The U.K. doesn’t have a tradition of big U.S. conventions, but we do have a few big events that happen every year. One is the Weekender, happening in York this weekend. It’s a 64-player open event, so maybe isn’t as sharply competitively focussed as something like the LVO invitational, but its a big event and it has attracted a lot of the top players from the U.K. and even some from further afield.

I’ve got to say a big thank you to KurtisO for waking up at an ungodly hour and helping me input and cleanse the data, as well as putting together a nifty tool to help us do it. Here is a breakdown of what’s being taken in the event.
Affiliations/Leaderships
Historically I’ve reported on affiliations, but that is becoming increasingly outdated. As such, I intend to report on both affiliations and leaderships that a realistically available to play. As noted in previous articles, there is an element of subjectivity in deciding whether just because you could play a core of three affiliated characters, whether that is likely given the roster. I’ll probably get some of those calls wrong, but I’ll do my best.
Affiliations | Rosters | % |
1 | 55 | 86% |
2 | 8 | 13% |
3 | 1 | 2% |
Around 20% dual affiliation seems to have settled to be a rough rule of thumb, and this is slightly lower than that.
Leaderships | Rosters | % |
1 | 42 | 66% |
2 | 21 | 33% |
3 | 1 | 2% |
This feels a little lower than I might expect, given how popular Brotherhood, Avengers and Criminal Syndicate normally are, on top of those dual affiliated rosters from above. We’ll see why below.
Affiliation | Rosters | % |
Brotherhood | 11 | 17% |
Guardians | 10 | 16% |
Spider Foes | 7 | 11% |
Web Warriors | 6 | 9% |
X-Men | 6 | 9% |
Criminal Syndicate | 5 | 8% |
Weapon X | 5 | 8% |
Avengers | 5 | 8% |
Convocation | 3 | 5% |
Asgard | 2 | 3% |
Cabal | 2 | 3% |
Shield | 2 | 3% |
Wakanda | 2 | 3% |
Inhumans | 2 | 3% |
A-Force | 1 | 2% |
Dark Dimension | 1 | 2% |
Hydra | 1 | 2% |
Midnight Sons | 1 | 2% |
Winter Guard | 1 | 2% |
Unaffiliated | 1 | 2% |
Black Order | 0 | 0% |
Defenders | 0 | 0% |
Sentinels | 0 | 0% |
X-Force | 0 | 0% |
As expected, Brotherhood are very popular, but those lowers numbers of dual leaderships take a hit as there are only 5 each of Avengers and Criminal Syndicate. Guardians come in at second with a strong and popular core giving them a good showing. Spider Foes is somewhat of a surprise at third, but Rhino is New and Shiny and actually pretty good. Foes are a lot of fun to play, and whilst they can do well at the top level, I suspect they are showing well here reflecting the more diverse mix of players approaches to the event compared with some others.
X-men have a much lower representation than at some other events: they are an affiliation which really needs a lot of practice to get the most out of them. In the hands of a skilled player they are a real force to be reckoned with, but some players may be daunted by the amount of reps they take to get good with.
Leadership | Rosters | % |
Mystique | 11 | 17% |
Star-Lord | 10 | 16% |
Green Goblin | 7 | 11% |
Magneto | 6 | 9% |
Spider-Man – Miles Morales | 6 | 9% |
Storm | 6 | 9% |
Kingpin | 5 | 8% |
Weapon-X | 5 | 8% |
Captain America – Sam Wilson | 5 | 8% |
Captain America – Steve Rogers | 3 | 5% |
Shadowland Daredevil | 3 | 5% |
Convocation | 3 | 5% |
Amazing Spider-Man | 2 | 3% |
Black Bolt | 2 | 3% |
Black Panther | 2 | 3% |
Malekith The Accursed | 2 | 3% |
Nick Fury | 2 | 3% |
Thor, Prince of Asgard | 2 | 3% |
Blade | 1 | 2% |
Crimson Dynamo | 1 | 2% |
Dormammu | 1 | 2% |
Red Skull, Master of Hydra | 1 | 2% |
She-Hulk | 1 | 2% |
Unaffiliated | 0 | 0% |
Baron Strucker | 0 | 0% |
Cable | 0 | 0% |
Corvus Glaive | 0 | 0% |
Cyclops | 0 | 0% |
Doctor Strange | 0 | 0% |
Hulkbuster | 0 | 0% |
Red Skull | 0 | 0% |
Sentinel Prime MK4 | 0 | 0% |
Sin | 0 | 0% |
Thanos, The Mad Titan | 0 | 0% |
For the first time I’ve broken down exactly which leader is being used; to be clear this is not how many rosters they make, but how many rosters are able and reasonably likely to use their leadership. and there is some really interesting stuff here. All 11 Brotherhood players are using Mystique, but only 6 are also bringing Magneto. Partly this is explained as an easier splash dual affiliation, but there is more than one Brotherhood Mystique only roster. Kingpin is more popular than Shadowland Daredevil as he is also used as a dual with Green Goblin twice. Sam is also used twice as a dual leader, once with Wakanda, once with Web Warriors, making him more popular than Steve.
