Anyone have a good idea in what required reading would be to get a feel for the characters in the upcoming set (in the right era for the clix).

I have X-men issues 1-20 or so but I'm not quite sure what issues of uncanny to read.

That's a good question. I am definitely not an X-Men fan, so I know I can't answer that for you.

Curiously, though, I do read Wolverine and the X-Men, the comic from which this set gets its name, and I don't think there have been any figures confirmed for the set that are distinctively from that particular series. Obviously, Wolverine will be in the set, but that might as well be Wolverine from every other series he's been in.

Excalibur by Chris Claremont & Alan Davis
Uncanny X-Men: The Rise & Fall of the Shi'ar Empire

Uncanny X-men 281 to 300ish for the X-men gold teams.

The New Mutants team base really makes me think original (early 1980's) New Mutants. I'm hoping to expand the Longbox series (see my .signature) with some forces from the following comics:

The Asgardian Wars is an often collected pack of X-Men/Alpha Flight/New Mutants limited series and annuals that is quite entertaining and offers a nice mix of characters that are (mostly) represented in HeroClix.

It may be a little harder to get into, but the original run of New Mutants was pretty good up to (IMO) the Fall of the Mutants storyline. Of the mutant titles of that era, that was the book that IMO was the most down-to-earth and had a vibe that would show up decades later in Runaways and Young Avengers. They eventually got time-tossed and were MIA from the main mutant continuity before coming back in around the time that I lost interest in the title.

The previewed Jean Grey dial from the CTD is EXACTLY what has been missing from a comic-accurate original (mid 1980s) X-Factor team. With that figure I know it will be possible to make good forces from that comic run using just using previous versions of the team members...no matter who else gets remade in WatX! If you seek out those stories, don't feel obliged to start at issue 1; issue 10+ is when the really good stuff gets going.

In a much more modern vein: the current Fearless Defenders has a lineup of Valkyrie, Misty Knight, Mirage and (I kid you not) Wonder Woman...all of whom have been (or will be made) in recent HeroClix figures. Issue 5 of that book will give you the best taste for it.

The inclusion of characters like Havok and Longshot give me hope that we will finally get a blue-jumpsuit Dazzler. If so, the post Mutant Massacre X-Men team lineup (again, mid 1980s) is much more viable.

Obviously there is a strong 1990s influence in the X-figures as well, but I lost my interest in Marvel at this time so I can't make any good recommendations from those eras. The villains of the X-books tend to be very fixed in time, so when/if we see more/any of those we will be able to pin down the source material.

Realistically, Just read any X-Men comic from 1990-2001 and you'll get what the set was going for.

Beyond that PDL suggested Davis/Claremont Excalibur which is good, and Vol 3 of X-Factor gives you the modern feel of the team which is also in this set.

Thanks everyone! Went looking through my old comics in storage and found Uncanny issues 265-300 and X-men 1-24. working my way through them now.