Hello Everyone,

I like this game, and want to like it more, but am still getting my butt kicked playing. I am struggling to beat Rhino but want to get better. I think winning a few will rebuild my confidence.

I have the core set, Captain America, Black Widow, Mrs. Marvel, and Hulk. I do feel compelled to get more for Christmas. Are there any mission packs or characters that might help me win more?

I am looking at the Green Goblin Scenario pack, or wrecking Crew, or the Red Skull, or any other characters?

Thanks,

50 minutes ago, Maryshelly2 said:

Hello Everyone,

I like this game, and want to like it more, but am still getting my butt kicked playing. I am struggling to beat Rhino but want to get better. I think winning a few will rebuild my confidence.

I have the core set, Captain America, Black Widow, Mrs. Marvel, and Hulk. I do feel compelled to get more for Christmas. Are there any mission packs or characters that might help me win more?

I am looking at the Green Goblin Scenario pack, or wrecking Crew, or the Red Skull, or any other characters?

Thanks,

Wrecking Crew is fairly easy to win in solo (although there is a bit of keeping track of who the active villain in, since you are fighting a team of villains)

Risky Business is also considered fairly easy, that’s the first of two scenarios from the Green Goblin pack.

Ant-Man and Doctor Strange are both very interesting heroes, and many consider Strange to be among the strongest.

Perfect! That's exactly what I needed. How difficult are the Wrecking Crew and Green Goblin Scenarios compared to Rhino?

Beating Rhino should be quite easy unless you're playing true solo, in which case results can be quite swingy.

If you're struggling, it may be due to a simple misinterpretation of the rules or a misunderstanding of an aspect of gameplay? It's highly unlikely to be because you're a poor player. May I suggest you could perhaps check out one or two you tube videos of game play - it might prove quite helpful to you.

Perfect, all sound advice. Part of the reason I want to buy at my local store is 1/ to get something cool for Christmas, and 2/ to help struggling businesses during the Pandemic (Honey...I buy these character packs to help the economy)

just out of curiosity, what is your play style? what typically defeats you, do you threat out or do you lose your hit points?

In the few games that I played, usually losing hit points. I think that I do not flip to my alter ego enough. I think I just stay in Hero mode and try to batter the villain to oblivion which, I am learning, is a rookie mistake

1 hour ago, Maryshelly2 said:

In the few games that I played, usually losing hit points. I think that I do not flip to my alter ego enough. I think I just stay in Hero mode and try to batter the villain to oblivion which, I am learning, is a rookie mistake

That's a habit to break. While there are some decks that can get into a damage race with the boss, it's not always the best strategy. Sometimes defending for a round or two instead of attacking or thwarting with your hero's basic stats might be enough. Other situations require flipping back to alter-ego to recover, maybe even doing so a few times throughout the game. Either way, keeping your hit points up could buy you an extra turn or two to finish the villain past the point you've normally been losing on. You may need to thwart the villain's main scheme more to afford the extra threat that comes from being in alter-ego for a turn. Rhino is one of the easiest villains out there but also one that often steals wins with the very low amount of threat required to complete his main scheme. Try Captain America's prebuilt deck and focus on getting Allies into play then using them to thwart and attack until they have one hit point left then use them to block Rhino's attack on you. Cap's 3 DEF with the shield in play and his ability to ready himself also means he's great at staying healthy so you can extend the game and win. Once you're more comfortable with other portions of the game besides duking it out with the villain, you can revisit the good old boss rush.

Learning how often your character is supposed to flip will help a lot. Certain characters like to flip as much as possible (She-Hulk and Ms. Marvel come to mind), but some like to sit in hero mode as long as possible (Captain America and Hulk). Every hero has a rhythm and once you figure out one, it's easier to figure out the rest. I'd suggest picking one character and playing it multiple times so you get to know its quirks and rhythm.

