Marvel Crisis Protocol: X-Men Starter Set

What makes this box unusual is that it contains both sides of an argument. Cyclops, Wolverine, Storm, Beast, Rogue and Gambit face Magneto, Mystique, Sabretooth and Toad, which means two people can open it and immediately play each other rather than taking turns with one squad.

It is also unusually deep on leadership. Cyclops and Storm can lead the Uncanny X-Men, while Magneto and Mystique lead the Brotherhood of Mutants, so a single purchase gives you four different ways to build a list and a real reason to keep experimenting after the first few games.

The mutant characters here are mostly mid-cost and mobile rather than tough, which makes them a forgiving faction to learn: mistakes cost you a character, not the game. Toad is the cheap body that teaches you objective play, Magneto is the heavy that teaches you what an expensive character has to earn.

Dice, tools, crisis cards, tokens and a mission tracker are all included, so nothing else is needed. The one caution is overlap: the Xavier's Students Affiliation Pack and several two-character packs extend this roster without repeating it, but check any X-Men box against this list before adding it.