training | 0 | 0% |
| Rocket Boots?! | 0 | 0% |
| Shhh… | 0 | 0% |
| Sucker | 0 | 0% |
| Tactical Maneuvers | 0 | 0% |
| Unearthly Rage | 0 | 0% |
| Uneasy Allies | 0 | 0% |
| Vibranium Shielding | 0 | 0% |
| We are Groot | 0 | 0% |
| Yoink | 0 | 0% |
Character Specific Cards
It’s always interesting to see which characters come with cards stapled to them
| Card | Taken | Character | Taken | % |
| Deception | 28 | Mystique | 29 | 97% |
| Special Delivery | 12 | She-Hulk | 13 | 92% |
| Usurp the Throne | 7 | Killmonger | 8 | 88% |
| Heroes for Hire | 72 | Luke Cage, Iron Fist | 85 | 85% |
| Carnage Rules | 19 | Carnage | 23 | 83% |
| Lethal Protector | 30 | Venom | 37 | 81% |
| Deal With the Devil | 10 | Ghost Rider | 14 | 71% |
| Cloning Banks | 2 | Mister Sinister | 3 | 67% |
| Hood’s Gang | 8 | Hood | 13 | 62% |
| No More Mutants | 33 | Scarlet Witch | 55 | 60% |
| Can I Borrow That? | 19 | Quicksilver | 33 | 58% |
| Cosmic Invigoration | 5 | Red Skull | 9 | 56% |
| Mental Domination | 6 | Jean Grey, Cassandra Nova | 11 | 55% |
| The Age of Ultron | 1 | Ultron | 2 | 50% |
| The Grand Illusion | 15 | Mysterio | 31 | 48% |
| Illicit Tech | 5 | Crossbones, Sin | 11 | 45% |
| Gamma Launch | 3 | Hulk | 7 | 43% |
| Forced Extraction | 1 | Mister Sinister | 3 | 33% |
| Magnetic Refraction | 8 | Magneto | 24 | 33% |
| Last-Minute Save | 5 | Lockjaw | 21 | 24% |
| Birds of Prey | 7 | Captain America (Sam Wilson) | 31 | 23% |
| Carbonadium Synthesizer | 3 | Omega Red | 15 | 20% |
| A.I.M Lackeys | 5 | M.O.D.O.K. | 27 | 19% |
| The Whims of Chaos | 9 | Scarlet Witch | 55 | 16% |
| Pym Particles | 2 | Ant-Man, Wasp | 14 | 14% |
| Anger Management | 1 | Hulk | 7 | 14% |
| Elemental Infusion | 2 | Crystal | 15 | 13% |
| Seance | 6 | Doctor Voodoo | 47 | 13% |
| Power of the Cosmos | 1 | Thanos | 8 | 13% |
| To Ash and Cinder | 1 | Crossbones, Sin | 11 | 9% |
| Magnetic Crush | 2 | Magneto | 24 | 8% |
| Weapon X Program | 1 | Wolverine, Sabretooth | 13 | 8% |
| There Will Be Carnage | 1 | Carnage | 23 | 4% |
| Vapors of Valtorr | 1 | Doctor Strange | 41 | 2% |
| Blood Red and Personal | 0 | Punisher | 1 | 0% |
| Psychic Fortress | 0 | M.O.D.O.K. | 27 | 0% |
| Monkey Brain Is Lizard Home | 0 | Lizard | 53 | 0% |
| We Are Groot | 0 | Groot | 4 | 0% |
| Highway to Hell | 0 | Ghost Rider | 14 | 0% |
| Seven Suns of Cinnibus | 0 | Doctor Strange | 41 | 0% |
| Chimichangas | 0 | Deadpool | 11 | 0% |
| Yoink | 0 | Deadpool | 11 | 0% |
| Shhh… | 0 | Ebony Maw | 0 | N/A |
Combo Cards
Again, certain pairs (or trios) of characters have cards that tend to come with them. Sample sizes tend to be small, but it gives a bit of insight in to what the community thinks of these “team up” cards.
| Card | Taken | Characters | Taken | % |
| Till the End of the Line | 1 | Winter Solider, Captain America | 1 | 100% |
| The Air Force | 1 | War Machine, Captain Marvel | 1 | 100% |
| Deadly Duo | 3 | Rocket Racoon, Groot | 3 | 100% |
| Agents of S.M.A.S.H. | 1 | Hulk, She-Hulk | 1 | 100% |
| Well-Laid Plans | 5 | Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus | 5 | 100% |
| Sibling Rivalry | 2 | Thor, Loki | 3 | 67% |
| Execute | 6 | Proxima, Corvus | 9 | 67% |
| Daughters of Thanos | 1 | Gamora, Nebula | 2 | 50% |
| Thunderwave | 2 | Thor, Captain America | 1 | 40% |
| Difficult To Please | 5 | Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, Magneto | 18 | 28% |
| Jean!!! | 2 | Jean Grey, Cyclops/Wolverine | 8 | 25% |
| The Cat and the Spider | 2 | Peter Parker, Black Cat | 16 | 13% |
| Professionals | 1 | Natash Romanoff, Clinton Barton | 15 | 7% |
| Uneasy Allies | 0 | Spider-Man, Venom | 15 | 0% |
| Fearful Symmetry | 0 | Kraven, Peter Parker | 0 | N/A |
Xavier Protocols 
[…] list – And having to compete with the auto take Tactics cards. The TTS season 6 stats from Xavier Protocols show us just how many people are taking these unaffiliated cards – Even though All […]
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