Jefimus Prime's Top 10 Mega Man x Mavericks

A Follow up to my top 10 Mega Man Robot Masters list back in 2014.  Now I rank my top 10 Mega Man X Mavericks

10. Spark Mandrill: One of the first 8 Mavericks X battle in his first adventure on the SNES Oriiginally He was a Maverick Hunter that served in the 17th Elite, which was under Sigma's command. When Sigma started his rebellion, he "logically" decided to follow along, becoming a Maverick. Spark Mandrilllurks inside a Power Plant and As his name implies, he has an Electric weapon, known as Electric Spark. Just when X enters his room, the lights are off. Spark Mandrill then turns on the multi colored lights on his body, producing a light show just before he turns on the lights for the battle. This has no offensive or defensive value. Mandrill himself is not the brightest but he's still a formidable opponent he uses the Electric Spark via punching the ground he  clings to the ceiling and has a wicked punch attack.  But if you got Chill Penguins Weapon your good. 

9. Overdrive Ostrich: Some People say this Maverick has one of the best names – Overdrive Ostrich. It sounds like the result of the Roadrunner getting some Terminator style upgrades, and looks wise that’s pretty accurate. This avian-based Maverick with an extremely long neck relies on his speed more than his strength. And there’s his stage – the desert base is one of the funnest stages to play through in the X series. Why? Well, you get to ride a jetbike through the desert, destroy a sandstorm generator, ride a giant missile into the air, and finally come crashing down to fight Ostrich. The stage is about as fast paced as the boss is, with a really good theme to accompany the action. As for Ostrich, he will jump back and forth between the foreground and background, run at you at high speeds (and kick you across the screen if he makes contact), and jump up into the air to launch sonic booms downwards at you. It is one of the more unique Maverick battles since you’re not confined to a small room – you fight him on the desert hills, and always have to pay attention to his position in the background. Meep meep!

8. The Skiver: Nothing Spells stress then a ticking time bomb and X and or Zero's gotta disarm them all in Spiral Pegesin (AKA The Shiver)'s Airbase. What makes The Shiver Stand out is that he's one of the first few Mavericks to be based on a mythical creature and he isn't really a Maverick yet but once he is infected by the Evil Sigma virus it's only a Matter of time before The Maverick Hunters set out to get him, but at least he won't go down with a fight.

7. Boomer Kuwangar: Don't let his weird sounding name fool you (Kuwangar is Japanese for Stag Beetle) Boomer Kuwangar is as fast as Quick Man and as sharp as Metal Man and Cut Man. He provides Challenging Gameplay in his tower base filled with Motion lasers frustrating enemies and wall climbing segments designed to test your patience.  Fighting him is no joke he teleports and shoots boomerangs if he gets to close to you Boomer will grab you and throw you to the celling causing massive damage.  You're gonna need a quick trigger finger or Launch Ocopus' Weapon if you hope to take him down. 

6. Neon Tiger:With Mavericks that span each of the animal kingdoms, it only makes sense to have an enemy based on one of the most vicious predators known to man. Neon Tiger has laser-based claws which make him seem like a Maverick version of Wolverine. They also look fairly similar to Vega’s claws, which is no surprise with all of the Street Fighter nods throughout the series. He is very quick during combat, leaping around the room and pinning himself to the walls with his claws. He will charge up and dash at X, releasing a high powered slash move that will do a sizable amount of damage if it connects. He also bombards X with his Ray Splasher beam which he shoots from his tail. Speaking of Ray Splasher, Neon Tiger rewards you with one of the most useful weapons of the series. It fires a volley of energy shots in a cone area in front of X, and is used on multiple bosses throughout the game. The combination of cool design and useful weapon land Neon Tiger a spot on this list.

5. Blizzard Buffalo: Blizzard Buffalo is an interesting boss. Unlike most of the other mavericks up until this point, he actually wasn’t a former Maverick Hunter (all of the bosses in X1 and most of them in X2 were). However, he stands out uniquely for one reason. He never wanted to fight, this reploid was actually a peace loving artist who loved to sculpt things out of ice. Even under the effects of the Maverick Virus, he didn’t want to fight. This was a change from the other bosses, who were either former Maverick Hunters who had fallen susceptible to the virus, Sigma sympathizers, or just random reploids who went Maverick. It’s a shame that’s the only interesting thing about Blizzard Buffalo, because he has the worst AI in the series due to a glitch. But for his unique backstory, he deserves a spot on this list.

4. Burn Dinorex: Looks like Grimlock has some tough Competition to see who is the baddest Robo dinosaur.  Aside that Fire levels are common in video games especially Mega Man.  Burn. Dinorex AKA Mettrex Awaits in his lair a volcano called Sunset Mountain which also has a Pteradactyl miniboss that looks like the Mech Dragon boss from Mega Man 2. Dinorex himself is one of the hardest Mavericks to defeat unless you have his weakness.  He attacks by shooting out fireballs from his mouth, which hit the ground, followed by creating small clusters of flames. He can also dash (with his flaming spine) at you in different directions, with his desperation attack being a version where he dashes towards the wall, followed by leaving flaming eruptions in his wake after doing so.  But if Have any of Sprial Pegein's weapons you can make this robo saurian  go extinct. 

3. Slash Beast: The first out of two Bosses from Mega Man X4 we have Slash Beast a Lion Based Maverick who defends a military train to protect goods being sent to Repliforce.  This Badass cat-bot fights with a somersault kick similar to Guile from Street Fighter he even has slash attack living up to his name. As if the fact that he seems to be wearing an eyepatch doesn't make look badass enough when you face him for the first time Slash Beast manages to out run the very train he's protecting and jumps on it.

2. Storm Eagle: One of the original eight Mavericks, Storm Eagle is like a robotic (and more colorful) version of Hawkman. He was the leader of the 7th air cavalry unit until Sigma came calling for his support, and he even has his own airship: the Death Rogumer. Storm Eagle’s air force base is definitely one of the more impressive stages from the X series, and the fact that you actually fight him on his ship is even cooler. He uses Storm Tornado, a long blast of wind, to try and push you off the edge of his airship. He will also fly up into the air and glide down towards you with immense speed. Like Sting Chameleon, he was updated in Maverick Hunter X and given a couple lines of dialogue, in which he seems hesitant and regretful that he has to fight X. You get a strong sense of duty and honor from Storm Eagle.

1. Magma Dragoon: Magma Dragoon is here not only because he is a dragon-based Maverick (win), but also due to the fact that he is responsible for one of the most heinous acts in the Mega Man X series. By sabotaging the Sky Lagoon and letting it crash into the city below, Dragoon essentially kills hundreds of innocent people. Not only that, but once you confront him later in the game, he says that we would do it again, then he LAUGHS IN YOUR FACE ABOUT IT.That Glitch headed Creep Another thing Dragoon has going for him are his moves. He uses Ryu’s fireball and dragon punch techniques, yelling both “Hadouken” and “Shoryuken” upon execution. He also wears Akuma’s prayer beads and “Heavenly Sky” symbol. He is basically a walking Street Fighter tribute, which is fantastic. Too bad X can’t carry over his fireball and dragon punch from previous games to even the score.

Honorable Mentions

Sting Chameleon

Flame Staghorn

Storm Owl

Jet Stingray

Dark Dizzy