Original Blog Post:
https://bit.ly/3LmMYKx
Opening Ceremony:
This was a big year for AMG, Launching Star Wars: Shatterpoint, The Atomic Mass Discord (which you can join here https://discord.gg/atomicmassgamesofficial ), and making the rounds in person at conventions this year. Simone Elliot and Will Shick introduced everything that will be happening over the next two days with Ministravaganza, which will focus on the road map of releases for the next 6 to 8 months will be a large chunk of the content, effectively the two big points of the year for Roadmap Updates will be Ministravaganza and AdeptiCon (‘one of our favorite cons’). Dallas has a ‘slate’ of fantastic hobby content across all game lines and a bunch of hype for next years Path of the Worthy as a celebration of the hobby as a whole. There will be another panel about game modes which will further detail plans on alternative and upcoming ways to play the game (get pumped for Mojo Ball and the new ‘One-Shot’ cards).
Marvel: Crisis Protocol Roadmap
Josh, Will Shick, Will Pagani and Macro Segovia opened up the MCP Roadmap Panel by fleshing out some of the information we got earlier this year at AdeptiCon earlier this year (see that video here), including some of the mutants like Nightcrawler, Bishop, and Professor X as well as the new Battle for the Throne Rivals Panel. They touched briefly on The Earth’s Mightiest Core Box that will be dropping next month (we’re also doing a giveaway for a copy here) and gave us effectively all the major releases and developments that will happen between now and AdeptiCon next year.
What are we waiting for? Let’s jump right in!
Rivals Panel: Battle for the Throne
All right there’s a lot to unpack here with this box. We’re getting two new version of characters (both as leaders), and incredible set piece, 4 new tactics cards and potentially more (One-Shots maybe?). Marco and Josh discussed a number of things about the story for this terrain as well as how they didn’t want it to be a cumbersome piece that sits at the edge of the table. Later this weekend and previously there has been some hobby goodness from Dallas showing this terrain works incredibly well as a centerpiece, and I greatly look forward to more on that. It was confirmed that this would be a size 5 piece of terrain but made special care to not say “non-interactive” which could mean there is a ‘One-Shot’ to go along with it.
Ok, yes, this was painted by a professional painter… but by M’Baku’s Muscle Milk (not a sponsor) does this look dope. The water effects are stellar, the splash detail under the feet of both miniatures is narrative at it’s best, this piece is so good it might actually get me (that’s right me) into terrain painting. I look forward to display board featuring this piece as it really shows the progress and skill that has developed at Atomic Mass Games while creating a set piece like this.
Everything previous stated about the Waterfall Terrain also applies to the miniatures for Black Panther and Kill Monger, this is the first time we’ve seen a base like this from AMG, and they really outdid themselves. I look forward to seeing more terrain types for basing (let’s get some raw sewage for some Morloks-style bases up in here).
One of the big things they hit on for this box with the tactics cards is the different outcomes of a Battle being fought for something.. A Throne, might be a good example for this one. Depending on who wins in the narrative YOU (Yes, you!) are telling in this scene could have different effect. Did Black Panther protect his vision of Wakanda? Did Killmonger get the upper hand? These tactics cards will tell different stories based on who in your head cannon won, and more importantly how they won. This speaks to me as a personal level, I’ve been yelling on some podcast for a while how much I like Killmonger and how badly I wanted him to be a leader. I yelped… that’s right yelped (not of the review variety) when I saw there was a leadership on Killmonger’s Card. I also adore M’Baku, but when I saw he was a leader I was filled with complicated feelings that would mean this version of Killmonger wouldn’t also be a leader… WELL FEELINGS DEFIED MORTAL (said someone at AMG… probably), not only is Killmonger a Leader but the new Black Panther is too (can you really have a Battle for the Throne if it’s not between potential leaders). Let’s get into the cards.
