  The XMM-Newton-MSSL survey of polars is a snapshot survey of nearly 40
polars. We present the initial results, with an emphasis on the energy balance
in these systems and the number of systems which were observed in a low
accretion state. In contrast to the ROSAT results, we find that the vast
majority of polars show no `soft X-ray excess'. We find that half of our sample
were observed in low or off accretion states. We find no evidence that these
systems were biased towards certain orbital periods.
