Hi all, it’s an exciting time to be playing Marvel Crisis Protocol. New core rules, (some) character reworks, and new reveals just arrived at Ministravaganza earlier this month. Stay tuned for an upcoming article about those changes and what they mean for the game and your competitive roster. Today I want to discuss some lessons I learned from playing a (very) competitive tournament at Recess Games outside Cleveland Ohio.
This tournament was part of our Appalachian Cup tour and this year has been a great year for competition. This 20 person tournament was full of the best players in our tri-state area and everyone brought their A-game. We played at the excellent Recess Games.
For this tournament I decided to not bring my competitive Inhumans roster I’ve been playing for the last 6 months. If you’ve followed my articles you can read about how that list plays and my success with it in the past. However, with the release of new Web Warrior models I felt that match-up was so bad that I didn’t want to run my Inhumans into it.
Instead, I decided to bring a split Kingpin Criminal Syndicate and Web Warriors roster that I thought would have lots of game against other objective-based teams. I have played a lot of Kingpin in the past and felt like it was a strong combination to include Web Warriors who are fast, tough, can steal enemy Extracts, and can displace enemy models. Black Cat and Rhino are nearly auto-includes with Kingpin and I decided that Prowler was a good model to include here as well as Spider-Ham (for his 2-Threat and relative toughness) and Silk for her ability to move Long and survive and use the Protege card to steal an Extract.
My main game plan was to play Kingpin Secures and leverage the awesome power of Kingpin to score lots of VP early on and get to 16 on Round 3 or 4. My ability to steal Extracts would also help me continue to score lots of VP throughout the game. My losses for this tournament were against an Attrition Brotherhood list where I played a Miles leadership and the game went to time so we didn’t really get to finish the game. I also lost to an Apocalypse player who played very well into the Kingpin plan and also got a couple really good attack roll spikes to take down Amazing Spider-Man, Kingpin, and Prowler.
I think this list is very competitive and I will continue to play it. The new core rules are a mixed bag for the roster but definitely doesn’t take it out of competition.
Here are my takeaways from this tournament from a competitive perspective. Hopefully you can apply some of these lessons to your future competitive games as well.
1. Apocalypse can be beat, but your best bet is playing a long game
My loss against Apocalypse was tough. It was the last round of the tournament and my opponent played it extremely well while I had some sloppy play. I definitely forgot to apply Cover to some of my defenses and use Prowlers attack re-roll superpower on a Spender which definitely mattered in this game.
People can feel very defeatist when playing against Apocalypse and a good Apocalypse player can feel like they have so many resources at their disposal every activation. Not only are the models they’re playing baseline good, but now they have the Horsemen of the Apocalypse and evolution re-rolls to take them to the next level. Apocalypse can be hard to interact with and he is tough to attacks.
I agree with those statements but I also want to remind people the ways that you can beat the Apocalypse match-up. First, the mental game. Apocalypse can have access to lots of tools on Round 1 of the game that most affiliations don’t. Be prepared to watch them get ahead and execute their gameplan including having Apocalypse get to a good position to start attacking your models right away. Start expecting this and knowing that you will start being favored in the long game. The more rounds you play, you should be able to catch up and take the lead.
This may include being able to take away activations from them by Dazing/KO’ing the Horsemen models. Apocalypse can still be Staggered on his Healthy side and some superpowers can displace him, forcing him to use resources to get back into position. You can rotate away from his Apocalypse with your models and still score VPs. You can also use Extract steal effects to strip Extracts away from him without having to take him down. A very wide Apocalypse list will be using lower Threat models as Horsemen which usually have X-Men defenses, which is to say they’re pretty weak to attacks.
