So we all know that we're getting Thor, Black Widow, Dr. Strange and Hulk in the next coming expansions, but not much info has been revealed about the campaign expansion box. Any guesses on what might be coming in it?

If it's anything like the core set and has 5 heroes and 3 villains, i'm hoping for guardians of the galaxy.

There has been a bit of discussion around the teaser image in the Thor announcement article—“The ____ of __________”—which could be a few things. “Age of *insert villain name*” or the Rise/Fall of someone seem decently likely? But The War of the Realms is a recent comic story focusing largely on the Avengers, so that’s still the top of my guess list. I don’t know a ton about said storyline, but at this rate it sure seems most likely that the box will be Avenger-centric? So I’m guessing we get Ghost Rider and Blade, both of which are current Avengers, and honestly without reading the comic, anyone’s guess as to who else. I’d like to see Ant-Man and Wasp, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver... but I have no clue who’s actually involved in the War of the Realms, and I can’t seem to find any good overviews on Wikipedia or anything.

10 minutes ago, SpiderMana said:

There has been a bit of discussion around the teaser image in the Thor announcement article—“The ____ of __________”—which could be a few things. “Age of *insert villain name*” or the Rise/Fall of someone seem decently likely? But The War of the Realms is a recent comic story focusing largely on the Avengers, so that’s still the top of my guess list. I don’t know a ton about said storyline, but at this rate it sure seems most likely that the box will be Avenger-centric? So I’m guessing we get Ghost Rider and Blade, both of which are current Avengers, and honestly without reading the comic, anyone’s guess as to who else. I’d like to see Ant-Man and Wasp, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver... but I have no clue who’s actually involved in the War of the Realms, and I can’t seem to find any good overviews on Wikipedia or anything.

If you're looking for an in-depth overview of the story, I recommend checking out comicstorian on youtube. He covers most major story arcs. That's where I go to hear about the stories i'm not that interested in or just haven't been able to find in my local comic shop.

47 minutes ago, PivotmasterDM1 said:

If you're looking for an in-depth overview of the story, I recommend checking out comicstorian on youtube. He covers most major story arcs. That's where I go to hear about the stories i'm not that interested in or just haven't been able to find in my local comic shop.

I’m also tempted to just get a Marvel Unlimited subscription, but thanks for the rec!

I’d they follow war of the realm Dardevil and Punisher should be in the box and not Blade or Ghost Rider who didn’t do much in regard of DD & Pupu. I even not Shure that blade or Ghost rider play a role. At least I remember the captain America team for the search of Thor with wolverine and Spider-Man. Or the various Giant Man who trie to infiltrate frost giant but fail. I remember Strange and Carol having a body switch.

4 minutes ago, Slobosoy1 said:

I’d they follow war of the realm Dardevil and Punisher should be in the box and not Blade or Ghost Rider who didn’t do much in regard of DD & Pupu. I even not Shure that blade or Ghost rider play a role. At least I remember the captain America team for the search of Thor with wolverine and Spider-Man. Or the various Giant Man who trie to infiltrate frost giant but fail. I remember Strange and Carol having a body switch.

Ooooooo. Daredevil and Punisher sound much more exciting to me, and obviously Wolverine would be incredible to get. Now you’ve got my hopes up that even an Avengers-themed box might branch out a good bit! 😂

In my mind the big question is whether the Story box will continue/conclude this ‘avenger’ cycle we seem to be or whether it’ll kickstart a new one.

It could be more avengers or it could the start of Guardians of the Galaxy.

I’m thinking we might only get two heroes to even off the aspects. So there would be a pre-made leadership and justice deck, assuming Dr. Strange is Protection and Hulk is Aggression. I wonder if we’ll get some sort of cycle, like the big expansion is two heroes and two villains, and the next wave of single packs are related to that themed set. So if it was Guardians of the Galaxy, maybe the main box is Star Lord and Gamora, then we get Rocket, Groot, Drax, and Mantis as singles.

1 hour ago, webslinger9 said:

I’m thinking we might only get two heroes to even off the aspects. So there would be a pre-made leadership and justice deck, assuming Dr. Strange is Protection and Hulk is Aggression. I wonder if we’ll get some sort of cycle, like the big expansion is two heroes and two villains, and the next wave of single packs are related to that themed set. So if it was Guardians of the Galaxy, maybe the main box is Star Lord and Gamora, then we get Rocket, Groot, Drax, and Mantis as singles.

The big thing is that they can always include more heroes than they do ready-to-play decks, just like the Core set. I think they’ll give us all four aspects equally in most big boxes, regardless of the number of heroes. The waves will keep them roughly even, but honestly in a wave or two I don’t think the aspects will feel overwhelmingly unbalanced at any point so long as they release them fairly evenly.

As a previous poster mentioned there are a lot more avengers they could do, or still have to get to. I think Ant-Man and Scarlet Witch are very possible choices due to the extra exposure in the MCU.

In fact it would be strange not to do them and then push on to other teams in the universe and leave them out.