The first time I played with a group, it was with the Captain Marvel pre-con and I did terrible. I couldn't for the life of me figure out why they decided her pre-con aspect should be Leadership. Now I feel like I can go back and do a much better job with that same deck. It just took some time.

The things to remember about Rhino is:

He's not very good at Schemeing, but since he only has one stage in the main scheme, he can complete it in one turn if you are unlucky. keep track of the "Advance" encounter cards.

Use cards like "Emergency" or "Great responsibility" to avoid that.

You could also try playing two heroes. That would double the amount of threat Rhino needs to win making it less likely for him to win in one round, but you still need to keep an eye on threat.

He can hit VERY hard ! Rhino with charge can easily hit for 7+

Use cards like spidermans "Backflip" "ARMOURED VEST" or CPT. AMERICA "SHIELD BLOCK" to redoce or block the damage. Med team and Down time can help you heal afterwards

17 hours ago, Maryshelly2 said:

In the few games that I played, usually losing hit points. I think that I do not flip to my alter ego enough. I think I just stay in Hero mode and try to batter the villain to oblivion which, I am learning, is a rookie mistake

there are multiple play strategies and some others have given some really solid specific examples so I will tend more towards the general strategy.

I tend to play a slower, more conservative game and this works very, very well for that; others will play more aggressively and have a different answer. Find the one that works for you.

On my turn my priorities are ; plan for long term, clear all threat, then take care of minions, and only when that is done do I attack the villain.

In another thread people are talking about Heroes and Aspects, for example. I love building up Hawkeye Justice: Over the course of the game it is not unusual for me to have both copies of Expert Marksman, the Quiver, Mockingbird, and a Beat Cop or two out. A typical turn goes play Mockingbird, have her thwart for 2, spot-thwart with the Beat Cops, and use the appropriate arrow(s) from Hawkeye, usually free or requiring just one resource thanks to his Expert Marksmen. Then when the villain attacks, I use Mockingbird to defend, taking her back in hand to play again next turn. It takes a while to set up; but once set, I can take care of all the things the villain did on his turn and as opportunity presents whittle his hit points down.

So in a turn I will A) do the things that cost nothing and could alter my choices; Ie, with Hawkeye, even if a turn has an obvious path, I am going to use the quiver first so I can know what arrows are available. Having assessed the board state, then I know if I need to use a Cable Arrow (threat),damage multiple minions (explosive arrow), stun or confuse the villain...is Hawkeye more valuable exhausting to fire a second arrow or attacking for 3? Or...and this is rare...would there be value in using his sole thwart? I have had times when I needed that one extra threat to clear a hazard producing side scheme for example.

B) Once I have done the free things I can plan the turn. It is easy to see what will cost you the game on any given turn. Have 2 hp left and villain attacks for 3+a boost? I am flipping down. Threat 2 from taking you out and villain schemes for 3? I am thwarting with every ally I have, every trick I can pull and likely to be on hero side. Anything that will make me lose if I don't handle it, do that now. Then I can deal with less immediate threats.

Once you get used to prioritizing you will find that many turns play themselves. When you reach this point, go back and reexamine because you are likely to be missing things that will ease the way.

Also, and this I have not seen mentioned in this thread, if you are not playing pretty much every card every turn you are doing it wrong. I have a lot of younger players in the 8 people I regularly play with and sometimes you will see one hang onto a card, two, three cards for multiple turns. That loses games. With very, very few exceptions, you are playing cards or tossing them at the end of turn. There are exceptions...Rhino with the 2 Charges, I am holding a Shield Block. (If I am Hawkeye, I played Mockingbird and laugh that attack off anyway).

Live action example, recently on his first turn a younger player was going to play one not overly useful card at the time and save 3 cards in hand; one was Stark Tower which costs two. Because he is fairly new to the game, we alpha gamed him a bit and walked back his turn; by playing every card in his turn, he was able to use rocket boots to help pay for Stark Tower, pull Stark Tower back to hand, and at end of turn he had Stark Tower, Pepper Potts, a piece of armor and no cards in hand. Look at multiple ways to play your turn and remember a resource saved is not a resource saved...it is lost. Not spending it this turn does not give you an extra resource next turn. Spend, spend, spend.