Playing the Terrain game
I played against Magneto twice this tournament, which is a rarity for our local meta. I definitely could use more practice into Magneto. The new Throwing core rules also will buff Magneto if he wants to be Throwing size 1 terrain so I don’t expect him to go away anytime soon. My second game into Magneto came down to Magneto being able to walk towards my remaining models and Throw terrain with his remaining Power. Some things to remember about terrain: you can deprive your opponent of terrain by either 1) Throwing it first, 2) destroying terrain by Throwing it into other, smaller terrain pieces, 3) Throwing enemy models into smaller terrain which will destroy it, 4) you can even Throw terrain into nothing and the Terrain piece will still be destroyed.
Now, into Magneto you’ll be giving him Power by destroying terrain, but if he can’t use his Power to Throw terrain because you’ve gotten rid of it, this is a good play. A good player will have to be very aware of terrain. This was true when Throwing a size 4 meant 5 damage dodges, and it will be true now that Throws are a flat 3 damage but could be happening more often.
In my game I missed the play to destroy terrain and deprive the enemy Magneto from Throwing them. Thankfully, my dodge rolls and damage reduction were good enough to get the win. The new core rules means Magneto can Throw 3 size 1s for a total of 6 power and get the effect of 3 damage Throws against enemy models within a Long range. This is not only very good and I expect it to be played more in the future.
New characters, new superpowers: slow down and remember your options
I took 3 new models in my roster for this tournament and while I had some practice with them, I definitely didn’t play them to their fullest potential and missed some pivotal superpowers. Prowler had power for a Charge, Spender, with Power available for the offensive re-roll. My Spender dice were terrible and I totally forgot about the re-roll that I had planned for.
In a competitive setting, especially at a tournament, I should’ve taken my time to read my cards. The round time (counting with chess clocks) is yours to deliberate and choose the best course of action. Resist the urge to play rushed and don’t let your opponent rush you. Use your time and try to use the models to their potential.
Spider-Ham forces opponents to dedicate resources
Spider-Ham is a 2-Threat model that is pretty tough with damage reduction, defensive re-rolls, and his size 1 means he can hide behind most terrain. Under Miles’ leadership he can be even tankier with the additional defensive re-roll and unlocking skull results. Taking a team that is going wide and parking Spider-Ham on the back point is a powerful strategy that will force your opponent to dedicate resources to taking Spider-Ham down or moving him off a point. Your opponent will need specialized models to cut through Spider-Ham’s defenses. Spider-Ham sitting on a back point, scoring VP and throwing Range 4 attacks is an efficient use of the 2-Threat. It will create an unbalanced board if your opponent starts to dedicate higher Threat and Power to take care of Spider-Ham.
Silk plays the objective game very well
Silk is a Long moving, tough 4 Threat Web Warrior with Range 3 attacks that are good at displacing or Slowing enemy models. I used her to pick up Extracts and survive as well as hunting down enemy Extract runners like Toad. In both cases, her superpower Caught in the Web can deal damage moving within Range 3 of her and possibly giving her a Short move. Enemy models trying to Charge into her will have a bad time when she moves out of their attack Range. Her Builder with the Push trigger can also trigger Caught in the Web, so you have the ability to deal additional damage at the end of the attack. This can be done twice with both Builder attacks which I think is a very strong play.
If enemy models have the Slow condition, her Builder or her Spender give her Power when moving enemy models which can fuel more Caught in the Web superpowers too. She loves having power so any way to funnel more Power to her will be very well used. This can be through leaderships or giving out Slows with other models. I was impressed with her this tournament and plan on playing with her in the future.
Masked Menace is a great TTC
Remember how I talked about Silk really wanting power and using it really well? Well that’s generally true of all the Web Warrior models I brought this tournament and the Masked Menace TTC is a great way to give them the power they’re looking for. This TTC puts down Camera tokens in the Power Phase and when you deal damage with your characters, they get extra Power. The game I used this TTC in kick-started my team to a level of Power where they were sustaining and using their Power to great effect.
The Web Warrior TTCs are on a high power level but I will be taking this particular card in the future with them.
