I recently finished my chronological marathon of the MCU and it got me thinking about Vision as a hero in Marvel Champions. What would his alter ego side be? I've never read any of the comics with Vision in them, so I'm not well-versed in his origin story. If FFG was using the MCU, I'd say they could use JARVIS since that's where he started (you could make some really interesting design choices with him to synergize with Iron Man if that was the case), but since they're using the comics as source material, that's obviously out. I'd love to see a Vision hero deck come out. And given the fact that either Caleb or Boggs (I can't remember which) specifically said they don't want to leave any heroes off the table, I'm positive we'll be seeing him at some point. Vision experts, what do you think?

And just in general, are there any other heroes you can think of that don't really have an alter ego? What do you think FFG will do for them to make them a playable hero in the game?

I was honestly a bit surprised they called Thor "Odinson" instead of just putting "Thor" on both sides of the card. In hindsight, this makes it easier for cards like his Obligation to specify that you must exhaust the Alter-Ego side.

That said, with a bit of effort put into phrasing on some cards, I still see no reason for them not to just put "Vision" on both sides of his card.

Vision is technically either Simon Williams or Jim Hammond (one supplied his mind, the other his body) but using either as his alter ego is problematic given they are Wonder Man and Human Torch respectively.

For Thor they could have used Donald Blake as his alter ego (and I expected them to tbh). Given that Donald Blake was his alter ego in the early comics, it would have made sense.

Vision used the alias ‘Victor Shade’ for a number of years which was essentially a disguise where he made himself look human to find out more about what being human meant. Essentially what he’s doing when he meets up with Wanda at the beginning of Infinity War.

5 hours ago, FearLord said:

Vision used the alias ‘Victor Shade’ for a number of years which was essentially a disguise where he made himself look human to find out more about what being human meant. Essentially what he’s doing when he meets up with Wanda at the beginning of Infinity War.

Yeah. I remember him using the alias Victor Shade.

The Eternals (Ikaris, Sersi, Starfox)?

Shang-Chi

8 hours ago, Schrodinger's Hat said:

For Thor they could have used Donald Blake as his alter ego (and I expected them to tbh). Given that Donald Blake was his alter ego in the early comics, it would have made sense.

It’s not about the classic concept of “Alter-Ego,” though. In this game it’s not about “my Hero needs to blend in with the humans” so much as it is “my Hero needs to take a break from the Hero thing.” So Alter-Egos are based on who the character truly is, rather than a disguise like Donald Blake.

Alter egos essentially represent the traditional Marvel hero thing - I.e. that heroes are real people with real people problems (represented in this game by obligations). Some alter egos are more like secret identities (like Spider-Man and Peter Parker) while some really just represent the character on a day off or with other concerns than super heroics (Like Thor and Odin-Son).

The one I'm curious about is Jessica Jones, in that not only does she not have any 'hero name', but that she's actively rejected the idea of having one after the whole 'Jewel' thing was such a disaster. Thankfully, this also gave us the hilarious 'Power Woman' dinner conversation...

(Okay... technically after this she agreed to go by 'Power Woman', but it didn't really stick)

If I were designing a character like Jessica Jones I would simply have Jessica Jones (hero) and Jessica Jones (alter ego). Keeping it simple.

The hero that got me thinking was Moon Knight. But then I would have Marc Spector as the alter ego and the likes of Steven Grant and Jake Locksley would be persona cards.

4 hours ago, Janaka said:

If I were designing a character like Jessica Jones I would simply have Jessica Jones (hero) and Jessica Jones (alter ego). Keeping it simple.

The hero that got me thinking was Moon Knight. But then I would have Marc Spector as the alter ego and the likes of Steven Grant and Jake Locksley would be persona cards.

They pretty much always have a different name to clearly differentiate between hero and alter ego.

1 hour ago, Derrault said:

They pretty much always have a different name to clearly differentiate between hero and alter ego.

That makes sense, but you do have to admit that, up to this point, the heroes they've chosen have had pretty clearly different hero and alter-ego personas. Thor was the only one that really skirted that line, but just barely. That being said, the same name on both sides of the card will definitely be confusing, even if the art is radically different.

I'll be interested to see how they do a Jessica Jones hero. I'll be really interested to see what they do with Vision. And not just with the hero/alter-ego bit. I don't know if they'd want to go as far as they have in the LOTR LCG, but there are certain hero versions that specifically play off of each other (Legolas and Gimli, Elladan and Elrohir, Arwen and Aragorn). Vision and Scarlet Witch playing off each other could be a lot of fun. Speaking of which, I'm super excited to see how they make Scarlet Witch different from Doc since both are magic users, just different types.

