Phantom of Excalibur: Proposing a New Kitty Pryde Uniform for Marvel Future Fight

Kitty Pryde's journey through the Marvel Universe has seen her embody various roles: a brilliant young mutant, an X-Men stalwart, a ninja warrior, a Guardian of the Galaxy, a pirate captain, an educator, and the proud leader of the Marauders. However, her visually striking and thematically rich "Shadowcat" persona from the Excalibur era, which combines mutant abilities with martial arts mastery, is notably underrepresented in Marvel Future Fight.

This article proposes a comprehensive character concept and uniform, inspired by this classic appearance. The design is sleek and battle-ready, drawing from her time with the Excalibur team and her ninja training under Ogun. This proposal serves as a tribute to long-time fans and offers Netmarble a fresh gameplay opportunity to showcase one of Kitty Pryde's most enduring iterations within the game.

Kitty Pryde and Excalibur: A Defining Chapter

Shadowcat's essential role as a member of Excalibur, a British superhero team established by Marvel in the late 1980s, is key to understanding her character. After rigorous training under Ogun in Japan, Kitty returned to the X-Men, adopting the codename "Shadowcat" and displaying a new mastery of martial arts and stealth. This marked her transformation from a young, sometimes uncertain X-Men recruit into a self-assured and capable hero.

Excalibur represented a pivotal moment in her career. While X-Men missions often involved saving mutants or addressing cosmic threats, Excalibur allowed Kitty to develop in a more independent, leadership-oriented capacity. She faced complex challenges alongside teammates like Nightcrawler, Captain Britain, and Rachel Summers, navigating political intrigue, interdimensional threats, and even mystical dangers. This period cemented Kitty’s identity not only as a fighter but as a strategist, a mentor, and a hero with a nuanced moral compass.

Her uniform from this era—featuring dark blues, ninja-inspired sleeves, and her iconic mask—reflects this combination of stealth, maturity, and classic comic-book heroism. Introducing this Excalibur-era Shadowcat into Marvel: Future Fight would not only appeal to long-time comic fans but also offer a fresh, gameplay-rich version of a beloved character.

The Concept: Excalibur Uniform–Shadowcat Ascends

Inspired by her appearances in Uncanny X-Men #193 and Excalibur Vol.1, Kitty Pryde's uniform features a jacket-like top with billowy sleeves, blue gloves, and a face mask. Over time, this design evolved into her well-known Excalibur team costume.

This uniform emphasizes Kitty's iconic phasing abilities, enhancing them with increased speed, teleportation-like evasions, and dragon-based elemental damage, courtesy of Lockheed.

Typing and Progression

• Type: Speed (Hero)
• Tier: Tier-3 Base, Tier-4 Capable
• Allies: X-Men, Excalibur, Mutant
• Leadership Skills: Dodge-based buff with team synergy.

Gear Loadout: Building the Ultimate “Ghost” Fighter

Gear 1–Phase Density Control (The Suit)

• Physical Attack, Crit Rate, and Ignore Dodge.
• Represents her phasing control over matter and energy.

Gear 2–Ogun’s Training

• All Defense, Skill Countdown, Bonus Damage.
• Channels her ninja training and disciplined melee combat.

Gear 3-Lockheed’s Bond

• Fire Damage, All Attack, Crit Damage
• Lockheed appears in certain skills as a fire-based summon.

Gear 4-Blue Mask

• Physical attack, Ignore Defense, Attack Speed.
• Blue Mask is part of the uniform.

Leadership Skill: “Ghost-Walker of Excalibur”

“She Leads from the shadows, untouchable yet always present”.

• Increases Dodge Rate by 30%
• Increases Movement Speed by 8%
• X-Men allies gain 35% All Attack

This ability promotes agile, evasive team compositions and encourages X-Men synergy, aligning with her leadership background.

Passive & Tier-2 Abilities

Passive-Shadow Arts

• +30% Dodge Rate
• 40% Chance to become invincible for 3 seconds when hit
• Activates “Phasing State”: ignoring targeting for 3 seconds (20s cooldown).

