Hello,

I got the core set to this game at release and have not gotten anything else for it. With 6 hero packs and 2 scenario packs out, this seems like a nice time to step back and evaluate the game.

I'm a huge fan of LOTR LCG, but there are aspects (no pun intended) of this game that I really enjoy and it is different enough that I think expanding on it would be fun. For this game I play casually solo and occasional 2-player with a youngster that's a huge Marvel fan.

I'm not sure what I'm trying to ask, I want to get some thoughts from the "veterans" that are playing the game and keeping up with the content. So you don't need to pitch a sale, the sale is very likely, just attempting some groundwork? Here goes:

1 - Are there any "must-have" hero packs? Favorite characters aside, if budgetary limits would prevent someone from buying packs, are there ones that an expanding player must have? Same question with the two scenario packs?

2 - How do you feel about each aspect and where it stands with the current card pool?

3 - What has been your personal favorite pack to get thus far?

4 - Just for fun, who is your favorite hero in the game at this point?

I realize that I'm asking a biased lot to give their opinions here, but that's ok because I like hearing about something from people that enjoy it. If this question has been asked recently I apologize, I didn't see it on the first two pages and figured I might be good to go. Looking forward to your answers.

tl;dr - asking for a mini-review on the current state of the game, are there packs you think are must-have, and how are the aspects currently?

First off, let me say that you shouldn’t feel like you have to buy any product. The game is very carefully released in sauce a way that you can absolutely just buy the heroes you want and have a great time, so if you’re not looking to budget this into your monthly spending I wouldn’t worry too much.

2 hours ago, TheSpitfired said:

1 - Are there any "must-have" hero packs?

This is actually something I’ve been meaning to put a spreadsheet together for. How many of the most/least popular cards are in each pack, so deck builders can get the most out of the game if they don’t want every hero. That said:

-Ms Marvel has some Protection Staples and her hero kit plays very uniquely.

-Black Widow is the only Justice pack so far but it’s a really nice boost to the aspect as well, and she’s a very popular hero because her design is very solid

-Captain America is likewise the only Leadership pack so far, but he’s got some great staples in there. He’s a bit above the power curve but he’s fun and straightforward.

-Hulk himself struggles from the same thing any Attack-heavy, Thwart-lite hero Is gonna struggle with. But he is fun and the better Aggression pack to boost that aspect

-the Green Goblin pack far outweighs Wrecking Crew the latter is a single scenario that doesn’t use modular sets and doesn’t come with any modulars, the former is one Meh and one excellent scenario with 4 modular sets.

2 hours ago, TheSpitfired said:

2 - How do you feel about each aspect and where it stands with the current card pool?

3 - What has been your personal favorite pack to get thus far?

4 - Just for fun, who is your favorite hero in the game at this point?

2: Some are better (especially in solo) but they’re all fun and especially in multiplayer you can really combine whichever you like.

3: Probably Black Widow? She plays in a unique way and feels very strong without feeling overpowered.

4. Hawkeye. We’ve seen enough of his pack for me to know that I’ll play him 82% of the time for quite a while 😅

1- I'd probably say Cap/Strange -> Widow/Ms. Marvel - > Thor in terms of priorities. Character wise, Thor's the only one who's maybe a little limited/under the curve; the other four are all super solid characters that can be played in a number of ways. I'd just say that Cap and Strange maybe add a little more to flesh out deck building for their main aspect. I will just say that I found Aggression to be the least interesting aspect and often most replaceable aspect right now, so that may colour my feelings about Thor. (Note that I don't have Hulk yet, so don't know where he sits)

General agreement seems to be that Wrecking Crew is somewhat underwhelming; it's a cool idea but it doesn't quite work. If it's a choice between the two of then, the Goblin is the safe bet.

2 - Pretty good. Aggression and Justice probably need a little more depth, but I'm fairly confident that they'll get it soon (e.g. Hulk seems to have added some nice options for Aggression). Protection was a pretty clear dud out of the core set, but is feels significantly more viable. Leadership is moving along and will presumably continue to get more options/themes.

3 - Probably Strange. He's a fantastic hero, and he's really where Protection started to feel worth it for me.

4 - Again, probably Strange. I like the toolbox aspect. However it feels like a lot of characters are getting more balanced kits that makes them more viable with multiple aspects, so I've enjoyed most of them.

1 hour ago, SpiderMana said:

This is actually something I’ve been meaning to put a spreadsheet together for. How many of the most/least popular cards are in each pack, so deck builders can get the most out of the game if they don’t want every hero. That said:

What do you have in mind? I think I have most of the data on my google sheet already, it would just be a case of adding the popularity part in.

11 hours ago, TheSpitfired said:

tl;dr - asking for a mini-review on the current state of the game, are there packs you think are must-have, and how are the aspects currently?