Killmonger, Usurper
Let’s start with my boy Killmonger, The Usurper with the incredibly named Leadership “Strength of the New Generation” (dope deep cut, during the road map they mentioned that this Killmonger was initially a Criminal Syndicate Leader, but at the end of the day this isn’t a battle for the Criminal Syndicate Throne, this is a battle for the Throne of Wakanda).
The leadership fits the theme of Killmonger perfectly. Using some herbs to boost his allies, albeit at a cost to make sure the Usurper Usurps, being able to spend the herb to add 1 die to an attack, but then taking damage at the end of the round, but also getting some power for it. Seems dope.
N’Jadaka keeps his signature Vibranium Weapons as a Energy Builder with a Wild Trigger Pierce and quite honestly is still a really stellar builder. He picks up 1 Mystic Defense and 1 Stamina on his Injured side compared to his previous self, but even though this is also a 4-Threat Killmonger, this is a more refined and focused Killmonger. This is not the ex-Marine focused only on murder, this Killmonger has bigger ambitions, while maintaining that edgy vibe we’ve come to know and love. Untamed Force is a perfect representation of that, Killmonger likes to attack, but because as I previously stated, he’s more reserved, more poised so he lets you attack first, then once that’s resolved he’ll spend 2 power to hit back with a Vibranium Weapon (TBF that’s rather polite… some might say rather Kingly).
Killmonger picks up a ranged attack with Covert Armaments which is a leaderly way to say shooting (or perhaps throwing) stuff, Range and Strength of 4 that works as a gainer, but the incredibly interesting thing is if he is within range 2 of his target the defender doesn’t get to modify defense dice, this continues into his spender ‘K’Liluna’s Fury’ (also side nod to K’Liluna, aka The Betrayer. Furthering the narrative they are projecting with this box.)
The spender K’Liluna’s Fury doesn’t allow the defender to modify defense dice and also ADDS DICE EQUAL TO KILLMONGERS CURRENT DAMAGE TAKEN. That’s right, up to 5 additional attack dice. Time to take down some of those big health pool Hulk who can’t use Puny Banner as he can’t modify his defense dice, no Spider-Senses, no Inhumans reroll, nothing. I love this. Always trying to bite off more than he should chew (but totally could), he will remain just as much of a threat to the big boys as the Kill Count version. I’m a little surprised they were able to keep all the flavor of original Killmonger, but in very clearly different package. Well done. Oh also, he has pounce 🙂
King T’Challa
Without a King, no one can do any Usurping… probably, everyone says. Unlike the Usurper of Throne this is big, badder and more aggressive version T’Challa. 5-Threat 7 Stam 4s for Defenses and also a Wakandan Leader with an absolute wild ability. This T’Challa is here to help you ‘find out’ because if you’re going up against him then you’re obviously ‘fumbling about’ (“Fumble around, Find out” shirts now on sale in the store).
All right, lets jump right into this beefcake:
Get ready for all of the “Ooops! All Pushes™” Rosters that will drop immediately when this box comes out. Shuri loves this, M’Baku loves this, Ghost-Spider loves this. This leadership is rad. I’m excited, you’re excited, it’s exciting. Indomitable stock is on the up.
Outside a bonkers leadership this is a very All New, All Different T’Challa. Vibranium Spear is a Range 3 Strength 6 Energy Builder that works a lot like Magneto’s Building, except that’s it Energy, pulls targets (which is a push that could damage the defender under the leadership) if outside range 2, and gets 2 rerolls if within range 2. It’s better than good, it’s great! The Panther’s Fury is the spender, physical Range 2 with a wild Throw OF MEDIUM and a Medium Advance afterwards…. DOPE.
While he doesn’t have a pounce officially, he pretty much does with Bound. For 3 power he can place within 2 and get a 2 die bump on his next Vibranium Spear, make it a 10 Strength Energy builder, likely getting him a refund on the power he spent on the buff to begin with. I would expect rarely seeing this not used (similar to Iron Man’s Friday AI). Royal Rebuke is a counter that we haven’t seen in a while actually, allowing T’Challa to spend 2 power to roll 4 dice to do undefendable damage back to the attacker.
