Marvel United: X-Men – The Horsemen of Apocalypse Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Mandatory Effects
• Prelude – The Horsemen of Apocalypse Mode
  • Setup
  • Special Rules
  • Horsemen Plans
  • Wrap-up
• Battle Against Apocalypse
  • Basic Setup
  • Extra Horsemen of Apocalypse Setup
  • Special Rules
    • Apocalypse Tracker
    • Survival Tracker
    • The Four Horsemen as Henchmen
    • Horsemen Unleashed
    • Super Villain Mode

Components

• 4 Horsemen miniatures (Famine, War, Pestilence, Death)
• 1 Apocalypse miniature
• 1 Apocalypse Tracker (cube)
• 12 Hero cards
• 2 Locations
• 12 Apocalypse Master Plan cards
• 4 Horseman Unleashed Master Plan cards
• 4 Famine Master Plan cards
• 4 War Master Plan cards
• 4 Pestilence Master Plan cards
• 4 Death Master Plan cards
• 4 Apocalypse Threat cards
• 6 Horsemen of Apocalypse Threat cards
• 2 Villain Dashboards

Mandatory Effects

Some Hero cards may have mandatory special effects. These can be identified by a black background in the text box. When such a card is played, the Hero MUST resolve the special effect as well. They don't have the option of ignoring it.

Prelude – The Horsemen of Apocalypse Mode

While the Age of Apocalypse approaches, Apocalypse has unleashed his Four Horsemen in a mission to sow chaos all around. The Horsemen of Apocalypse mode is a special, fast-paced, prelude game in which the Heroes try to prevent each of the Four Horsemen from accomplishing their plans in order to weaken them before facing Apocalypse in the final game. The prelude is not mandatory, and players can choose to simply fight Apocalypse directly (skip to Battle Against Apocalypse on the next page).

When playing the prelude, follow all the standard rules from the Core Box with the following changes or additions.

NOTES: The Horsemen of Apocalypse Mode is not compatible with Super Villain Mode, and no Challenges other than Moderate/Hard/Heroic can be used.

Setup

The setup steps are numbered 1, 2, 4 and 6 as printed; there are no steps 3 or 5 in this insert.

1. Do not use the Mission Guide nor the Mission cards for this game.

2. Place the Horsemen of Apocalypse Villain dashboard in the center of the table.

3. Place the 6 Horsemen of Apocalypse Threat cards on the Locations as usual. They are not related to a specific Horseman and are used by all of them.

4. Separate the decks of Master Plan cards corresponding to each Horseman and shuffle them separately.

   • 2 players: Remove 2 random cards from each deck.
   • 3-4 players: Remove 1 random card from each deck instead (Solo Mode.

   [Printed text as found: the 3-4 player bullet's parenthetical reads "(Solo Mode." with no closing parenthesis. Transcribed as printed; the player-count and solo wording in this bullet should be checked against the physical insert.]

   Take the Master Plan deck corresponding to Famine and place it facedown next to a random Location. Place the Famine game piece in that Location. The 3 remaining Master Plan decks and Horsemen game pieces are set aside within reach.

Special Rules

• The Four Horsemen will always be faced in the following order: Famine, War, Pestilence, and Death.
• Each Horseman is treated as a Villain (not as a Henchman) for any effects during the prelude game (but are treated as Henchmen on the battle against Apocalypse).
• The Horsemen cannot be damaged and are always Under Pressure, so they add a Master Plan card to the Storyline after every TWO Hero cards.

Horsemen Plans

A Horseman succeeds when they complete their Villainous Plot. When that happens, replace the Horseman's game piece and Master Plan deck with those of the following Horseman. The game continues with the Heroes taking their turns as usual.

If a Horseman succeeds, in the final game against Apocalypse, they will add their special Horseman Unleashed Master Plan card to the Apocalypse Master Plan deck.

A Horseman is defeated if they haven't succeeded by the end of the Villain turn in which they played their last Master Plan card. When that happens, replace the Horseman's game piece with that of the following Horseman. Bring in the following Horseman's Master Plan deck and continue the game with the Heroes taking their turns as usual.

If a Horseman is defeated, they will be featured in a weakened state in the final game against Apocalypse, having their Threat card placed with the Weakened side faceup.

Wrap-up

When the last Horseman either succeeds or is defeated, the game is over. Players move on to the final battle against Apocalypse. See the next section, making sure to also follow the instructions in the Extra Horsemen of Apocalypse Setup portion. Players may bring to the final game all Action tokens they have left at the end of the prelude game. Each Hero keeps their own tokens. Do not redistribute them.

Battle Against Apocalypse

Players can choose to fight Apocalypse directly, or they may first go through the Horsemen of Apocalypse Mode prelude game in an attempt to weaken some of the Four Horsemen (see previous section).

