I think the core box is a pretty solid product in my view. Straightforward enough for casual gamers / fans of the IP to be able to pick it up without much trouble, but with enough levers to give even experienced gamers a challenge. I’ve had the game for almost exactly a week and I’ve played over 20 solo games, which as far as I’m concerned means I’ve definitely got my money’s worth already...
I’m going to happily grab every expansion for this for the foreseeable future!
Yeah, this is definitely the best core experience of any LCG, they knocked it out of the park by including 3x of every player card (well, 1x of the allies haha)
Edited by Supertoe11 minutes ago, Supertoe said:Yeah, this is definitely the best core experience of any LCG, they knocked it out of the park by including 3x of every player card (well, 1x of the allies haha)
Except the neutral allies, which are 4x.
Just now, Tonbo Karasu said:Except the neutral allies, which are 4x.
Excess is better than lack
13 hours ago, Supertoe said:Excess is better than lack
All non-neutral cards come in a playset (as many as you could put in a deck). Neutral cards come in more than that. There's no lack in the core box, only excess.
Would have been great if they'd included 2x the seven standard encounter cards in the core. It would save a lot of bother having to repeatedly sift them out of one villain deck to transfer to the next.
I was thinking it would also be great if they printed an extra Shadow of the Past card at some time too. You could increase difficulty of a multiplayer game by having two in the encounter deck to increase the chances of a nemesis showing up.
I played this last night and it seemed to be somewhat quick to play but we lost to Rhino who just kinda gotten too many cards at once and got to 14.
On Monday, November 04, 2019 at 9:32 AM, Shirys said:If i were you, i would give another read through both rulebooks.
Perhaps you overlooked something important in the rules
Heck yeah, my first 2 games I forgot all about boost cards!
On 11/10/2019 at 8:13 PM, HirumaShigure said:Heck yeah, my first 2 games I forgot all about boost cards!
Me, i was readying my cards after the villain phase based on simple assumptions.
Difficulty cranked up a notch once i figured i shouldn't XD
On 11/9/2019 at 7:56 AM, Khudzlin said:All non-neutral cards come in a playset (as many as you could put in a deck). Neutral cards come in more than that. There's no lack in the core box, only excess.
Not entirely true. I could definitely see myself getting a second core if I want to build multiple decks with 3x Emergency, Avengers Mansion, or Helicarrier.
On 11/10/2019 at 7:13 PM, HirumaShigure said:Heck yeah, my first 2 games I forgot all about boost cards!
I missed the player multiplier by the villains’ health the first couple games 😂 We definitely were surprised at how valid a strategy it was to just punch rhino a bit and practically never thwart.
On 11/9/2019 at 9:42 AM, Janaka said:I was thinking it would also be great if they printed an extra Shadow of the Past card at some time too. You could increase difficulty of a multiplayer game by having two in the encounter deck to increase the chances of a nemesis showing up.
I felt the same way after our first few games when Shadow of the Past came up as a boost card only. Then our last game we had 2 of our 3 nemesis out. They definitely added some difficulty.
2 hours ago, codytx2 said:I felt the same way after our first few games when Shadow of the Past came up as a boost card only. Then our last game we had 2 of our 3 nemesis out. They definitely added some difficulty.
I was a little bit underwhelmed by the apparition of a nemesis though, once. Since he got to appear during alter-ego form, that nemesis' "automatic damage on hero when enters play" did not went through and he got one-shotted shortly after by another hero and his allies. Perhaps nemeses should have a little bit more hp? They're nemeses after all, not simple minions such as Hydra Agent #127, not worthy enough to have its name even mentioned.
I was a bit like, okay... that was quick, unless i misunderstood something in the rules =/
Still fun though. It was simply a lucky situation
Edited by Shirys2 hours ago, Shirys said:I was a little bit underwhelmed by the apparition of a nemesis though, once. Since he got to appear during alter-ego form, that nemesis' "automatic damage on hero when enters play" did not went through and he got one-shotted shortly after by another hero and his allies. Perhaps nemeses should have a little bit more hp? They're nemeses after all, not simple minions such as Hydra Agent #127, not worthy enough to have its name even mentioned.
I was a bit like, okay... that was quick, unless i misunderstood something in the rules =/
Still fun though. It was simply a lucky situation
It’s certainly possible for this to happen, but the fact that the nemesis sticks around in the encounter deck, plus their whole little deck... It’s not supposed to be terrifying so much as annoying, I guess? The main villain is still supposed to be the main threat? It’s mostly just to keep things from getting stale, really, and it’s a nice touch of flavor for a nemesis to show up while the hero is already busy thwarting somebody else.
