SENTINELS, one of the most widely known forces in the Marvel Universe. Giant, mutant-hunting killer robots designed to cleanse homo sapiens of the freak menace. They are also one of the most misunderstood and underrated Hero-Clix in the WizKids universe. Because of their high point values, expense, and special rules, you'll be hard pressed to find anyone playing with one or more on a regular basis. In this Data File and the reviews to follow, I hope to bring a much-needed light to the Sentinel, who is by far and away my favorite figure in the game.

Welcome back to the Sentinel Data Files. In this thread, I'll be discussing the various changes that affect the Sentinel per the IndyClix rules. It was a tough decision to write this file, because I have an unfavorable opinion of the IndyClix rules. But old and new players may need some guidance on how their mutant killing robot is affected by this cheap factory upgrade. So welcome to Sentinel Survival 404.

It takes strategy to play a Sentinel to begin with. Power gaming munchkins shy away from the thick volume of Sentinel instruction manuals and skulk off to dark morlock tunnels waving their arms and screaming, “Fire bad! FIRE BAD!” Faithful readers of past Sentinel Data files will know that a good Sentinel team is made up a good cast of support figures and favorable dice rolls. Let's delve into the new rules as see how they affect Trask's baby boy.

The biggest and most important changes come from Flyers Cannot Carry Flyers [FCCF] and No Action After Taxi [NAAT]. Whether you love or hate the rules, they exist and need to be addressed. Not only can the killer Sentinel not carry a flying character who may act as a heavy hitter or a good support piece, but the carries figure cannot make an action. No more taxi-ing up a cheap piece to have it run up and tie up your target. No more positioning Bullseye to whittle down a potential capture. Most significant is it leaves the Sentinel and his passenger more out in the open than Jesse Helms' car breaking down in Harlem. How can one cope with such a strategy?

Mark VII and III Sentinels have Running Shot and Energy Deflection. As before, this is important to couple with Defend, like r Invisible Girl. A ranged target of 20 will cause almost any figure to second guess their dice rolls, and LOF drawn through hindering terrain makes it 21. Get the Sentinel to RS figures who have ranges shorter than his. Perplex is essential in this aspect. While E and V Bullseye can take ranged potshots at each other, a Sentinel with an 11 range lies safely outside of Bullseye's line of death. For the Mark I Sentinel, if you don't have Perplex, then try to keep him just outside of the kill zone range on his first movement, then close the gap on the second move. If necessary, base the threatening figures with choad warriors like Hydra Agents.

The strategy of taxi-ing up a Mind Control character to force an enemy piece closer to a Sentinel can still be done, but it will cost an extra round thanks to NAAT.

Barrier becomes more important than ever. It no longer protects from elevated fire, but throwing up some blocking terrain will help protect your Sentinel, and even if they taxi the shooter he won't be able to fire that turn.

Running Shot and Charge characters will be your bane. However you can use those characters as well to run up and attack figures the same round you taxi them.

There is VERY little you can do against the Nightcrawler-Shadowcat combo. The new rules slow down fuzzy elf just a bit. But high defenses and super senses will hinder the Sentinel's attacks.

Now your capture ability in much more protected. It may be harder to get close to your target. But once you have him you have a greater chance on getting back to home base. Characters without Charge or RS can't be taxi-ed into range for rescue attempts thanks to NAAT. So push that Sentinel to get them back to home base. Just make sure it's over a v Colossus and not a r Vampire Lackey. NAAT saves you from having Wolverine or Sabretooth get taxi-ed up to BCF your Sentinel into the double point graveyard. You'll have a better chance on capturing close combat mutants than ever before.

All the other rule changes are so cosmetic it's not worth mentioning. Charge and Running Shot are more powerful, so they can either help a Sentinel get into range and attack, or they can help beat down on a Sentinel. With the new flyer boost, Sentinels do not have to stop when they become adjacent to an enemy figure base, and they already succeed in breakaway every time.

Pulse Wave will cause damage to you even through your Toughness clicks, and ignores your Energy Defense clicks. Other than that, be aware that figures with RCE can have their range and attack value Perplexed up to fire on you and that can prevent you from making retaliatory fire.