When playing against Apocalypse, follow all the standard rules from the Core Box with the following changes or additions.

NOTE: In this battle, the Villain tracker is used as the Survival tracker.

Basic Setup

The setup steps are numbered 2, 3, 4, 6 and 7 as printed; there are no steps 1 or 5 in this insert.

2. Place the Apocalypse tracker and the Survival tracker on the 0 space of the Apocalypse track. Apocalypse has no Health value, so no Health tokens are placed on his Dashboard.
3. Place the Apocalypse's Pyramid and Starlight Citadel Locations opposite to each other, filling the remaining positions with 4 random Locations.
4. Randomly place the 4 Apocalypse Threat cards in each Location except for Apocalypse's Pyramid and Starlight Citadel, with their gray side faceup. Place the Horseman game piece corresponding to each Threat in their Locations.
5. Take the Apocalypse Master Plan deck and remove the 4 Horseman Unleashed cards. Also, set aside the Age of Apocalypse Begins card. Shuffle the remaining cards facedown and put the Age of Apocalypse Begins card on top. Place the Apocalypse game piece on the Apocalypse's Pyramid Location and the Master Plan deck next to it.
6. Place the Hero game pieces on the Starlight Citadel Location.

Extra Horsemen of Apocalypse Setup

Skip this section if fighting Apocalypse directly, without first going through the prelude.

When setting up the final battle following a Horseman of the Apocalypse Mode prelude game, apply the following extra changes or additions to some steps, according to the events of the previous game:

4. Each Horseman that didn't succeed has their Threat card placed with the red, Weakened side faceup instead.

5. Each Horseman that succeeded in their plan has their corresponding Horseman Unleashed Master Plan card shuffled into the Apocalypse Master Plan deck.

6. Players must keep the same Heroes they used in the Horsemen of Apocalypse prelude game. Each of them starts with any leftover Action tokens they had. Before drawing their starting hand of cards, players get extra Action tokens to distribute among the Heroes as they wish, according to the Horsemen they defeated in the previous game:

   • 1 Action token showing the Famine icon if they defeated Famine.
   • 1 Action token showing the War icon if they defeated War.
   • 1 Action token showing the Pestilence icon if they defeated Pestilence.
   • 1 Action token showing the Death icon if they defeated Death.

   [The four token icons are printed as small symbols on the insert; they are described here by Horseman name.]

Special Rules

Apocalypse Tracker

The Apocalypse tracker shows the advancement of the destruction plan by Apocalypse and his Four Horsemen.

The Apocalypse tracker increases by 1:

• At the end of each Villain turn in which at least 1 Hero has been damaged.
• Each time a Hero is KO'd.
• Each time Overflow is triggered in a Location.

The Heroes lose if the Apocalypse tracker reaches the end of the Apocalypse track.

Survival Tracker

The Survival tracker shows the advancement of the Heroes in their effort to stop Apocalypse's evil plan.

The Survival tracker increases by 1:

• Each time a Hero would deal 1 damage to Apocalypse (once 2 Missions have been completed).

The Survival tracker increases by 2:

• Each time the Heroes complete a Mission.

The Heroes immediately win if the Survival tracker surpasses the Apocalypse tracker once 2 Missions have been completed.

The Four Horsemen as Henchmen

• When a Master Plan card with a BAM! is played, after resolving Apocalypse's BAM! effect, check the Horseman icons on the card from left to right and resolve the BAM! effects of ONLY the first 2 Horsemen that are still in play.
• The Calling the Horsemen Master Plan card activates the BAM! of all the Horsemen. Each Horsemen still in play activates their BAM!, starting from the one whose Threat card is closest to Apocalypse and proceeding clockwise.
• If a Horseman moves, only their game piece moves, the Threat card remains in place.
• When attacking a Horseman or using a special effect against them, Heroes must target their game piece, not their Threat card. They cannot directly target the Threat card like a standard Henchman. When a Horseman is defeated, remove both their Threat card and game piece.
• If a Horseman is brought back into play, place their Threat card and game piece together in the same Location.

Horsemen Unleashed

Some Horsemen Unleashed cards may have been added to Apocalypse's Master Plan deck if they succeeded during the prelude Horsemen of Apocalypse Mode game. When a Horseman Unleashed Master Plan card is revealed, add it to the Storyline and apply its effects. This is considered a Villain turn. Then, play another Master Plan card (whose resolution will be treated as a separate Villain turn).

Super Villain Mode

• The first Master Plan card played by Apocalypse must be Age of Apocalypse Begins.
• Apocalypse must start in the Apocalypse's Pyramid Location. Heroes must start in the Starlight Citadel Location.
• Threat cards are placed with their gray side faceup.