Characters
Character | Rosters | % |
Toad | 24 | 38% |
Winter Soldier | 24 | 38% |
Mystique | 22 | 34% |
Rhino | 20 | 31% |
Juggernaut | 18 | 28% |
Pyro | 18 | 28% |
Lizard | 17 | 27% |
Hulk | 16 | 25% |
Black Cat | 15 | 23% |
Rocket Raccoon | 14 | 22% |
Sabretooth, Apex Predator | 13 | 20% |
Groot | 13 | 20% |
Rogue | 13 | 20% |
Black Widow | 11 | 17% |
Logan, The Wolverine | 11 | 17% |
X-23 | 11 | 17% |
Ghost-Spider | 11 | 17% |
Beta Ray Bill | 10 | 16% |
Bullseye | 10 | 16% |
Nebula | 10 | 16% |
Star-Lord | 10 | 16% |
Venom | 10 | 16% |
Domino | 10 | 16% |
The Blob | 9 | 14% |
Agent Venom | 8 | 13% |
Angela | 8 | 13% |
Green Goblin | 8 | 13% |
Doctor Voodoo | 8 | 13% |
Gamora | 8 | 13% |
Magik | 8 | 13% |
Wong | 8 | 13% |
Spider-Woman | 8 | 13% |
Drax The Destroyer | 7 | 11% |
Moon Knight | 7 | 11% |
Iron Man | 7 | 11% |
Black Panther | 7 | 11% |
Captain America – Sam Wilson | 7 | 11% |
Honey Badger | 7 | 11% |
Doctor Octopus | 6 | 9% |
Magneto | 6 | 9% |
Spider-Man – Miles Morales | 6 | 9% |
Storm | 6 | 9% |
Beast | 6 | 9% |
Baron Zemo | 5 | 8% |
Kingpin | 5 | 8% |
Malekith The Accursed | 5 | 8% |
Okoye | 5 | 8% |
Red Skull, Master of Hydra | 5 | 8% |
Scarlet Witch | 5 | 8% |
Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme | 5 | 8% |
Shadowland Daredevil | 5 | 8% |
Thanos, The Mad Titan | 5 | 8% |
Ghost Rider | 4 | 6% |
Hood | 4 | 6% |
Nick Fury and the Howling Commandos | 4 | 6% |
Taskmaster | 4 | 6% |
Ebony Maw | 4 | 6% |
Elektra | 3 | 5% |
Kraven the Hunter | 3 | 5% |
Luke Cage | 3 | 5% |
Mysterio | 3 | 5% |
She-Hulk | 3 | 5% |
Skurge, the Executioner | 3 | 5% |
The Original Human Torch | 3 | 5% |
Ancient One | 3 | 5% |
Crystal | 3 | 5% |
Lockjaw | 3 | 5% |
Medusa | 3 | 5% |
Ulik | 3 | 5% |
Captain America – Steve Rogers | 3 | 5% |
Amazing Spider-Man | 2 | 3% |
Blade | 2 | 3% |
Carnage | 2 | 3% |
Clea | 2 | 3% |
Crimson Dynamo | 2 | 3% |
Deadpool | 2 | 3% |
Enchantress | 2 | 3% |
Heimdall, The All-Seeing | 2 | 3% |
Killmonger | 2 | 3% |
Modok | 2 | 3% |
Nick Fury | 2 | 3% |
Omega Red | 2 | 3% |
Red Guardian | 2 | 3% |
Shuri | 2 | 3% |
Thor, Prince of Asgard | 2 | 3% |
Valkyrie | 2 | 3% |
Vision | 2 | 3% |
Black Bolt | 2 | 3% |
Ms. Marvel | 2 | 3% |
Doctor Strange | 2 | 3% |
Ant-Man | 1 | 2% |
Arnim Zola | 1 | 2% |
Baron Mordo | 1 | 2% |
Baron Strucker | 1 | 2% |
Bob, Agent of Hydra | 1 | 2% |
Cassandra Nova | 1 | 2% |
Crossbones | 1 | 2% |
Darkstar | 1 | 2% |
Dormammu | 1 | 2% |
