Apocalypse is Marvel Strike Force’s latest big deal and is unlocked after a year of releases. A variety of characters are needed to unlock this Mutant villain, including the Darkhold, Unlimited X-Men, Gamma and Death Seed factions. In addition, the three characters unique to Marvel Strike Force, Kestrel, Deathpool and Spider-Weaver, are also needed for this unlock to add Apocalypse to your MSF roster. After reaching the Heroic Mode to fight to unlock Apocalypse, each board requires one of these specific factions at Tier 2, Level 4 Iso-8 to enter and fight, and those battles are chronicled below.

 

Unlocking Apocalypse – Heroic Mode

First Battle
Darkhold all at t2, level 4 Iso-8
1.139k power

Facing off against 20 enemies, I target Emma Frost with the initial special from MLF to ability block her. I am able to kill Hela in three turns which then allows me to eliminate the Undead Asgardian, then I start chopping away at the enemies, killing Emma and Lady Deathstrike next. A ultimate from Doctor Strange (Heartless) comes with Offense Up which helps wipe out the first wave of enemies, and when Stryfe appears I am able to drop a Buff Immunity on him to allow me to focus on the attackers. With each kill it seems two enemies take their place, but I keep chopping down the weakest or biggest offensive threat to allow my team to continue to advance. Taking out Adam Warlock helps nicely leaving 11 enemies left. I work through this group and when 8 enemies are left they all appear, ready to attack. I again ability block Emma Frost, then kill Mister Sinister and leave Zombie Iron Man and Adam Warlock for the end. They put up a good battle, but the 3-star win is, like Thanos, inevitable.

 

Second Battle
Unlimited X-Men at t2, level 4 Iso-8
1.118k power

I start with all 5 on my team at Gear 16 or 17 and all at Levels 90-93. 16 enemies and 8 are on-screen to start and they get a jump on me getting several attacks before I can do anything. The enemies load up debuffs on my team, and after a couple of turns they take a full run through of all enemies attacking again as this battle is stacked against my characters. With Spider-Weaver getting charged up and dodging attacks as a result, the battle is proving to be a total waste of time. I lose Dazzler first, and Rogue gets her first turn about 30 attacks into the battle. After a few attacks show me making slight progress, I lose both Fantomex and Gunfire, leaving just Rogue and Gambit in this waste of time battle as 10 enemies remain. Gambit’s counters prove to be the only reason I have any chance at all as the whittle Rogue down on health. At 6 enemies left I start to think I have a shot at winning, but after killing Squirrel Girl the enemies kill Rogue. Kestrel proves to be the biggest problem in this final group. I get it down to 2 enemies left and finally get killed, thus proving this to be a waster of my time.

I come back with the same gear but all of my characters at Level 91-93, adding a little more strength in hopes of a better outcome. Now at 1.133k power, I get Dazzler to take her turn before Spider-Weaver this time, and I land an Ability Block using her 3rd ability, then have Rogue hit her with the 2nd ability to remove her from the battle. This allows the battle to start off MUCH better, and 5 enemies are dead before I even notice. When just 4 enemies remain I am at nearly full health and this battle is like a night and day difference. I cruise to victory and move on.

 

Third Battle
Gamma at t2, level 4 Iso-8
1.155k power

I start with all 5 on my team at Gear 16 or 17 and all at Levels 90-94. 13 total enemies are our task here with 7 on-screen to start. I have Red Hulk focus on Thor and a group of 3 on the left, and a AoE from Abomination to follow kills Thor and Heimdall, prompting Valkyrie to buff the other Hero Asgardians. Brawn then targets Mighty Thor to steal buffs and I take some hits. When the time comes I kill Psylocke to get to 10 enemies left and Phoenix, Ikaris and more come join the party. The battle gets tougher here with a lot more offense against me, and at 8 enemies left Red Hulk uses his ultimate to help out significantly. At this point, with th 3-star win hanging in the balance and both Brawn and She-Hulk in trouble, I just do my best to survive. When I get to 3 enemies left I and fortunate to have Red Hulk’s special available and he comes through in the clutch to preserve the win.

 

Fourth Battle
Death Seed at t2, level 4 Iso-8
1.129k power

I start with all 5 on my team at Gear 16 and all at Levels 90-93. 18 total enemies are in the way of reaching our goal, and Gambit and Black Panther 1MM are the two that cause me the most trouble early one. With my Dark Beast as my weakest member, I continue battling with keeping his Health from getting too low and end up losing Psylocke. As I get to the final wave of 6 enemies left I lose Dark Beast just after Psylocke is revived and just before finishing I lose Psylocke again for a 1-star victory.

 

Fifth Battle
Kestrel, Deathpool & Spider-Weaver at t2, level 4 Iso-8
879k power

My threesome here includes Deathpool at Gear 16 and both Kestrel and Spider-Weaver at Gear 17. Kestrel is a Iso-8 class Raider while the other two are Strikers. Nick Fury joins the team and grants Defense Up, then I go all-in on taking out the right side enemies, eliminating Ghost Rider and Abomination first, then move over to kill Dark Beast with Kestrel’s ultimate. From here it is just playing the bully role and dominating these enemies as they are strong enough to be annoying, but do not put up enough of a fight to worry me at all.

 

Sixth Battle
Kestrel, Gambit, Agatha Harkness, Morgan Le Fay & Spider-Weaver at t2, level 4 Iso-8
1.353k power

My team looks strong as I start off and dominate the early going with a team at this level. Keeping Magneto, Dark Beast and Jubilee under control are how I make this battle work easily in my favor as I cruise to an easy 3-star victory.

 

Seventh Battle
Rogue, Deathpool, Hulk, Archangel & Doctor Strange (Heartless) at t2, level 4 Iso-8
1.268k power

Facing 13 enemies, they get a jump on me and attack a couple of times and rebuff my team before I take my first turn. I use Archangel’s middle ability to cleanse himself and do damage, but the enemies take the next several turns and kill DSH. Wong taunts and is a tough one to get through, and Rogue’s taunt is the only reason I have a shot in this battle in the early going. I kill off Wong and Sharon Carter to turn the tide of this battle and go all-in on MLF when she appears. Hulk’s taunt is a critical piece here in this wave as I finish off MLF and then take out Red Hulk. A strong Deathpool here is quite helpful as her assists prove quite beneficial and I get to the final four enemies with my four still alive. I survive and get the 2-star victory, but looking back, it was the early part of this battle that determined my fate.

 

Eighth (Final) Battle
Horsemen Characters – Rogue, Red Hulk, Morgan Le Fay & Archangel at t2, level 4 Iso-8
1.090k power

Facing 19 enemies with Apocalypse fighting with my Horsemen, I go all-in on the left side to eliminate the two Eternals and Kestrel as quickly as possible. Apocalypse uses his ultimate to flip Defense Up which is quite impactful, and after killing Ikaris a new wave of tough enemies appears. I Ability Block Doom and weaken the group then Ability Block Spider-Weaver before killing Doom and have Captain Sam and Emma Frost left as the final tow here. Once I dispose of them, at 9 enemies left, the next group arrives with Dormammu. Red Hulk uses his ultimate to weaken this group and make them easy, taking Dormammu out first then I use basics to finish them off. At 4 enemies left Gambit, Silver Surfer, Sharon Carter and Abomination appear and another Red Hulk ultimate sets the table for my team as I take out Gambit first then cruise from here for the win and unlock Apocalypse in Marvel Strike Force.