While Killmonger might be my personal choice in this throwdown, he’s got his work cut out for him, because this King won’t be easily overthrown.
Wakanda/Asgard Terrain and One-Shots
All right both the new Wakanda Terrain and Asgard Terrain has been seen before, never really announced (outside the Wakanda terrain at AdeptiCon) but it’s been seen in posts for a while. Josh and Marco went over come cool inspiration for the Vibranium Hauler being styled after a particular beetle, which upon second glance, tracks real hard, and make the piece look even cooler. The door in the Hauler can open and close, which will lend itself handy for the new One-Shots feature. An optional feature which adds another layer of depth to the game and personally one I am very excited to try out.
One-Shots are cards that add another way or thing to play and interact with the battlefield. Some will effect the threat of the game, other’s won’t. Every terrain pack going forward will include one. That’s right. EVERY TERRAIN PACK GOING FORWARD WILL CONTAIN ONE.
“But what about the old ones? What about my cosmic terrain, or my Fisk Construction site?” – Some Doofus
Well buckle up kid, because they will be releasing One-Shots for past terrain packs as well. One-Shots are an overwhelmingly positive thing to look forward to in this game. Adding a versatile list of additional objectives breathes life into Crisis Threats new and old, and adds a level of excitement, narrative and story to each terrain pack, which will improve local play, convention and organized play, and could inspire all sorts of new formats. I’m very excited to see how the community reacts to this addition to the core gameplay.
If you don’t like fun, and hate being happy then I guess you don’t have to be excited about them or implement them, but I think you’re just being catty (Cat Joke 2 of 7: A little forced)
X-Men, Shadow King and You: A Tale of Mutants and Mass Teleportation
All right you x-gene groupies. Here we go, announced this past March at AdeptiCon we now have a lot more information about some of the most request mutants around.
Somethings that were confirmed before we get into the cards:
Nightcrawler has a couple different options for both hands/swords as well as the teleportation effect, very similar to Deadpool where you can have a couple different aesthetics be it with the BAMF, or without. Same for swords!
Bishop also has a couple different options for heads. Unlike there Deadpool/Hydra Bob box though, there are no extra tacos.
Nightcrawler
Alright another personal favorite of mine comes Kurt Wagner aka Nightcrawler, a hit for me since the 90s X-Men Arcade game where he was clearly the best character in the game.
All right out of the gate we have our boi at 4 threat. 6 and 5 for stamina (healthy to injured respectfully), and 4 – 3 – 3 for defenses, everything makes sense so far. Medium mover and size 2, dope. Now let’s get into how well they did by Kurt. He’s really the Kurt’s Meow (Cat Joke 4 of 7: Get Over It) and his attacks really marinate in that brimstone flavor. His builder “Teleporting Strike” is a range 3 strength 5 builder that has “Ha-HA!” (emphasis on the second Ha!) where after Damage is dealt if the target is not within range 2 Nightcrawler can stun the target. For his spender we have something just recklessly great “Brimstone Blitz” Range 2 Strength 5 for 1 Power, seems underwhelming at first but you get to add dice to the attack equal to the amount of times Nightcrawler has been placed this turn. It also has a Crit/Hit Trigger for Flurry of Blows, as long as you roll that Crit/Hit you get an additional attack on the same target. That’s right. We have this as an attack:
This spender can Trigger any amount of times as long as it’s against the same target. How lucky can you be? Reasonably with the super powers on the card Nightcrawler should be able to have this spender be 7+ strength if he can attack twice, using “Puff of Smoke” for a place after the first attack, and “BAMPF!” for a second die. “BAMPF!” works just like Magik’s Teleport, being able to pay 1-3 power to place Range 1 – 3 away. “Puff of Smoke” costing 0 allowed Nightcrawler to place within 2 of a target after they’re attacked. Can you puff of smoke more than once off a spender? It appears so, but I’m also dumb. Either way, just roll good and you can take down anyone in a single spree. I’m excited to see how players utilize this spender to do disgusting things.