Look for ways to maximize value. Have 5 cards in hand, one being very useful and costing 1, 2 being modestly helpful, a Helicarrier and something you love to play but not vital...play the helicarrier, use it to play the 1 cost card and you are better set for the rest of the game. If you played chess, this is somewhat akin to planning the response 7 moves down the line as you see the responses coming.

Hope this helps a bit.

Little margins add up to huge results.

Foiled is also a really good card (I prefer it over Great Responsibility) against Rhino.

Risky Business is perhaps the easiest, but that is because there is a trick you can exploit. Dont flip Norman until you are Ready. If you try to take Risky Business head on you will lose just as easily as losing to Rhino.

Mutagen Formula on the other hand is probably the hardest scenario in Solo (Pre-RotR).

I finally won it, Spider man vs. Rhino, it was actually very easy.

I realize that Slider man is very difficult to hurt, every round he can defend for 3, or he can use back flip, or Spidey sense, but I found that webbed up was extremely useful because it basically nullified 2 attacks ( 1 to remove webbed up, and 1 because it gets replaced with stunned). I also realized that Spider man cycles through lots of cards because of his basic hero power (getting a card every time he is attacked). I soon had lots of cards to play, more by using Avengers mansion to get more cards, and helicarrier to make 1 card cheaper). Soon I was getting lots of backflips to demolish Rhino's health. Using Daredevil and interrogation room and the web sensors kept the threat very low. What a great victory!

Tonight I played Hulk vs Rhino, 1 loss, 1 win

The first game was done quick. At first I lay a ton of damage, but my first encounter brought Abomination into play. Soon Rhino and Abomination were laying a ton of damage into me and I soon lost,

The second game I was tempted to deal alot of damage in my first turn, but I got Avengers mansion instead (good move). It was a slow start to the game where I did not cause damage, but I built up the table with Helicarrier, Martial prowess, Brawn, She hulk, and Sentry. I had enough cards and resources to keep threat low, and my allies helped with damage, threat, or protecting me. I was down to 3 health, but landed a final blow to win!

winning solo with Hulk is impressive. well done. he is generally considered one of the weaker if not weakest heroes but sounds like you are finding your way to success and that is fantastic to hear

Thanks, the economics are the same. I realized that cards are currency. Avengers mansion is another card every round which can allow 1 to 3 resource points (Hulk gets lots of strength 3 resource points). Helicarrier is a 1 point reduction which is the same as another resource point. Martial Prowess is another point. They all add up.

Now, Hulk is not as good I find as Spider Man, but he has some cards which are good. Hulk Smash (the one with a basic attack of +10), can potentially demolish Rhino in 1 round. The thunderclap can potentially clear a table of minions. The sub-orbital jump can reduce threat. What I found however, is that you need allies. Once the cards start coming in, getting she hulk, Brawn, and Sentry were essential for Threat reduction (which at one point was getting out of hand). There was another card (I forget the name) which reduced threat by 2 which I used twice. There was the other card which had Daredevil on the cover which basically reduces threat by damage received up to 5, but I passed on that because my health was already getting down to critical levels.

Tonight I might try with She-hulk or Black Panther.

I just won with She Hulk

What made this game different was that twice i changed to her alter ego, mostly to heal, and get lots of cards. Avengers mansion helped too. It was a slow start and it took some time to grind down Rhino. At one point Titania came in, but I was able to use uppercut and Tigra to put her down. The game ended quickly though. I had combat training and 2 one-two punch cards which allowed me to inflict 12 damage, plus tac unit (2 points) and an upper cut (5 points) allowed me to finish the first stage, and drop Rhino all in 1 round

Played Black Widow, Loss

Started off ok, and was able to clear the first stage, but I found with Black Widow is that damage came in drips and drabs, and there was no really great Threat reduction. Eventually turned over Taskmaster and got defeated through the scheme hitting 7. Needs work...