Tier-2 Passive–Ninja Resilience

• +30% Skill Damage, +35% Bonus Damage
• +15% Dodge Rate and +10% Movement Speed to all allies

Active Skills: Phase, Slice, Burn

Skill 1-Blade Dance

• Physical Damage dash with bleed
• 25% penetration, Ignore Dodge (30%)

Skill 2-Ghost Step

• Teleport movement
• Grants 4s Stealth and +30% Movement Speed

Skill 3-Lockheed’s Inferno

• Summons Lockheed to breathe fire
• Fire DOT +Burn+ -20% Defense Debuff

Skill 4-Phasing Fury

• Rapid teleport attacks
• Applies Silence, Stun, and Ignore I-frame

Skill 5-Ghost Ninja Barrage

• Multiphase slash attack
• Grants invicibility, +50% Crit Rate, -40% Enemy Defense
• Accumulated damage mechanic based on damage dealt.

Tier-4 Ultimate Skill– ”Phantom Edge: Lockheed’s Vengeance”

Lockheed takes flight as Shadowcat phases underground, dimming the battlefield. Lockheed rains fire from above while Kitty re-emerges mid-air, slicing enemies through phase-rifts. The attack culminates in a synchronized flaming dive.

Effects:

• 100% chance to remove energy buffs
• Burn & paralysis (5s)
• -40% Enemy Defense
• Invincibility (8s), +60% All Attack
• 750% Physical +250% Fire Damage
• Ignore I-frame &Dodge

This cinematic attack aligns with the high-tier T3 and T4 characters such as Star-Lord (Kitty's fiance' from her time as a member of the Guardians team), Storm, Luna Snow, and Wolverine (Phoenix Five).

Uniform Bonus-Excalibur: Shadowcat

• +30% Skill Damage
• Adds “Ignore Targeting” to Skills 4 & 5 (3 seconds)
• +20% All Attack when phasing is active
• Lockheed deals Fire DOT in all summon attacks

Artifact-Phase Echo of Ogun (Effect 4★)

• +25% Dodge
• +15% Total Damage when Dodge is active
• 10% chance to gain +40% Crit Damage and +30% Movement Speed for 5s when hit
• +30% Damage to Super Villains

Optimization: ISO, CTP, and Card Strategy

• ISO-8 Set: Hawk’s Eye
• Best balance of Crit, Dodge, and Speed

PvE CTP:

• C.T.P. of Energy – Chain hit, burst skills, Ignore Dodge
• Rage – Great for ABX/GBR due to high Crit Rate

PvP CTP:

• C.T.P. of Authority – Dodge + Guard Break Immunity
• Regeneration – For sustain builds

Card Focus:

• 28% Cooldown
• High Crit Damage, Dodge, All Attack
• Ideal: Luna Snow, Avengers: No Road Home, White Fox, BP (Legacy)

Team Synergy & Role

• World Boss: Main Damage Dealer
• Timeline Battle: Assassin
• Dispatch Missions: Agile Clearer
• ABX (Fire or Dodge): Lockheed Summoner + Dodge Specialist

Best Syngergy Teammates:

Nightcrawler: Shares Excalibur/X-Men tags

Rachel Summers: Telepathic backup

Magik: Mutant mystic support

Cyclops (lead): Universal All Attack Boost

A Phantom Worth Fighting For

Shadowcat's Excalibur-era look signifies a crucial stage in her development as both a warrior and a leader. It seamlessly integrates her background as a student with her transformation into an elite mutant operative. This rendition of Kitty Pryde, complete with ninja-like reflexes, an unbreakable bond with Lockheed, and potent Excalibur mysticism, would be a thrilling, nostalgic, and visually striking inclusion in Marvel Future Fight.

Netmarble, if you're amenable, please introduce this classic Shadowcat. She is poised to phase into the current meta.