So, I tried this team in an unrestricted home game last night and I wanted to try and improve it a bit before I used it again down the road. Here's what I ran:

Strong Guy 124 pts. (Shellhead-10pts & Hold the Line-4 pts)
Forge 84 pts. (Contingency Plan-12pts.)
Polaris 50 pts.
Havok 44 pts. (Protected-8pts.)
Multiple Man 32 pts.
Multiple Man 32 pts.

Havok got nickeled and dimed so I never really had the opportunity to use protected until he was nearly dead so that was a bit of a waste. Hold the Line on Strong Guy also didn't make much sense. So that's 12 points that I might want to reinvest in other stuff.

Strong Guy couldn't be touched with the Shellhead defense modifier and to control when he lands on the Defend/Toughness clicks was huge. The boost from Cont. Plan was also a big swing late in the game so I really wanted to stick with those two feats. I was thinking about using Force Field on Havok to prevent the single click damage that plagued him or maybe the Val Cooper pog with a 5 point feat for Havok. Any suggestions?

How did the Multiple-Men work out for you? The 2x Perplex can be huge, but I wonder if you wouldn't be better with some more offense? I'm not familiar with the more recent X-Factor lineups, but maybe a Wolfsbane/Rahne Sinclair?

Mobility seems to be an issue...I don't know if it makes sense to add Swingline to Strong Guy or not.

it'd be cheaper to run unstoppable, and pretty much as good (better in many instances).

The Multiple Men figs actually drew quite a bit of attention - they ended up doing a good job with secondary attacks, support of the main figs and a few prob tokens. I would agree with the mobility to a point - between Forge and Havok I could do a fair amount from range and if someone made it through Guido tore them up.

I didn't think about the impact Unstoppable would have though...maybe I should look at that as well...

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you shouldn't be accumulating Contingency Plan tokens unless you can actually SEE Leadership or Mastermind on the dial.

So, how did you get Forge to his last two clicks in order to start generating Contingency Plan tokens? Did you push him that much?

For two more points, you can put Force Field on Havok, instead of Protected, and he's got Toughness down his dial until his last click. This helps prevent the "nickle-and-diming" -- at least you're stopping a click of it.

Or, if you dropped all the feats in general, you could add a third E Multiple Man, which gives you 1) another +1 to your map choice roll, and 2) another Perplexer / X-Men TA battery.

This is correct. I'd take Forge off completely in favor of another E Multiple Man and V Madrox with C. Plan. Round out with a Protected R Multiple Man.

The combination of controlling who dealt damage to Forge and pushing him landed me on the leadership clicks. And there was not any token accumlation until he landed on those two clicks.

I don't believe the R Multiple Man has the keyword (X-Factor) and I don't have any V Madrox pieces. Forge is one of the few pieces with move and attack, plus outwit, perplex and support. He's not going anywhere...I wish I had a third Multiple Man to field instead of the feats - that would be cool.

I thought about the V Ouicksilver from IC but the lack of a TA made me shy away. I also generally don't go for the extra figure unless it's way too powerful for the points (AW Echo, CM Elektra, etc.) or it will give me an extra prob roll (but I would need eight figs to gain an extra roll, not seven).

I think I'll probably try Force Field on Havok next time and then throw in a two point pog to absord an attack somewhere along the line.

He doesn't. It sucks.
There's always Mercenary... but I don't know if the lack of TA is a major problem. Quicksilver is a dirt cheap harasser, so he doesn't really need to heal - just send him out there, Perplex up his damage and let him Flurry away. With TK and double Perplex backing him up, he should easily be worth his 28 points.
Or, if you absolutely have to have the TA, there is always the option of using the Experienced IC Quicksilver and Thunderbolt him to X-men...

I also think E Wolfsbane works well on X-factor teams. Keep her back at first with Havok and Polaris, push Havok to your heart's content and let Wolfsbane absorb the damage. Once she reaches her third click, TK her out and let her rip apart the opposition with BCF attacks.

Why not:

Havok + Force Field 10
Guido + Unstoppable 5
Jamie Madrox or Val Cooper 7 byst.

Drop the Shellhead and HTL and you can fit a theme bystander.

Have you thought about V Wild Child instead of Forge? While he has a weak starting AV, your double-perplex could really help that out.

I think he is an often over-looked piece.