On 1/15/2021 at 6:01 PM, Maryshelly2 said:

Played Black Widow, Loss

Started off ok, and was able to clear the first stage, but I found with Black Widow is that damage came in drips and drabs, and there was no really great Threat reduction. Eventually turned over Taskmaster and got defeated through the scheme hitting 7. Needs work...

what aspect you playing her? Threat reduction can be a strength for her when needed...if you have preparations out it is not unusual to do 4 removal a turn with her and a free Winter Soldier (and if you don't have preparations out you probably have lost anyway, she needs her preps to work.) Playing solo, 1 or at most 2 Beat Cops can handle pretty much any threat that ever comes up.

In my eyes, she is one of the strongest Justice decks and between cards like Counterintelligence, Covert Ops, she can keep threat from ever getting put down up front. She is one of a handful of heroes who seldom has the explosive turns of 20, 25, 30 points damage...but can do 2,4,6, maybe 8 points turn after turn by popping preparations at the right times. She probably has a slightly bigger learning curve than some heroes but once you figure her out...she is a very strong, versatile hero.

The thing to remember with her is she is almost the opposite of Hulk you were playing earlier. Hulk needs to blast through damage as fast as possible. She does not deal huge chunks of damage so it is very much a control style deck...keep the villain from putting on threat, do damage to him on his turn with Attacrobatics, Grappling Hooks, Counterintelligence, Widows Bite...it is a different style of game where you probably never feel danger but also never have those moments of super thrill...

If you like that style, stick with her and she might become one of your favorites but it definitely takes a while to learn which cards to prioritize.

Thanks for the information about Black Widow! I will try that again sometime

I also played Black Panther, I lost but I had lots of fun playing it. I was schemed out, but I can see myself winning quite a lot. I think that the secret is really just to get all the upgrades, and keep playing Wakanda Forever. The only problem is that, once you have the upgrades, it might be tough to find them, so cards which recycle cards is very important.

Black Panther is awesome. I have played 13 games with him over last couple days, some solo and some two handed with a deck designed to have as many cards on board as possible so I am drawing into lots of Wakanda Forevers. In one game on expert I ended up with over 20 cards on the board (I think it was 23) and between Golden City, Nick Fury and Avengers Mansion was averaging going through the deck every second turn. It was awesome doing 2-3 Wakanda Forevers every turn. Takes a while to set up but it is incredible fun

Last night I tried with Ms. Marvel, I lost, but it was fun again.

I can see lots of potential with Ms. Marvel. I was schemed out, but I had 3 schemes on the go. In retrospect I was able to reduce 5 threat at a time, I made the mistake of sinking them all in the main scheme instead of Breaking and taking like I should have. I think that with a number of upgrades, she can be very powerful. I think that my main issue now is that, every night, I am trying a new hero, and every hero has a different playstyle.

I have been doing the Rhino mission to get used to it. In retrospect, I wonder if Spider man is the deck that might be best for defeating Rhino. I just see his deck as being the simplest and most straightforward for the base game. Other decks have a bit of a learning curve but the Spider Man deck seems pretty well rounded for newbies.

I love Ms Marvel so much. She is one of my favorites. Shrink and Embiggen might be her best cards. The ability to threat a bunch, exhaust and do it again or if attack is needed same combo...she has so much build required that flipping every turn is almost a must in my opinion

You key in on a point there. First, let me preface this by saying "enjoy the game your way". With that said, sticking with the same hero to learn how they work and playing them against the three starte box scenarios, all three have very different challenges. You may find that dealing with the challenges posed by Klaw (many side schemes, going through the deck fast) and Ultron (drone after drone after drone after drone) helps you with Rhino and with seeing how the same hero can do different things against different challenges.