From Panel to Play: Magneto

CP42 Magneto

In this installment of From Panel to Play, we’re looking at a complicated man with a desire to protect his people no matter what it takes, the best friend and worst enemy Professor Charles Xavier ever had, Magneto.

A powerful mutant with the ability to manipulate magnetic fields, Max Eisenhardt is a radical fighter for mutant-kind. He has firsthand experience with cruelty and discrimination, growing up in WW2 Germany and forced to survive the horrors of Auschwitz. When he discovered his place among mutants later in life, he swore to not let his new people endure the fate he had.

For a time, Magneto was a close friend and ally of Charles Xavier. Magneto’s more extreme approach to the dilemma of mutants and humans was a wedge that drove them apart, leading Magneto to form the Brotherhood of Mutants. With his seemingly limitless mastery over magnetism, he and the Brotherhood fight for mutant supremacy, a cause that often brings them into conflict with the X-Men.

Translating Magneto’s gravitas to the tabletop was no easy task. He is a rich and complex character who needed to be an eye-catching and commanding piece. His miniature hovers in the eye of a maelstrom made up of twisted metal debris. His iconic cape billowing out behind him, Magneto has an impressive silhouette and a striking, authoritative pose. The mix of sleek organic lines on Magneto contrasts with the twisted, angular shapes of the metal around him. Magneto also comes with two additional bits of metal debris which are twisted and broken versions of classic terrain pieces, which you can paint to match the street lights and signs from your core set.

Magneto is one of the most powerful mutants alive, and his rules stay true to that. On the tabletop, he is a heavy hitter with numerous abilities to help swing a crisis in your favor. His

rules have many moving parts that can be tricky to anticipate, and those who learn how to wield them effectively will be rewarded.

His stat line is about what you’d expect, with an astounding Mystic defense of 6, as Magneto’s helmet shields him from the mind-controlling abilities of his former ally Professor X. Both of his attacks are powerful and have interesting special rules, but we want to focus on Shrapnel Blast for a moment. Using his magnetic powers, Magneto sweeps up a cloud of metal debris to fire off in every direction. This Range 2 area attack hits at Strength 6 and costs 5 Power to use… but interacts with one of Magneto’s other powers, Master of Magnetism.

This innate power allows Magneto to place Metal Construct terrain features on the field. If there are fewer than two in play, during the Power Phase you get to place one within Range 3 of Magneto. Not only are they Size 2 interactable terrain, but they also have other benefits. Magneto gains 1 Power for each one of them in play.

Remember how I said Shrapnel Blast interacts with this power? Well, when you use the attack, you can choose to measure the range of the attack from Magneto himself, or from a Metal Construct within Range 3, destroying it after you make the attack. This gives the Master of Magnetism an immense range with an attack that can hit multiple targets with a hail of metal shrapnel.

Of course, Magneto is much more than a metal-delivery system. He is the founder of the Brotherhood of Mutants and willing to tear down the world if he can rebuild it for the betterment of his people. His leadership ability From the Ruins benefits the Brotherhood of Mutants affiliation. When a terrain feature is destroyed, a number of Magneto’s allies equal to its Size immediately gain 1 Power… which makes his ability to place and destroy terrain at his discretion even more powerful!

Magneto has even more tricks in his arsenal, but that’s all we have time for today. Be sure to check back for the next installment of From Panel to Play, where we look at how all your favorite characters make the transition to the tabletop in Marvel: Crisis Protocol.

Until then, Atomic Mass Transmissions, signing off.