Scarlet Witch probability control to look and rearrange decks should be cool.

Vision with his optic beams, density control, and super intelligence could have cards that are strong but extra strong in combination. Scarlet Witch could be useful in stacking those combos.

For example a power like:

Look at the top 5 cards of a player deck and put one on bottom and rearrange the other 4 on top of the deck, then look at the bottom 5 cards and put one on top and rearrange the other 4 on bottom would be interesting for a combo deck.

4 hours ago, IceHot42 said:

Scarlet Witch probability control to look and rearrange decks should be cool.

Vision with his optic beams, density control, and super intelligence could have cards that are strong but extra strong in combination. Scarlet Witch could be useful in stacking those combos.

For example a power like:

Look at the top 5 cards of a player deck and put one on bottom and rearrange the other 4 on top of the deck, then look at the bottom 5 cards and put one on top and rearrange the other 4 on bottom would be interesting for a combo deck.

How about just being able to play the bottom card?

5 hours ago, Derrault said:

How about just being able to play the bottom card?

There are so many times that would have given me a card I needed to win a game. Or at least get my hero properly built.

On 4/11/2020 at 3:47 PM, KBlumhardt said:

The one I'm curious about is Jessica Jones, in that not only does she not have any 'hero name', but that she's actively rejected the idea of having one after the whole 'Jewel' thing was such a disaster. Thankfully, this also gave us the hilarious 'Power Woman' dinner conversation...

(Okay... technically after this she agreed to go by 'Power Woman', but it didn't really stick)

They could get around this by making her alter-ego focus on her investigative work (probably getting to look at the encounter deck and benefit from that somehow) and have something like, "P.I." put at the end of her name on the alter-ego side of the card. I'd bet on this before seeing something unusual like only having one side to the card. She also might not be able to get rid of her obligation card permanently, which could also go with the theme of her not having a secret identity.

I was wondering how they would have characters like Rocket, Drax, and the other Guardians as playable characters. Might be another future campaign box that changes the approach to the game a bit?

4 hours ago, smickletz said:

I was wondering how they would have characters like Rocket, Drax, and the other Guardians as playable characters. Might be another future campaign box that changes the approach to the game a bit?

I think that the Hero / Alter Ego mechanic is far too embedded in the game to be removed. Looking at people like Thor and Dr Strange shows that characters without 'obvious' alter egos have been managed in the past. Drax, for example, could be 'Drax' on the Alter-ego side and 'Drax The Destroyer', or even simply 'The Destroyer' on the Hero side. That took me a little thought, and I haven't got answers for _all_ of the Guardians but I'm not being paid to think about it full time.

Groot - I am Groot

Star Lord - Peter Quill

Rocket Raccoon - Rocket??

On 4/16/2020 at 3:58 AM, Tonbo Karasu said:

Rocket Raccoon - Rocket??

Rabbit

43 minutes ago, IceHot42 said:

Rabbit

Trash Panda 😂

In the movies Rocket original name was 89P13. They could use that, in a pinch. In any case, however fun it would be to speculate about and identity card, characters like Rocket and Groot probably never will have their own, and they will be just allies to other heroes.

In an speculation mindset, maybe teams like the Guardians could work like a reverse Wrecking Crew, were one player manages different single sided "identies" with one single deck. Or maybe Groot/Rocket could work like two sides of an identity card with two hero sides that tag-team each other to deal with the villains.

On 4/16/2020 at 3:57 AM, smickletz said:

I was wondering how they would have characters like Rocket, Drax, and the other Guardians as playable characters. Might be another future campaign box that changes the approach to the game a bit?

Drax would be Arthur Douglas.

2 hours ago, Janaka said:

Drax would be Arthur Douglas.

True, but that’s just a one time transformation. Flip back and forth seems to require heros who go back to their alter-ego regularly.

Alter ego: Drax

Hero: The Destroyer

On 4/12/2020 at 4:10 AM, Janaka said:

If I were designing a character like Jessica Jones I would simply have Jessica Jones (hero) and Jessica Jones (alter ego). Keeping it simple.

The hero that got me thinking was Moon Knight. But then I would have Marc Spector as the alter ego and the likes of Steven Grant and Jake Locksley would be persona cards.

Although they wouldn't do it for a family friendly game, I could totally see it being Jessica Jones (sober) and Jessica Jones (not sober).