Someone posted a picture of their MET where the Sparky magnet area was just as bad as this Xmen. The magnet core was not mushroomed, but the playfield just sloped in around the magnet. It certainly affected how the ball traveled. He also said Stern would not replace the playfield.

Rob

I would see if Cliffy can make you a bigger custom carbon fibre ring to put around the core to cover the defect. Fill in the divot to support the ring - or maybe just a carbon fibre circle to just cover the whole area including the core. The magnet should still work ok.

Rob