My experience with the new TTCs is pretty mid
I brought some new TTCs in my list because I wanted to try them out. High-Tech Heist is Prowlers card with two modes. It can give him a one-time perfect result on a pay-to-flip point or be used to grab a dropped Extract out of Prowler’s activation. Both effects seem like an extra VP but they didn’t really come up in the games I played with him. I didn’t play on any pay-to-flip Secures and all the Secures I did play on spread my team out so much he wasn’t next to anyone else who was dropping Extracts outside of his Activation. With the new Crisis picking rules I can dodge pay-to-flips more often and I want to be playing spread out so I don’t think this card is making my 10 next time.
The other card I brought is the Silk and Black Cat team-up card Protege. This card allows Silk to use Black Cat’s Extract steal superpower once per game. I basically am always taking Black Cat when playing Criminals and Silk is a great 4-Threat splash, but I never used this card when I took it multiple times this tournament. Protege is a card I will give another chance to, because I think the effect is worth it. It is exactly the kind of VP scoring effect I want with Kingpin and will get more practice with in the future.
The opportunity cost for taking these cards in my games was basically not taking All According to Plan and I found that I would rather have that card in my games.
Consistent, cheap Staggers are great in Kingpin
Taking actions or even effectively Activations away from your opponent is an amazing effect in the game. It’s honestly one of the many things that make Black Cat a very overpowered 3-Threat. Her Spender gives out automatic Stagger in Range 3 for 2 Power. A Black Cat putting Stagger on an enemy King T’challa or Apocalypse is a huge tax on your opponent’s high Threat model and will swing momentum in your favor.
Kingpin also has a Range 2 Spender for 3 Power that automatically Staggers enemies as well. It can also Throw an enemy model and they might need to use their remaining one action to walk back onto a point. Their other option is to do a single attack which is going into the tough models of a Kingpin list.
There is enormous value in a Criminal Syndicate list with Kingpin and Black Cat. Both of these models are quite pushed in their game design and make playing into them very difficult for your opponent. Try to use them early and often and Stagger your opponents for maximum value.
Shadow Organization can close out games
My stand-out TTC from playing Kingpin was the Shadow Organization card. Each Criminal Syndicate model can pay 2 Power to get the effect where it can only be targeted by attacks within Range 2. This is a asymmetrical effect which can really constrain your opponent on their options. It’s best use is to close out games where you can win on VP in the current Round as long as your characters can stay alive on the Secures and holding on to their Extracts.
It is just another way to force your opponent to get exactly what they need with their limited actions. Your Syndicate models can run to the corner with Extracts, being essentially uncatchable and untargetable. They can rotate to a far Secure to try and score that. Even if you use it and stay on a Secure with an enemy model, you’re probably forcing a 1-on-1 that you probably are favored in.
Final Thoughts
If you want to pick up this list, I think the general play pattern is playing Kingpin and Black Cat as your core Criminals. Prowler is another Long mover to be used to pick up an Extract and move onto a Secure or dive an opponent’s side Secure. Rhino is great to get to the mid-line and set up a This is a Robbery turn. Amazing Spider-Man can be used as a safe grab on the midline or diving an opponent’s back D point. Spider-Ham can be used as a go-wide 2 Threat to sit on a back point. All of the other splashes can be used depending on the situation. You have Spectacular and Miles as 3 Threats and Silk and Shang-Chi as 4-Threats. Trying to sit on every Secure and win them Round 1 and then try to hold onto your Extracts and use your characters to steal even more in the next two Rounds. Using Shadow Organization or All According to Plan to try and close out the game.
I’m looking forward to the new MCP rules and models and looking forward to playing more competitive MCP against the crowd in the Appalachian Cup! You can find me at my local game store, the Fabricator’s Forge outside Pittsburgh, PA. We’re going to be hosting an affiliation tournament soon and would love to see more people come out and play. Now’s a great time to join the game! Check out the FLG online store for discount models. Good luck and happy wargaming!