On the defensive end, he can spend 2 for Unglaublich (bless you) Acrobatics to get 2 more defense dice against Physical or Energy attacks and has Stealth if he’s within Range 1 of a Size 2 or larger terrain piece (no hiding in the shadows of a garbage can for him… he’s not like… you know… a cat, which could probably do that -Cat Joke 5 of 7… kinda)
We also got a look at one of the new tactics cards for the Nighcrawler/Bishop box with Mass Transit:
This allows Nightcrawler to spend 3 power to Bamf about with up to three of his BFFS as long as they are within range 2 of him, he’ll bring them to hell and back and up to range 3 away where he will drop them all within range 1 of himself.
On next to the one and only place I’ll fit the rest of my cat jokes.
Shadowcat and Lockheed
All right, as stated in the Roadmap this is an early ‘still being trained by Wolverine’ era of Shadowcat. For 3 threat it looks like the X-Men have another solid extraction piece. 5 Stam on both side and 3s for defenses, she may not seem like a lot to look at, at first, but “it’s just a phase, Dad” because that’s where the lackluster ends. Long movement, a range 2 place for 2 power, Stealth and a reactive defense/dodge steroid that can target herself OR ALLIES WITHIN 2 giving them 2 extra dice and mitigates the placement of throws/pushes, she is anti-disruption in a major way. Her builder gets around defensive crits, and has a wild trigger place making up for it’s 4 strength, she can call on lockheed to apply incinerate with an Energy Gainer with a wild trigger and her spender “Intangible Assault” adds insult to assaultery by also avoiding defensive crits, getting a Range 2 place with a wild, and being a Range 3 strength 7 attack for only 3 power. Not to mention the wild trigger on her spender is called “Ghosted”
Xavier’s Dream
The way this was shown made it seem like this was going to in the Kitty/Iceman box, but it also seems like an Xavier Card.
Effectively this is reverse spirit bomb. All your friends can come together and spend a little to prevent just as much. I really like that this wasn’t just another Odin’s Blessing or X-Ceptional Healing, it provides a similar effect with a different mechanic. Being able to utilize X-Ceptional Healing and Xavier’s Dream seem like a real Cat-astrophe (6 out of 7 baby!), but for real think about all the power you’ll have for this card after Cyclops’ leadership saves you on all your spenders…. no for real…. guys stop laughing.
Shadow King
“Finding the balance between being a force to reckon with without being oppressive.” Was the way Will Shick described balancing this monster, and rightfully so. 5-Threat, 6 Stam, Short Movement and 3 -4 – 5 for defenses actually seems to make this thick mister who wants to brain kiss ya tougher than you might expect for a otherworldly shadow monster.
First things first:
Yea, that’s Root on a builder, granted on a wild trigger but stil… that’s Root on a Strength 6 Mystic builder that also has a forced advance if it does damage.
Well it can’t get worse than that right?
That’s a Range 2 Penance Stare for 1 less power and avoids modifying defense dice. RAD. This is one King that even Killmonger wouldn’t Usurp. As an Omega Level Multi-Versal Entity he gains an additional power during the power phase, and can give you Nightmare Visions if you get near him for 4 power which does damage for each wild and crit he rolls on 3 dice and then he can scoot away Cassandra Nova style if he does damage. He has a Heal 3 for 3 power once per turn and an astral projections that lets him attack from afar OR be attacked by Mystic attacks from afar. This also lets him give more people more Nightmares while keeping himself tucked safely in the shadows.
I’ve been a huge fan of Shadow King for a long time, ever since playing the Gamecube X-Men Legends games:
Aubrey Plaza as Shadow King in Fox’s ‘Legion’ was also insanely good
I have no clue what affiliations this entity might show up in, but I’m incredibly excited to get him on the the table. The sculpt is straight up from another multi-verse. Bravo.
