PSA: after the February 2025 errata this article needs a complete rewrite. HFC has an affiliated list now. I try to get to it as fast as I can manage
Why should you play the affiliation?
Because Emma Frost is awesome.
On the table HFC is incredibly flexible and also very very strong.
How to start the affiliation
You buy Emma Frost and Psylocke. This is another of the now four “everyone is affiliated” affiliations at the moment so you can take it everywhere you want it to from here. Owning a core set is of course always a good idea and there’s a certain build for HFC that is most competitively successful. For that you’ll want to grab Beta Ray Bill (+ Ulik), Black Cat (+ Amazing Spider-Man) and Rhino early in your HFC build up.
What leaderships are available and what is the typical game plan?
White Queen’s Pawns seems… Pretty strong right? Yeah after about a year of it being out AMG tended to agree and restricted the card. Taking away the ability to double down on even more defensive cards.
The leadership just heavily rewards you for playing the game and works best with models that are already tough, preferably fast and have good scenario play like the three I already mentioned at the top (Bill, Black Cat and Rhino). It also helps a lot when their kit is turned up to levels it isn’t designed around with the additional power the leadership grants.
Hellfire Club is mostly proven as a type 1 or maybe 2 scenario team that wants to outscore and outlast you. But of course having absolutely no limits of who you can take in any given squad going hyper aggressive here is an option. But you have to be careful to still play scenario enough to not damage your own models instead of giving them a heal and the power.
Type 1: Pure Scenario team, as many VPs on the table as possible and try to win by scoring out as early as possible and with as little engagement
Type 2: Midrange Scenario team. Similar to Type 1 but can fight and chase if necessary
Type 3: Midrange Attrition team. Wants to be the beatdown but can shift to scenario play if the other side is clearly the beatdown.
Type 4: Pure Attrition team. Wants to murder you as quick as possible. Tabling is a possible and achievable goal here, but not the only way to win (they mostly score their points and deny yours by virtue of your models being dazed or KO'ed)
Who could be added to the affiliation in the future, especially as leaders?
Give me Sebastian Shaw! The most well known Black King of the Club would be the obvious pick for a second leadership here. But in the state of the affiliation right now that wouldn’t mean too much wouldn’t it? So what I really want is the “everyone is affiliated” part of Emma’s leadership crossed out and HFC given a real affiliation list. There’s tonnes of characters already in the game who, at least with the alter-ego, have been members, some even leaders, of the club like:
Tony Stark (Iron Man), Norman Osborne (Green Goblin), Wilson Fisk (Kingpin), Roberto da Costa (Sunspot), Raven Darkhölm (Mystique), Jean Grey, Kate Pryde (Shadowcat), Erik Lehnsherr (Magneto), Ororo Munroe (Storm), Ophelia Sarkissian (Viper) and Warran Worthington III. (Angel/ Archangel).
Rating every affiliated TTC and Character
Seeing as Emma herself is the only entry here I thought it would be fair to have her stat card up. But wait doesn’t she have a Diamond form too? Yes and the trick to using that one is: don’t. Otherwise Emma is a B character overall. She has good attacks and superpowers but is a bit on the fragile side, Diamond form is supposed to help with that but it makes her own activations so much worse that it doesn’t really help in the end.
As you’ll play Emma every game we can also quickly cover her other unaffiliated card:
B. While the effect is fantastic, the steep power cost and difficult set up make it too likely that you’ll never have the chance to play the card. And with My Hellfire Club costing a space in your 5 it makes it hard to ever consider this card in your games. New Across the Bifrost and Mutant Weekender Co-Host Jaime has gotten famous for his excellent use of the card which made it much better in many peoples eyes (including mine). He explains how he uses it in one of the new AtB podcast episodes. I don't remember which one specifically but you can just listen to all of them, they are great 😉
Popular Splash Characters for the affiliation
Well there aren't any affiliated models besides Emma... Staples here are Rhino, Beta Ray Bill, Black Cat and Ultron, Metal Tyrant is also quite popular.
Example Roster
You should probably check what Kurtis O is currently playing in his HFC list to see what is the most competitively viable but this here will give you a decent starting point I think.
Characters (10)
Emma Frost (4)
Black Cat (3)
Rhino (4)
Beta Ray Bill (4)
Ultron, Metal Tyrant (5)
Baron Zemo (3)
Black Panther (4)
Toad (2)
Spider-Man (Miles Morales) (3)
Luke Cage (3)
Team Tactics (10)
Heroes for Hire
I Am A Baron, After All
My Hellfire Club (R)
This is a Robbery
Wisdom of the Ancestors
Brace for Impact (R)
Joint Effort
Recalibration Matrix
Survival
Warpath
Secure Crisis
Cosmic Invasion! Black Order Descends on Earth (D, 16)
Infinity Formula Goes Missing! (B, 17)
Super-Powered Scoundrels Form Sinister Syndicate (F, 20)
Extract Crisis
Struggle For The Cube Continues (F, 17)
Skrulls Infiltrate World Leadership (J, 20)
Spider-Infected Invade Manhattan (F, 17)
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Thank you for reading and Cheers from Germany 🍻
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