6 hours ago, SpiderMana said:

The big thing is that they can always include more heroes than they do ready-to-play decks, just like the Core set. I think they’ll give us all four aspects equally in most big boxes, regardless of the number of heroes. The waves will keep them roughly even, but honestly in a wave or two I don’t think the aspects will feel overwhelmingly unbalanced at any point so long as they release them fairly evenly.

This is a really good point. I know that the designers have said that they want to make the game as accessible as possible for new players but if they make the story boxes too complete of an experience they make the core set obsolete. New players could just skip buying the core altogether. "Oh no! I didn't get any dials or tokens!" (Not really an issue for many gamers I know).

Of note, it's super cool that I have seen Marvel Champions in Barnes and Noble Bookstores in my town. I'm of the opinion that places like this is where really great games penetrate the "non-gamer population". This is testament to the games success and am just excited that it will compete with "Marvel Monopoly" among the masses.

Just as a plug for how the MCU can influence and inspire the non-comics crowd into getting into games like this, I've mentioned before that superhero comics were never my bag as a kid and even now I lean more towards Gothic horror and stuff like Hellboy. But I've really enjoyed the movies for the most part, which has made me more interested in the superhero genre, specifically the Marvel Universe. If it hadn't been for the movies, I wouldn't have even looked at this game. TBH, I heard about it and wasn't super interested, but figured I'd give it a shot by watching a playthrough, and I was hooked. Nobody here has done it (that I've seen), but I've noticed some comic fans can be really elitist when it comes to the movies and the non-nerds that like them. Which can be off-putting to a lot of people.

I'm not sure exactly where I was going with this, just the mention of the MCU made me think about how I came to be a huge fan of this game and how I'd like to see more people have the same experience without being made to feel dumb because they just know the characters that have shown up in the movies, and aren't particularly up on the - let's be honest, convoluted and confusing - histories and backstories of them all.

47 minutes ago, maniakmedic said:

Just as a plug for how the MCU can influence and inspire the non-comics crowd into getting into games like this, I've mentioned before that superhero comics were never my bag as a kid and even now I lean more towards Gothic horror and stuff like Hellboy. But I've really enjoyed the movies for the most part, which has made me more interested in the superhero genre, specifically the Marvel Universe. If it hadn't been for the movies, I wouldn't have even looked at this game. TBH, I heard about it and wasn't super interested, but figured I'd give it a shot by watching a playthrough, and I was hooked. Nobody here has done it (that I've seen), but I've noticed some comic fans can be really elitist when it comes to the movies and the non-nerds that like them. Which can be off-putting to a lot of people.

I'm not sure exactly where I was going with this, just the mention of the MCU made me think about how I came to be a huge fan of this game and how I'd like to see more people have the same experience without being made to feel dumb because they just know the characters that have shown up in the movies, and aren't particularly up on the - let's be honest, convoluted and confusing - histories and backstories of them all.

I agree - I’m more of a lapsed Marvel Comics reader (although I’ve recently got back into them through Marvel Unlimited which just seems like crazy good value to someone like me who wants to read most stuff), but it doesn’t bother me when movies make changes from the source material. I can love the comics and the MCU without worrying about differences.

2 hours ago, HirumaShigure said:

I know that the designers have said that they want to make the game as accessible as possible for new players but if they make the story boxes too complete of an experience they make the core set obsolete.

Tbh if they’re worried about core set obsoletion, then releasing ready-to-play Heroes and Wrecking Crew (Doesn’t use Standard cards/modules) might have been a mistake

I don’t think they’re too worried about it. If releasing a (mostly) ready-to-play Story Box gets somebody into the game because they like that story and the buy-in isn’t crazy, they’re just increasing the odds of selling a core set to that person eventually. Plus they have major insurance against that in the form of their two most popular characters—and Black Panther and Captain Marvel are pretty popular, too, plus She-Hulk will get a huge popularity boost from Disney+.

7 minutes ago, SpiderMana said:

Tbh if they’re worried about core set obsoletion, then releasing ready-to-play Heroes and Wrecking Crew (Doesn’t use Standard cards/modules) might have been a mistake

I don’t think they’re too worried about it. If releasing a (mostly) ready-to-play Story Box gets somebody into the game because they like that story and the buy-in isn’t crazy, they’re just increasing the odds of selling a core set to that person eventually. Plus they have major insurance against that in the form of their two most popular characters—and Black Panther and Captain Marvel are pretty popular, too, plus She-Hulk will get a huge popularity boost from Disney+.

Assuming the '3 heroes, 5 scenarios' is correct for the Story Box, then that's a minimum of around 190 cards, not even including any Aspect cards (25 cards per scenario, 21 cards per hero). If the included heroes are packaged as playable decks, then that's 75 more cards + extras to turn those included cards into playsets. Now we're at around 260 cards - which isn't much less than the Core.

They could simply through the rulebooks and the punchboard into the box and it's another introductory product, for little redundancy or extra cost

And if it came in the same sized box and with a decent insert again that'd be great too.

I don't mind when the movies make changes to the source material since what makes a good comic and what makes a good movie is not the same thing. I expect them to be adapted for the screen not transcribed to it.