Cerebro Tactics Card
Do you want to make your big brain bigger for only a dollar more? Well now you can with Cerebro! Side effect include increasing the range on your Uncanny X-Men’s Mystic Attacks, Giving them More Dice, Avoiding Stealth and Line of Sight (if effect last longer than 1 round you’re cheating and need to contact your TO).
All right, you might be thinking “Finally Cable’s Askani’Son is now A3 (actually that’s kind of dope), Magik’s Soulsword at Range 3 and Darkchylde at Range 5!” but you’d be wrong (like i was), because they don’t have 5 mystic defense. However, there is all sorts of brain blasting from Jean and Emma from downtown. This is super versatile tactics card pushes the limits of a lot of all ready cool and thematic attacks (Range 4 ‘Hands Off’ throwing a Juggernaut anyone?). Love it. I can only imagine how this will work with Poppa Wheelie himself.
MOJOBALL
Ok this came out of left field (get it?) for me but I could not more more amped. We knew we were getting some new modes or options with the One-Shots, and that terrain might get some new stuff, but this I was not expecting. There will be more information on this in the Marvel: Crisis Protocol – Evolving Crisis Response panel on Friday, but consider me all in. Will this play like Guild Ball? Like Blood Bowl? Does it matter? It’s Mojo Ball. Will we be able to run Mojo Ball Leagues!? Are these a side event?! GIVE ME ANSWERS NOW!
Painted Versions of Previously Announced Hotness:
Silver Sable and Shang Chi Revealed
Incase you were listening to a recent episode of Wait! Did I Roll a Wild? I’ve been looking for more Traditional Mercenaries in MCP. Well as the great Cat in the Hat (I’m using it 7/7) once said, “If you podcast it, you’ll buy more plastic” and truer words could not be said. I’m incredibly excited to have another Hero for Hire in the ranks. I was certainly not expecting this reveal but as with all things MCP… guess what? I’m in. Shang Chi on the other hand, with how far AMG has come I’m very interested to see how they add flair to a martial artist. I think they nailed Iron Fist out of the park, and while this sculpt is exceptional, it doesn’t have the same ready pose to put roller blade and thigh high tube socks on (you’re off the hook this time Chuck). I’m very interested to see where these character fit. Would love to see Shang Chi as a new Defenders Leader. Silver Sable, maybe a Spider-Foe/Web Warrior/Criminal Syndicate? She does fit a very similar vibe as Black Cat, except with Contract Killing in place of Grand Larceny.r
New Asgardians
We didn’t get a ton on these character, outside a Spring 2024 release, and that these versions of the Asgardians are quite Mighty. Jane “Mighty Thor” Foster has been a highly requested character since launch. Sif is also way up there for a fans of the more magical lands of Marvel. I’m sure we all know someone in the comments of every Facebook post that involves Thor saying they wanted a 6 threat Thor (and that part was confirmed). During the stream they described the current 4 threat Loki as a ‘trickster’ and a ‘scamp’, This more Sorc Themed Loki has that real classic Asgardian flair and might be one of my favorite sculpts to date, early 2024 is going to hit a lot of check boxes for folks, whether you want street level with The Sinister 6, Silver Sable, Gwenom, Scarlet Spider or Mutants (MORE MUTANTS) or even a God or two there is a lot to follow the new Core Box next month and in some very specific words it’s going to be “Dopers McGopers” and I mean that from the bottom of my heart.
There is more to come tomorrow with another day of panels and reveals! The Shatterpoint Road map as well as more MOJO BALL and One Shot information. Stay tuned for more…… like the brief splash art of Dracula they showed before signing off
If video is more your speed I discussed a lot of these with Dylan Dyer on the most recent Wait! Did I Roll a Wild? Streamed live on http://www.twitch.tv/professionalcasualnetwork every Thursday at 7pm EST.
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