Hawkeye | 1 | 2% |
Hulkbuster | 1 | 2% |
Iron Fist | 1 | 2% |
Mr. Sinister | 1 | 2% |
Quicksilver | 1 | 2% |
Ronan the Accuser | 1 | 2% |
Sin | 1 | 2% |
Supergiant | 1 | 2% |
Ultron | 1 | 2% |
Ursa Major | 1 | 2% |
Captain Marvel | 1 | 2% |
Black Dwarf | 0 | 0% |
Black Swan | 0 | 0% |
Black Widow Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D | 0 | 0% |
Cable | 0 | 0% |
Colossus | 0 | 0% |
Corvus Glaive | 0 | 0% |
Cyclops | 0 | 0% |
Daredevil | 0 | 0% |
Emma Frost | 0 | 0% |
Gambit | 0 | 0% |
Hela, Queen of Hel | 0 | 0% |
Jean Grey | 0 | 0% |
Loki, God of Mischief | 0 | 0% |
Proxima Midnight | 0 | 0% |
Punisher | 0 | 0% |
Red Skull | 0 | 0% |
Sabretooth | 0 | 0% |
Sentinel MK4 | 0 | 0% |
Sentinel Prime MK4 | 0 | 0% |
Spider-Man – Peter Parker | 0 | 0% |
Steve Rogers, Captain America | 0 | 0% |
Viper | 0 | 0% |
War Machine | 0 | 0% |
Wasp | 0 | 0% |
Wolverine | 0 | 0% |
A tie at the top! Toad vs Winter Solder – a fight for the ages! Toad has been popular for a long time and Bucky has been good since his rework, but he hasn’t enjoyed the sort of popularity we are seeing here. The top is dominated with Brotherhood characters. Not only is this because Brotherhood are the most popular affiliation, but also have arguments for some of the best models at 2, 3, 4 and 5 threats: a lot of other affiliations are keen to bring in one or more of those.
We continue to see the extract control of Black Cat and Doctor Voodoo have less prominence in lists.
Crises
Extract | Rosters | % |
Fear Grips World As “Worthy” Terrorize Cities | 43 | 67% |
Skrulls Infiltrate World Leadership | 25 | 39% |
Paranoia Pummels Populace! | 24 | 38% |
Mutant Extremists Target U.S. Senators! | 20 | 31% |
Struggle for the Cube Continues | 20 | 31% |
The Montesi Formula Found | 18 | 28% |
Spider-Infected Invade Manhattan | 15 | 23% |
Research Station Attacked! | 13 | 20% |
Alien Ship Crashes in Downtown! | 7 | 11% |
Deadly Legacy Virus Cured? | 7 | 11% |
Hammers are by far the most popular. This may go some way to explaining Bucky’s popularity – although every character gets better with a hammer, few get as much out of their hammer as he does. It is notable that the top four crises all have even numbers of extracts: players not wanting to give away an advantage on extracts if they lose priority may be factoring in to their decision making at roster creation.
Alien ship and Legacy virus continue to be among the least popular crises.
