The dark history of Arakko will soon be revealed, and when it is, the very future of mutantkind will be at stake. Now, witness the cataclysmic showdown between the sword bearers of Arakko and the ten mutants who will stand up to defend the new mutant nation of Krakoa in Pepe Larraz’s breathtaking key art for X OF SWORDS. This fateful clash and many others are what await readers in this crossover epic written by Jonathan Hickman, Tini Howard, and all the current writers of your favorite X-Men titles. The next chapter in Hickman’s bold reshaping of the X-Men that began in House of X, this story will stand alongside influential X-Men crossovers like The Mutant Massacre and Messiah CompleX. The victories will be legendary, the losses will be heartbreaking, and the revelations will send shockwaves throughout the Marvel Universe. This sprawling saga will have a lasting impact on the future of the X-Men, forever changing the fate of the franchise’s most prominent characters.

List of Swordbearers[]

Swordbearers of Krakoa[]

• Magik wielding the Soulsword^[2]
• Wolverine wielding the Muramasa Blade^[3][4]
• Storm wielding the Skybreaker^[5]
• Cypher wielding Warlock^[6]
• Cable wielding the Light of Galador^[7]
• Captain Britain wielding the Starlight Sword^[8]
• Captain Avalon wielding the Sword of Might^[8]
• Apocalypse wielding the Scarab^[9]
• Gorgon wielding both Godkiller and Grasscutter^[9]

Swordbearers of Arakko[]

• Solem wielding the Muramasa Blade^[3][4]
• The White Sword wielding Purity^[10]
• War wielding Vermilion^[10]
• Death wielding the Black Bone of Amduat^[10]
• Isca the Unbeaten wielding Mercy^[10]
• Pogg Ur-Pogg wielding Pogg Ur-Pogg^[10]
• Redroot the Forest wielding Alluvium^[10]
• Summoner wielding Colony^[10]
• Bei the Blood Moon wielding Seducer^[10]
• Annihilation wielding the Twilight Sword^[10]

Tournaments[]

• Isca the Unbeaten vs. Captain Britain in Avalon. Battle to first kill. Apparent death of Captain Britain. Victory for Arakko.^[11]
• Bei the Blood Moon vs. Cypher at the Starlight Citadel. Trial by wedding. Victory for both Krakoa and Arakko.^[11]
• Pogg Ur-Pogg vs. Magik in the Floating Kingdom of Roma Regina. Contest of arms. Victory for Arakko.^[12]
• Summoner vs. Wolverine in Blightspoke. Race to Death. Death of the Summoner. Victory for Arakko.^[12]
• Storm vs. Wolverine in the Crooked Market. Contest of cups. Victory for Krakoa. ^[12]
• Solem vs. War at the Starlight Citadel. Amputation. Victory for Arakko.^[12]
  • Wolverine acted as substitute for Solem during this round^[12]
• Pogg Ur-Pogg vs. Magik in the Floating Kingdom of Roma Regina. Unarmed combat. Victory for Krakoa.^[13]
• War vs. Cable, Captain Avalon & Gorgon. Torture Endurance. Victory for Arakko.^[13]
• Death, Isca the Unbeaten & Pogg Ur-Pogg vs. Magik. Contest of Boulders. Victory for Arakko.^[13]
• Isca the Unbeaten & the White Sword vs. Gorgon. Battle beneath the waves. Victory for Arakko.^[13]
• Redroot the Forest vs. Cable, Captain Avalon & Cypher. Contest of plates. Victory for Krakoa.^[13]
• Bei the Blood Moon & War vs. Cypher & Wolverine. Lord of the dance. Victory for Arakko.^[13]
• Redroot the Forest & Pogg Ur-Pogg vs. Captain Avalon & Storm. Labyrinth escape. Victory to Arakko.^[13]
• Death & War vs. Gorgon & Magik. Jigsaw battle. Victory to Krakoa.^[13]
• Redroot the Forest & War vs. Storm & Wolverine. Contest of Couture. Victory to Arakko.^[13]
• Isca the Unbeaten vs. Cable & Magik in Blightspoke. Blightspoke navigation. Victory to Arakko.^[13]
• Redroot the Forest vs. Captain Avalon in the Crooked Market. Foot race. Redroot accrues a debt due to the destruction of a crystal idol of Bombu and can no longer participate. Victory to Arrako.^[13]
• Bei the Blood Moon, Death & Pogg Ur-Pogg vs. Cypher & Magik in the Floating Kingdom of Roma Regina. Contest of letters. Victory to Arakko.^[13]
• The White Sword vs. Wolverine. Rumination endurance. Victory to Arakko.^[13]
• Isca the Unbeaten & War vs. Gorgon, Magik & Wolverine. Resist temptation. Victory to Arakko.^[13]
• Captain Avalon vs. War in the Holy Republic of Fae. Kitten killing. Victory to Arakko.^[13]
• Death vs. Storm in Sevalith. Drawing first blood. Death incapacitated and held by Sevalith, can no longer participate. Victory to Krakoa.^[13]
• Bei the Blood Moon vs. Cable in the Fiefdom of Amenth. Battle to the death. Victory to Arakko.^[14]
• The White Sword vs. Gorgon in the Fiefdom of Amenth. One hundred to one. Death of 13 of the One Hundred Champions & Gorgon. 1 point to Arrako & 13 points to Krakoa.^[14]
• Annihilation vs. • --|A|-- •. Final challenge.^[14] Victory to Krakoa through En Sabah Nur, merged with Annihilation, conceding the tournament on Arakko's behalf.^[15][16]

Path to X of Swords[]

• Cable (Vol. 4) #4
• Marauders #11-12
• X-Force (Vol. 6) #11-12
• X-Men (Vol. 5) #11

Prelude[]

• Excalibur (Vol. 4) #12
• X-Men (Vol. 5) #12

Recommended Reading[]

• Captain Britain #1-2
• Marvel Team-Up #65-66
• Excalibur #1
• Marvel Super-Heroes (UK) #380-383
• Uncanny X-Men #171

• The event was first hinted at in a roundtable discussion with the X-Men editors on January 13, 2020,^[17] and further teased with a mysterious image on February 27.^[18] It was then officially announced on February 28, during C2E2.^[19]
• A prologue for this event was featured in Free Comic Book Day 2020 (X-Men/Dark Ages).^[20]
• Marvel reprinted the recommended issues leading to the event in Marvel Tales: Captain Britain #1, True Believers: X-Men - Saturnyne #1, and True Believers: X-Men - Soulsword #1.
• X of Swords Handbook #1 was set to be released as a complement to the event.

• The title is derived from the tarot card Ten of Swords.
• Despite appearing in promotional material for the event, Charles Xavier and Rachel Summers don't wield the Cerebro Sword and the Blade of the Phoenix respectively.