1 - I consider all the hero packs so far as "must-have" thanks to the aspect cards they bring to the table, both for the main aspect and the extra cards for each other aspect. The core set is good but the card pool is fairly shallow so there's not much difference playing a given aspect paired with a different hero. To that end, at bare bones I'd recommend picking up at least one hero pack for each aspect to open up deckbuilding and variety. Green Goblin villain pack is definitely the higher priority between the two villain packs so far. I love the Wrecking Crew in the comics and their pack has a great feel but it's limited in customization and difficulty.

2 - I enjoy playing all aspects, probably Aggression the most and definitely Leadership the least. I don't play much solo anymore so from what i remember Aggression and core-only Protection struggle in solo yet can be tons of fun with at least one other player around. Now that each aspect has at least one hero pack, the card pool has opened up how aspects can play so you can really build an aspect more to boost a hero's capabilities, shore up their weaknesses, or anything in between.

3 - Thor is my favorite new hero pack which comes from being one of my favorites in comics. While it's odd that he's less straightforward than you'd expect, he can be a beast in the right scenarios. Ms. Marvel and Dr. Strange are close runners-up thanks to their neat hero cards, playstyles, and goodies for Protection. The good Dr. comes with more new and awesome Protection cards than she does so that's notable enough to mention when budget is a concern.

4 - Each hero has been enjoyable to play and build for so I don't have a clear-cut favorite in game. Haven't played Hulk yet and expect he'll be fun too.

After all this time, she hulk is still my favorite hero to play. Of the hero packs, Captain America or doctor strange are tied for my favorite! Truthfully the only hero pack I have not liked is the black widow pack, It's just not fun to me. And green goblin is the best scenario pack.

9 hours ago, Tonbo Karasu said:

What do you have in mind? I think I have most of the data on my google sheet already, it would just be a case of adding the popularity part in.

Oh, is this your spreadsheet? We were looking at it yesterday to try to figure out what else Hawkeye's precon will have in it, and we're pretty sure Power of Leadership should be RoRS #17, since he should have two more Leadership Allies based on Dev comments on stream.

I'm not sure how to explain it, tbh. I'll probably go ahead and start working on it and I can show you what I'm thinking when I've got the first pack down.

14 minutes ago, SpiderMana said:

Oh, is this your spreadsheet? We were looking at it yesterday to try to figure out what else Hawkeye's precon will have in it, and we're pretty sure Power of Leadership should be RoRS #17, since he should have two more Leadership Allies based on Dev comments on stream.

I'm not sure how to explain it, tbh. I'll probably go ahead and start working on it and I can show you what I'm thinking when I've got the first pack down.

Yep. Generally speaking, the cards are in alphabetical order by type : Ally - Event - Resource - Support - Upgrade. The Rise of Red Skull has somewhat ruined that rule though, annoying me a bit. Is it definitely 2 more Leadership Allies, or could it be a 3/2 split, putting in another Basic ally at #19 or #21? Whatever, it leaves 6 cards to complete the deck, split between 3 names. I would reckon 1 unique, 1 new 3x and a reprint 2x.

58 minutes ago, Tonbo Karasu said:

Yep. Generally speaking, the cards are in alphabetical order by type : Ally - Event - Resource - Support - Upgrade. The Rise of Red Skull has somewhat ruined that rule though, annoying me a bit. Is it definitely 2 more Leadership Allies, or could it be a 3/2 split, putting in another Basic ally at #19 or #21? Whatever, it leaves 6 cards to complete the deck, split between 3 names. I would reckon 1 unique, 1 new 3x and a reprint 2x.

That's exactly the conclusion we've come to 😂 There is a card spread in French that has

which, along with everything else we know is in his precon, leads us to think Lead from the Front for the 2x reprint, and then Avengers Mansion or maybe Avengers Tower (though a new unique basic would be neat too).

I'm fairly certain it will be 2 Leadership allies, not another basic? But that might just be my gut feeling. Plus if the other new 3-of is indeed an event it throws off your ordering a bit more anyways (And when I say #17 it could certainly be #18 or 19 too)

Thanks for the answers everyone. Spidermana I realized as I read your answer I asked the wrong question but you answered in a great way. I think I was looking to see if there were "staple" cards in some of the packs but it sounds like it depends what aspects you like to play. My favorite for a long time was Iron Man with protection aspect, so knowing where the "staples" are helps, in addition to knowing that they aren't really needed if I don't want to get them.

That being said, I'm in for a penny in for a pound, so all the heroes I could find and green goblin scenario are on their way! Now I just have to hope my FLGS still has Thor when I stop in and I'll be golden. I might even get to play this week, so exciting!

2 hours ago, TheSpitfired said:

Thanks for the answers everyone. Spidermana I realized as I read your answer I asked the wrong question but you answered in a great way. I think I was looking to see if there were "staple" cards in some of the packs but it sounds like it depends what aspects you like to play. My favorite for a long time was Iron Man with protection aspect, so knowing where the "staples" are helps, in addition to knowing that they aren't really needed if I don't want to get them.