Secure | Rosters | % |
Infinity Formula Goes Missing! | 25 | 39% |
Demons Downtown! Has Our Comeuppance Come Due? | 22 | 34% |
Gamma Wave Sweeps Across Midwest | 22 | 34% |
Super-Powered Scoundrels Form Sinister Syndicate! | 19 | 30% |
Riots Spark Over Extremis | 19 | 30% |
Mutant Madman Turns City Center Into Lethal Amusement Park | 16 | 25% |
Cosmic Invasion! Black Order Descends on Earth | 15 | 23% |
SWORD Establishes Base On Moons Blue Area | 13 | 20% |
Deadly Meteors Mutate Citizens | 11 | 17% |
Intrusions Open Across City as Seals Collapse | 11 | 17% |
Portals Overrun City With Spider-People! | 11 | 17% |
Mayor Fisk Vows to Find Missing Witnesses | 8 | 13% |
There is a less polarisation in secures, despite there being more secures than extracts currently. The pay-to-flip style secures seem less popular than the contesting ones, and some people may be aware of a powerful play Hydra can pull off Mayor Fisk, so avoiding it partly for that reason.
Tactics Cards
Tactics Card | Rosters | % |
Brace for Impact | 50 | 78% |
Patch Up | 30 | 47% |
Fall Back | 25 | 39% |
Mission Objective | 22 | 34% |
Deception | 22 | 34% |
This is a Robbery | 20 | 31% |
Do You Know Who I Am? | 18 | 28% |
X-Ceptional Healing | 18 | 28% |
Pyrotechnics | 16 | 25% |
No Matter the Cost | 16 | 25% |
Marked for Death | 16 | 25% |
Eyes on the Prize | 14 | 22% |
Deadly Duo | 13 | 20% |
We Are Groot | 13 | 20% |
Escort to Safety | 11 | 17% |
Asteroid M | 10 | 16% |
Advanced R&D | 10 | 16% |
Lethal Protector | 10 | 16% |
Recalibration Matrix | 9 | 14% |
Sacrifice | 9 | 14% |
Follow Me | 8 | 13% |
Lovable Misfits | 8 | 13% |
Crew of the Milano | 8 | 13% |
Sinister Traps | 7 | 11% |
Skuttlebutt, On Me! | 7 | 11% |
Helios Laser Bombardment | 6 | 9% |
Magnetic Refraction | 6 | 9% |
Well-Laid Plans | 6 | 9% |
All Webbed Up | 6 | 9% |
Aunt May’s Wheat Cakes | 6 | 9% |
Spider-Tracker | 6 | 9% |
First Class | 6 | 9% |
Double Agent | 6 | 9% |
Are You Sure You Want to Remember? | 5 | 8% |
Foreign Assignment | 5 | 8% |
Gotta Get Some Air | 5 | 8% |
Midnight Phantasmagoria | 5 | 8% |
Journey Through Limbo | 5 | 8% |
Avengers Assemble | 5 | 8% |
To Me My X-Men | 5 | 8% |
All According To Plan | 4 | 6% |
Cruelty | 4 | 6% |
Deal With the Devil | 4 | 6% |
Dossier | 4 | 6% |
Face Me | 4 | 6% |
Happy Birthday, Runt | 4 | 6% |
Heroes for Hire | 4 | 6% |
Indomitable | 4 | 6% |
No More Mutants | 4 | 6% |
Shhh… | 4 | 6% |
Call The Pack | 3 | 5% |
Inspiring Monologue | 3 | 5% |
Kick’Em While They’re Down | 3 | 5% |
Monkey Brain is Lizard Home | 3 | 5% |
The Grand Illusion | 3 | 5% |
The Whims of Chaos | 3 | 5% |
Versatile Strategy | 3 | 5% |
Iron-Bound Books of Shuma-Gorath | 3 | 5% |
Plane of Pohldahk | 3 | 5% |
Power of the Cosmos | 3 | 5% |
The Bar With No Doors | 3 | 5% |
Bird of Prey | 3 | 5% |
Children of the Atom | 3 | 5% |
Ricochet Blast | 3 | 5% |
Astral Ring | 2 | 3% |
Battlefield Medicine | 2 | 3% |