9 minutes ago, SpiderMana said:It’s certainly possible for this to happen, but the fact that the nemesis sticks around in the encounter deck, plus their whole little deck... It’s not supposed to be terrifying so much as annoying, I guess? The main villain is still supposed to be the main threat? It’s mostly just to keep things from getting stale, really, and it’s a nice touch of flavor for a nemesis to show up while the hero is already busy thwarting somebody else.
I think you are right.
The creators didn't want the nemesis to upstage the villain, but instead get in the way at the worst moment, plus create a new crisis - more stuff to think about. Also, that automatic attack can hurt in an already dire situation.
Edited by ShirysI agree that difficulty is pretty low on Rhino, but that's supposed to be the case in an introductory adventure. As for core cards being bad, also true on several of them, but that's not different from LotR core for instance.
I've had dominating victories over Klaw, but also lost twice against him(not even on expert) just because I got all the wrong cards at all the wrong times.
Have yet to try Ultron.
So far, game does feel somewhat easy, but I'm still having a lot of fun and with the potential of more (difficult) modular sets and better cards to build your own hero decks I feel the future is pretty bright for this game.
I have played about 5 games at this point.
Rhino was fairly easy to beat, I tried him three times, all three times I pretty much crushed him.
Klaw I haven't managed to beat yet, though I haven't tried with anything but the tutorial spidey deck.
Generally my experience has been good, it's a straight to the point card game without a lot of bells and whistles, the rules are smooth and easy to remember. After my 3rd game I found I only referenced the manual once or twice per game as I ran across unusual circumstances and events.
I think if I was going to say anything negative about it, it is that its more or less Lord of the Rings with a Marvel super hero skin. I mean even the various cards are effectively alternate versions of Lord of the Rings cards (like Nick Fury = Gandalf).
The flow of the game is a bit different in how things are timed (two phases, rather then a bunch of unique phases) which makes the game a lot simpler to learn and play, but in terms of style of play and general game elements, it was too reminiscent of a game I have already played for years, mind you I love my Lord of the Rings, but I guess I was just hoping that Marvel would be something unique and different like Arkham Horror was.
I feel like with a Super Hero game it would have made more sense to have Locations with unique effects (where are we fighting?), I think it would have also been cool to see more of a feeling of mobility. I don't know quite how to word it, but like I feel like their should be different locations where different battles are taking place, rather then the engagement system. Like there is the city center, that's where the villain is, but some minions are robbing a bank downtown and maybe there is a jet in the air in trouble. Where it would make a difference if your hero can fly, or if he can sneak and stuff like that. It doesn't really feel like the super powers and the fight come through.. I agree with whoever said that it feels like its just a game of resource management and the Marvel Theme could just as well have been pretty much anything else and it would not have made much of a difference.
I agree with with the posters sentiment, I thought the game was kind of Meh... I'm not sure I'm going to collect. I may give the goblin one a go just to see what they can do with the design space, but right now I don't think I'm sold on it.
Edited by BigKahuna2 hours ago, BigKahuna said:maybe there is a jet in the air in trouble. Where it would make a difference if your hero can fly
Falcon is coming as a Leadership ally in Cap’s deck, and I think he’s the first ally with aerial.
I think once there are enough Aerial-capable characters out there, we’ll likely see a villain deck that has some cards that reference aerial.
With the modular encounter sets, planes with mechanical problems and bank robberies can very much be a possibility. With the crisis icon, it's pretty much telling the heroes "You need to react to this now, or people will die!". The game is in its "crawl" phase. Keep an eye on it and after it grows a bit it likely will live up to your expectations.
37 minutes ago, SpiderMana said:Falcon is coming as a Leadership ally in Cap’s deck, and I think he’s the first ally with aerial.
I think once there are enough Aerial-capable characters out there, we’ll likely see a villain deck that has some cards that reference aerial.
I thought is was kind of a shame that the Goblin Glider doesn’t give Aerial. Could have given the pumpkin bombs +1 damage while aerial...
1 hour ago, HirumaShigure said:With the modular encounter sets, planes with mechanical problems and bank robberies can very much be a possibility. With the crisis icon, it's pretty much telling the heroes "You need to react to this now, or people will die!". The game is in its "crawl" phase. Keep an eye on it and after it grows a bit it likely will live up to your expectations.