That being said, I'm in for a penny in for a pound, so all the heroes I could find and green goblin scenario are on their way! Now I just have to hope my FLGS still has Thor when I stop in and I'll be golden. I might even get to play this week, so exciting!

Ah, gotcha! Yeah aspect staples are mostly in the packs I mentioned, so far (though we don't have a second Leadership or Justice pack yet so that's less of a choice). As for basic staples, Black Widow has Quincarrier which is a unique support that goes in most decks I make at this point? Endurance and Downtime are actually both in Ms Marvel's pack--both basic cards that I would consider staples--as well as Energy Barrier, a staple protection card especially for Iron Man.

But yeah that's more or less what I hope for the chart to accomplish, since aspect staples are so different from basic staples.

1a - I think Cap is probably the most important pack followed by Ms Marvel because of the staple cards where the core set is light...

Cap gives you Falcon and Squirrel Girl ( Leadership essentials - at the moment)

Ms Marvel gives you ( Nova , Preemptive Strike , and Energy Barrier ) - protection is pretty bad from the core set.

However she is second because Dr. Strange also provides some good protection staples ( Danny Rand , Brother Voodoo , and Night Nurse )

Thor would be next because Under Surveillance is probably the strongest card in the game (either that or For Justice from the core set)

I'll update this after I play Hulk who seems to have some aggro staples

1b - I recommend getting the Wrecking Crew early its fun the first few times you play it but as you get better it gets more dull. I would compare it to the Shadows of Mirkwood Cycle . But the Green Goblin pack is loads more fun and way more challenging, so if its not a matter of order (1st vs 2nd - but rather one or the other) than get the Green Goblin . But as far as everything goes I would prioritize both scenario packs over any hero pack , the game still is in desperate need of fresh content (coming soon).

2 - I order the aspects as follows Justice , Leadership , Aggro , Protection . You can not beat Ultron Expert multiplayer without Justice as one of the aspects (at least so far in my experience). Protection might be better than Aggro but Im not sure it is as much fun.

3- Oddly I think Ms Marvel has been the best although I did not think so at the time. Once you pair here with Justice she is incredible, plus she is fun to play. I am more of a golden/silver-age fan so she lacks appeal due to less familiarity for me, however she is just fun to play. Dr. Strange and Black Widow are fun in multi-player, but they are pretty much broken in solo. (at least so far)

4- My favorite of the heroes so far is Cappy . Followed by Dr.Strange , Black Widow , and She-Hulk .

1) Out of all the packs, if you could only get one hero, I'd recommend Captain America. In solo he's a good hero to learn the game with. He's very versatile. I hate to say he's "Easy mode" but you should be able to beat all scenarios with him, in a straight forward manner, and you'll be able to use him with all aspects. If the truth be told, what aspect you pair him with will be somewhat irrelevant because his signature 15 cards are so good. You could progress through the difficulties with him- standard, expert, and heroic. Doctor Strange may be more powerful, but less straight forward for newer players.

In multiplayer I believe that a reason Captain America would be the most desirable is because out of all the aspects, playing 2 leadership heroes together, instead of say- 2 justice heroes, would be the most optimal (if multiple players wanted to double up on an aspect, that is). Also, if you're teaching the game to a new player, you could hand them the a Captain America deck, and they will feel empowered from the start. Or, you could give them a different character's deck if they prefer and you could keep them safe and support them while they figure out how to use the other character.

As far as scenarios go, I'd recommend Green Goblin over Wrecking Crew if for no other reason than the included modular encounter sets. These add so much to the replayability of the core set villains. Risky Business is a lot of fun, I'd recommend trying it on Heroic after playing through the other difficulty levels, it's a lot of fun this way. Mutagen should always offer a decent amount of difficulty even in standard mode.

2) Leadership is probably the strongest because it can thwart, attack, and defend as well if not better than the other aspects.

Justice gained a lot in the Justice card Under Surveillance from the Thor pack, and Beat Cop from Hulk- probably more so than the Black Widow deck.

Aggression got a huge boost from the Hulk pack ("You'll Pay for That", She-Hulk, Sentry, and Brawn allies). In the Thor deck, Jarnbjorn is another stand out card.

Protection, although my favorite aspect, still feels like it's missing something. I can't even pinpoint what it is. Perhaps it is just not universally good with all heroes where even Justice can work with a character with 1 or even 0 thwart.

3) My personal favorite pack has been Doctor Strange. Again, his aspect tends to feel irrelevant because his deck and Invocation cards are so strong. I like to play support roles so I can use him to fill the gaps in an emergency. His pre-con was pretty decent too.

4) Ms. Marvel is probably the character I have the most fun with. In Aggression she can really dish the damage out, and she's a thwarting machine in Justice. She's really good in Leadership too because her Alter-ego ability can consistently dump allies in to her discard pile so she can pull them back with Make the Calls and focus on using her Morphogenics for her Big Hands and Sneak Bys. I prefer her in multiplayer but she's decent in solo too. Aamir Khan is one of my favorite cards in the game and I love all the combos you can do with her.