Carnage Rules | 2 | 3% |
Comrade’s Keeper | 2 | 3% |
Cruel Tutelage | 2 | 3% |
Disarm | 2 | 3% |
Doomed Prophecy | 2 | 3% |
Eye In The Sky | 2 | 3% |
Gamma Launch | 2 | 3% |
Highway to Hell | 2 | 3% |
Hood’s Gang | 2 | 3% |
Leapfrog | 2 | 3% |
Neogenetic Recombinator | 2 | 3% |
Odin’s Blessing | 2 | 3% |
Second Wind | 2 | 3% |
Shadow Organization | 2 | 3% |
Sitrep | 2 | 3% |
Smash | 2 | 3% |
Trip Up | 2 | 3% |
Usurp the Throne | 2 | 3% |
Vibranium Shielding | 2 | 3% |
Wakanda Forever | 2 | 3% |
Warpath | 2 | 3% |
Inhuman Royal Family | 2 | 3% |
Rock And Troll | 2 | 3% |
Terrigenesis | 2 | 3% |
A New Age | 1 | 2% |
A-Force Assemble! | 1 | 2% |
A.I.M. Lackeys | 1 | 2% |
Anger Management | 1 | 2% |
Bane of Dambalah | 1 | 2% |
Bats of the Ghost Hound | 1 | 2% |
Brother’s in Arms | 1 | 2% |
Can I Borrow That? | 1 | 2% |
Dark Empowerment | 1 | 2% |
Dark Reign | 1 | 2% |
Dark Restoration | 1 | 2% |
Daughters of Thanos | 1 | 2% |
Endless Legions | 1 | 2% |
Grevious Wounds | 1 | 2% |
Illicit Tech | 1 | 2% |
Jonothan the Unstoppable | 1 | 2% |
Last-Minute Save | 1 | 2% |
No Mercy | 1 | 2% |
Orb of Agamotto | 1 | 2% |
Rainbow Bridge | 1 | 2% |
Scientific Method | 1 | 2% |
Siege of Darkness | 1 | 2% |
Special Delivery | 1 | 2% |
Stalwart Determination | 1 | 2% |
The Age of Ultrom | 1 | 2% |
The Books of Truth | 1 | 2% |
The Shieldmobile | 1 | 2% |
Wands of Watoomb | 1 | 2% |
Winter Rush | 1 | 2% |
Meet My Executioner | 1 | 2% |
Forced Extraction | 1 | 2% |
Occult Research | 1 | 2% |
Psychic Fortress | 1 | 2% |
Brace continues to be the default tactics cards in the vast majority of rosters. Patch Up cames a somewhat distant second, followed by the excellent combination of Fall Back and Mission Objective. Then cards that line up with our most popular characters start to come in.
Tactic Card | Character(s) | Characters Taken | Tactics Taken | % |
Deception | Mystique | 22 | 22 | 100% |
This is a Robbery | Rhino | 20 | 20 | 100% |
Do You Know Who I Am? | Juggernaut | 18 | 18 | 100% |
Deadly Duo | Rocket Raccoon, Groot | 13 | 13 | 100% |
We Are Groot | Groot | 13 | 13 | 100% |
Lethal Protector | Venom | 10 | 10 | 100% |
Magnetic Refraction | Magneto | 6 | 6 | 100% |
Well-Laid Plans | Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus | 6 | 6 | 100% |
Midnight Phantasmagoria | Malekith the Accursed | 5 | 5 | 100% |
Deal With the Devil | Ghost Rider | 4 | 4 | 100% |
Heroes for Hire | Like Cage, Iron Fist | 4 | 4 | 100% |
Shhh… | Ebony Maw | 4 | 4 | 100% |
The Grand Illusion | Mysterio | 3 | 3 | 100% |
Carnage Rules | Carnage | 2 | 2 | 100% |
Comrade’s Keeper | Red Guardian | 2 | 2 | 100% |
Eye In The Sky | Nick Fury | 2 | 2 | 100% |
Usurp the Throne | Killmonger | 2 | 2 | 100% |
Can I Borrow That? | Quicksilver | 1 | 1 | 100% |
The Age of Ultrom | Ultron | 1 | 1 | 100% |
Meet My Executioner | Skurge, The Executioner | 1 | 1 | 100% |
Forced Extraction | Mr. Sinister | 1 | 1 | 100% |