Well I do have to admit the first few times I tried Lord of the Rings, I didn't think much of it. I mean I recall a friend bought it first, we played it at his house, he was very excited about it but I just thought it was kind of basic and uninspired. Fast forward a few years later I have the whole collection on my shelf soooo.. there is that.
I would say that if the theme doesn't appeal to you, I would probably pass on it. But having said that, when exposing new players to this, I haven't had to house rule anything to get less experienced gamers interested in this game. That hasn't been the case with Lord of the Rings LCG or Arkham Horror which can lead to crushing defeats. I think that says something about this game mechanically as a "gateway game". I'm not saying it's easier or shallow. I'm saying it's more streamlined and intuitive than its predecessors.
5 hours ago, BigKahuna said:I have played about 5 games at this point.
Rhino was fairly easy to beat, I tried him three times, all three times I pretty much crushed him.
Klaw I haven't managed to beat yet, though I haven't tried with anything but the tutorial spidey deck.
Generally my experience has been good, it's a straight to the point card game without a lot of bells and whistles, the rules are smooth and easy to remember. After my 3rd game I found I only referenced the manual once or twice per game as I ran across unusual circumstances and events.
I think if I was going to say anything negative about it, it is that its more or less Lord of the Rings with a Marvel super hero skin. I mean even the various cards are effectively alternate versions of Lord of the Rings cards (like Nick Fury = Gandalf).
The flow of the game is a bit different in how things are timed (two phases, rather then a bunch of unique phases) which makes the game a lot simpler to learn and play, but in terms of style of play and general game elements, it was too reminiscent of a game I have already played for years, mind you I love my Lord of the Rings, but I guess I was just hoping that Marvel would be something unique and different like Arkham Horror was.
I feel like with a Super Hero game it would have made more sense to have Locations with unique effects (where are we fighting?), I think it would have also been cool to see more of a feeling of mobility. I don't know quite how to word it, but like I feel like their should be different locations where different battles are taking place, rather then the engagement system. Like there is the city center, that's where the villain is, but some minions are robbing a bank downtown and maybe there is a jet in the air in trouble. Where it would make a difference if your hero can fly, or if he can sneak and stuff like that. It doesn't really feel like the super powers and the fight come through.. I agree with whoever said that it feels like its just a game of resource management and the Marvel Theme could just as well have been pretty much anything else and it would not have made much of a difference.
I agree with with the posters sentiment, I thought the game was kind of Meh... I'm not sure I'm going to collect. I may give the goblin one a go just to see what they can do with the design space, but right now I don't think I'm sold on it.
This was my main concern ahead of the game's release - the lack of a spatial element. As you say it does result in a lack of design space for getting across theme etc.
But sometimes Arkham can get bogged down by the engagement and movement rules - and it's one of the main factors for that game not scaling to true solo properly: the map is always the same size, regardless of player count.
I think they obviously stuck to their initial design philosophy to create a streamlined and accessible LCG experience - hence why locations/spatiality was left on the cutting room floor.
I also found that it does make more thematic sense the more you think about - particularly in light of the alter-ego/hero mechanic, which is of course central to the game system. A scenario in Arkham is, narratively speaking, the equivalent to a single scene/moment - it's much more zoomed in.
But in Marvel, a scenario is more narratively equivalent to an arc in a comic, an act of a movie, or an entire movie itself. You have action sequences (Hero mode, attacking etc) and non-action sequences (flipping back to alter-ego, villain scheming etc). So the lack of a spatial element makes more sense if you look at it through that lens.
I honestly am thankful that it's different from Arkham. I'm sure we'll see environment cards with some villains that could be locations that start in play and gain threat or something. But I def don't want this to be Arkham but with superheroes.
8 hours ago, Caldias said:I honestly am thankful that it's different from Arkham. I'm sure we'll see environment cards with some villains that could be locations that start in play and gain threat or something. But I def don't want this to be Arkham but with superheroes.
Same, I really didn't care for Arkham in the same way. I know it had more mainstream success than LotR, but it's such a randomfest, and you barely use your deck, compared to this game.
4 hours ago, Supertoe said:Same, I really didn't care for Arkham in the same way. I know it had more mainstream success than LotR, but it's such a randomfest, and you barely use your deck, compared to this game.
I think that was the biggest thing for me. In this game, you build your deck and you get to see nearly all the cards you put in, which is fun and also makes one-of cards not horrible. You're going to get access to it eventually.
Love Arkham, and still love the RPG without a DM feel it gives, but I have more fun playing this game.