Though I do get slightly annoyed when the comics then silently morph into the movie interpretations. I understand why they do it since they want people who come in from TV, movies etc to see more of what called them to the comic. Though as someone who has read comics since the 80s it can feel a bit like nails on a chalk board when the characters I had been following are suddenly very different in personality (and supposedly still in continuity).

I guess if given my preference I'd rather the comics lead the movies to give inspiration to them rather than the other way around. On the Marvel front ever since the MCU has taken off it's been pretty clear the movies and TV shows have been a large force in shaping the narrative.

Also why would making the story boxes another intro product be a bad move? That's sort of the mantra of this game. Make jumping on at any point as easy as possible to ensure a long tail for the game. If they like the game they probably will still want to get the core set in the least to get headliners like Spider-Man. They put big names and big card effects in that core set. In a perfect world they would actually deliver on that promise of just pick a couple products off the rack and play ideal that you can get with other very popular games. For example how many people were brought into Magic through those duel decks you could get in Walmart? FFG needs to definitely get over their fear in this regard if these games are going to ever be bigger than they are currently.

3 hours ago, maniakmedic said:

Nobody here has done it (that I've seen), but I've noticed some comic fans can be really elitist when it comes to the movies and the non-nerds that like them. Which can be off-putting to a lot of people.

That’s a shame. I can only speak for myself but even with ready marvel since I had 15, I don’t see myself as a specialist. I have era I like and other I Din’t, sometime different from other readers. But I don’t think I possess the truth about it. I rather prefer talking and learning even from a era I think Ed I didn’t love. now than never I like all characters because They have potential. If I like it or not, it’s not the characters fault nor the creator. It’s just I waited for something and find something different. With time a story I didn’t like can be revisited in my reading and I surprise myself by have a different taste about it. So I’m pragmatic. All character are a adaptation (in Movies as in comics) because much of them was created by writers and drawers who are now dead, or that who don’t work anymore on them. If I like a story, I support it, If I don’t I just wait and will see if later I could read it, or will just follow a new version. And I will never judge a new readers because I remember been one. I will not put a crappy « by what to beggin » because I take the train as much of many reader in the middle of something (and I didn’t die and that was without any internet). I prefer talking about what the other search and point him toward some stories I came across close to what I understand of his taste (not surprisingly I’m a librarian). Sometime it will be with poor word as for « War of the Realm » because that wasn’t my taste and I have forgotten already much of it (but it’s not for that it’s not a good story for another reader), sometime with to much because I really dig it. Please if that happen just stop me before I spoil you of any fun because someone explain to me Discoworld in every details and once I open the books, I cannot see what he see because I have the knowledge he gave me + expectations.

How do I delete a message made by mistake, thanks?

Obviously its The Circus of Crime.

Other Options:

Age of Apocalypse

Acts of Vengeance

Siege of Darkness

War of Kings

Agents of Atlas

Heralds of Galactus

Elders of the Universe

Legion of Monsters

Jack of Hearts

I don't have any real insight or guesses on the story of the box, but there have been two tidbits released..

1) In an interview a French FFG employee mentioned that there would be 2 heroes and 5 scenarios in the box. Haven't seen/read the actual interview, but it has been pretty heavily mentioned on various internet places.

2) During the Doctor Strange stream they mentioned that the box would be kicking off a new "cycle" of associated heroes rather than wrapping up the current one.

Just look at the core box. It's going to be Thanos related. I don't think they're going to do a comic book story (won't they have to pay more people if they do a real Marvel comic book arch?) they're going to probably use all the characters you see on the box and just do their own arch.

12 hours ago, Trialus said:

1) In an interview a French FFG employee mentioned that there would be 2 heroes and 5 scenarios in the box. Haven't seen/read the actual interview, but it has been pretty heavily mentioned on various internet places.

It was an Asmodée rep, who might be in the know, and who might not. If it's anything like software development, R&D and sales reps don't live on the same planet most of the time. 😋

In any case, he said 3 heroes and 5 scenarios.

If FFG wanted to be cool and fix the printing issue at the same time, they could do what the comic book industry does with Trade Paperbacks, a Trade Paperback is a big book that has all the comic book issues related to a story arch, it's a way for readers to keep up and not have to track down comic book issues. FFG could do the big box like a Trade Paperback... put out a few heroes and scenarios (Just like a comic book issue) then later in the year put out a big box with reprints of those heroes and scenarios for that year (Trade Paperback).

Note: This big box wont have the core set heroes and villains.

Despite my suspicions that the story box will be Guardians of the Galaxy, I would really prefer it be a "closing to an Avengers arc" with Ghost Rider and Blade as the heroes and Dormammu or Malaketh as the villain. When speculation was that we'd get Ghost Rider before the E-Bay spoils I was really getting really hype and started researching the current character (Danny Ketch was the Ghost Rider I was familiar with, Johnny Blaze just being "Blaze" back then). Of course Blade had always been cool too.

Deadpool: "I love your Wesley Snipes impersonation!"

I'll love what ever it turns out to be but would prefer the closure those two characters would give for the Jason Aaron team.