Pyrotechnics | Pyro | 18 | 16 | 89% |
No More Mutants | Scarlet Witch | 5 | 4 | 80% |
Helios Laser Bombardment | Iron Man, Hulkbuster | 8 | 6 | 75% |
Double Agent | Spider-Woman | 8 | 6 | 75% |
Ricochet Blast | Iron Man, Captain America | 4 | 3 | 75% |
Skuttlebutt, On Me! | Skurge, Beta Ray Bill | 10 | 7 | 70% |
Rock And Troll | Ulik | 3 | 2 | 67% |
Journey Through Limbo | Magik | 8 | 5 | 63% |
The Whims of Chaos | Scarlet Witch | 5 | 3 | 60% |
Power of the Cosmos | Thanos, The Mad Titan | 5 | 3 | 60% |
Highway to Hell | Ghost Rider | 4 | 2 | 50% |
Hood’s Gang | Hood | 4 | 2 | 50% |
A.I.M. Lackeys | Modok | 2 | 1 | 50% |
Brother’s in Arms | Thor, Beta Ray Bill | 2 | 1 | 50% |
Illicit Tech | Sin, Crossbones | 2 | 1 | 50% |
Psychic Fortress | Modok | 2 | 1 | 50% |
Gotta Get Some Air | Logan, the Wolverine | 11 | 5 | 45% |
Bird of Prey | Sam Wilson | 7 | 3 | 43% |
Last-Minute Save | Lockjaw | 3 | 1 | 33% |
Happy Birthday, Runt | Sabretooth, Apex Predator | 13 | 4 | 31% |
Leapfrog | The Blob, Toad | 8 | 2 | 25% |
Monkey Brain is Lizard Home | Lizard | 17 | 3 | 18% |
Jonothan the Unstoppable | Honey Badger | 7 | 1 | 14% |
Gamma Launch | Hulk | 16 | 2 | 13% |
Daughters of Thanos | Nebula, Gamora | 8 | 1 | 13% |
Rhino in a China Shop | Rhino | 20 | 0 | 0% |
Makin A Ruckus | Juggernaut | 18 | 0 | 0% |
Mind if I Cut In? | Rogue | 13 | 0 | 0% |
Pardon Me, Sugah | Rogue | 13 | 0 | 0% |
Wolverines | X-23, Logan, Wolverine | 9 | 0 | 0% |
Seance | Doctor Voodoo | 8 | 0 | 0% |
On Patrol | Captain Marvel, Spider-Woman | 8 | 0 | 0% |
Magnetic Crush | Magneto | 6 | 0 | 0% |
Victory Assured | Red Skull, Red Skull Master of Hydra | 5 | 0 | 0% |
Infiltration | Nick Fury and the Howling Commandoes | 4 | 0 | 0% |
Til the End of the Line | Winter Soldier, Captain America | 4 | 0 | 0% |
Uneasy Allies | Venom, Peter Parker | 4 | 0 | 0% |
Elemental Infusion | Crystal | 3 | 0 | 0% |
Fearful Symmetry | Kraven the Hunter | 3 | 0 | 0% |
Vendetta | Elektra | 3 | 0 | 0% |
Weapons of Midguard | Skurge | 3 | 0 | 0% |
Carbonadium Synthesizer | Omega Red | 2 | 0 | 0% |
Chimichangas | Deadpool | 2 | 0 | 0% |
Fusion Caster | Crimson Dynamo | 2 | 0 | 0% |
Reposition | Nick Fury | 2 | 0 | 0% |
The Cat and the Spider | Black Cat, Spider-Man | 2 | 0 | 0% |
There Will Be Carnage | Carnage | 2 | 0 | 0% |
Yoink | Deadpool | 2 | 0 | 0% |
Seven Suns of Cinnibus | Doctor Strange | 2 | 0 | 0% |
Agents of Smash | Hulk, She-Hulk | 1 | 0 | 0% |
Cloning Banks | Mr. Sinister | 1 | 0 | 0% |
Dark Aura Manifestation | Darkstar | 1 | 0 | 0% |
Mental Domination | Jean Grey, Cassandra Nova | 1 | 0 | 0% |
Professionals | Hawkeye, Natasha Romanov | 1 | 0 | 0% |
Pym Particles | Ant-Man, Wasp | 1 | 0 | 0% |
A number of cards are stapled to the characters they come with, and there are 6 cards taken more than 10 times 100% of the times they might have been taken. Many of these are integral to the power level of the character they belong to.