Focusing on the goodies and baddies of the Marvel universe, each game of Marvel Champions features 1-4 players selecting a hero and working together to defeat a super villain. The heroes win by knocking the villain's hit points to zero, and the villain wins by either advancing their main scheme to completion or reducing all the heroes' hit points to zero. That is the super high-level view. One level deeper, players use ally, support, and upgrade cards to build decks in support of their heroes. These cards provide various bonuses, weapons, abilities, actions, effects, etc. in addition to their hero's basic skills. The villain likewise has their own deck of cards (which also can be customized by the players, depending how difficult they want the game to be). This includes upgrades for the villain, one-time effects, and additional schemes that force players to focus on more than just damaging the villain in order to win.
The
art and feel of Marvel Champions is primarily based on
the comic book series. In other words, the game is rooted in Marvel
lore rather than the contemporary flux of films. You will not find
the face of your favorite actor, rather a vibrant, hand-drawn
style which feels like comics. For comic book lovers, it's
important to note gameplay does not
follow a story
arc—intro/body/climax/conclusion. Rather, the game's focus is entirely on
the climax portion. This is the part with a lot of “Bam!”
“Whang!” “Biff!” “Uff!!” . The heroes and villains
constantly throw haymakers each other's way—5 damage energy blast,
super Hulk smash, slinging web shot, Bam!
Such a style leads to simple yet dynamic gameplay. While most games of Marvel Champions go the distance, with big swings of momentum back and forth, there can also be quick and unexpected endings to games. My hero has 7 remaining health, so I should be ok to enter the villain phase on my hero side. Or, the villain still needs nine threat to advance his main scheme and win, so I can safely go to my alter-ego and heal. Those are thoughts players will often enough have. But occasionally enough, the villain will spring a huge amount of damage or threat—3 attack, 2 boost, surge into 3 more boost, and voila, your game is over. That being said, as the heroes build up their support, upgrade, and ally tableau, they too can lay down some serious hurt. A villain with 25 health in late game is potentially only one round from defeat if the heroes can combo their cards and effects properly. Splashing 15 damage in one turn feels great, especially when the villain's damage meter hits zero, and the players win.
The Marvel Champions base box includes five heroes and three villains. They are: Spiderman, Captain Marvel, Black Panther, She-Hulk, and Iron Man as heroes, and on the villains' side: Rhino, Klaw, and Ultron (each possible to play at standard and expert level difficulty). With just the cards in the base box, it's possible to play four of these five heroes at one time. For those familiar with the rest of FFG's living card game menu, yes, Marvel Champions bucks the trend of previous games by not forcing players to buy multiple copies of the base box to have enough cards to play a complete game. I would say thank you, but this is how it should have been from the beginning for all their games.
Looking deeper in FFG's catalog of card games, the DNA of Marvel Champions possesses additional lessons learned and recognizable game mechanics from other games. Taking advantage of the literal decade of prior such design, Marvel is a sleak, streamlined cooperative experience that likewise improves and evolves the overall cooperative living card game experience. Someday I will post a comparison of the three cooperative games, but I will summarize here by saying Marvel bears more in common with Lord of the Rings than Arkham Horror while introducing a couple new elements of its own. Heroes have alter-ego and super-hero sides, for example, which explores an interesting game space, and the simplicity of deckbuilding compared to the other games is refreshing. The fact the cards themselves are used as resources eliminates money management while adding an interesting dynamic to decision making. And the inclusion of universal counter tokens provides designers the flexibility to inject unique bits of niceness without requiring in-depth specialization or customization. Lord of the Rings and Arkham Horror both could have used a universal counter token.
FFG games have always had stunning art, and Marvel champions is no exception. Each card possesses the vibrant colors and graphic feel of a comic book, and the tokens and damage counters are as solid as ever. The learn-to-play and rules reference are impeccably laid out and easy to follow. And the game box is roomy enough to fit everything while leaving room for the inevitability of expansion content. Which is a good time to head to...
Since the release of the base box, the Marvel Champions card game has seen a number of heroes and villains released in individual packs, as well as a handful of large, premium expansions. Thor, Hulk, Quicksilver, and about a dozen other heroes are currently available (as of the writing of this review, more likely since), as well as a several new villains. The largest number of new villains are contained in the premium expansions along with semi-campaigns that link said villains. Emphasis on “semi”, the campaigns still focus on individual villain battles; there are no changes to the game's first principles. But a small number of things carry over between battles, for example an upgrade card or obligation. These campaigns do not offer the complex, branching, story-based narratives of Arkham Horror, rather, something more linear and simple. Bottom line, if you're looking for more after playing out the fun of the base box, more is available.
But is Marvel Champions fun? Is it engaging? Does it provide the player meaningful choices through elegant mechanisms? Yes, yes and yes. There is a dire feeling of threat the closer gets to advancing their scheme, not to mention the closer to zero your hero's health meter gets to zero. Likewise, there is a palpable sense of excitement getting close to zero on the villain—knowing an encounter card could drastically shake things up in the villain phase, or not. And coordinating moves with your friends is also a joy that routinely ends in high fives.
I'm not a fan of the Marvel superhero movies. A lot of cool special effects, sure, but there's nothing much of substance underneath the bangs, booms, and flashes of light. (I know, I know, subjective...) But Marvel Champions: The Card Game is something different. By giving the player agency against the villain (rather than just eyeballs), the game experience trumps the movie experience. It's certainly more fun to build your Iron Man suit on the table in front of you and use it to knock down the villain than just watch Tony Stark do it on screen. More imagination is required to bridge the gap between static cards on a table and dynamic images on the screen, but nobody ever said using imagination was a bad thing.
A lot of parents are probably wondering: is this game appropriate for my child? There are no concerns content-wise, i.e. if they've seen the movies there is nothing more risque. Comics are, after all, a kid's thing. Regarding sophistication, as long as your child can read at a medium level, fun can be had. Will your eight-year old be able to take down Ultron on expert mode by themselves, likely not. But I have a huge amount of fun playing with my eight-year old son. He sometimes plays on his own, and undoubtedly misses a rule or two, but he has fun—the best measure. Thus Marvel Champions, with the assistance of an adult, could be a gateway game into customizable card games for kids. The rules, including flow of phases, are simpler than games like Lord of the Rings or Arkham Horror. There is simply less fiddle. (Star Wars: Destiny is also a good intro to deckbuilding for kids.)
In the end, I personally wonder what a true comic book experience—one with a proper narrative like Arkham Horror—would be like for Marvel Champions. With the exciting art and energizing style, there is huge potential. But that's not the game as it stands. As it stands, it's card-comboing, back-and-forth fun that takes full advantage of the hero vs the super villain in the IP. And length is also a plus; a game can easily be played in an hour. Each hero plays different, meaning there are layers to be uncovered, and the card options players have in their hands likewise means each turn offers meaningful decision space. I'm glad I tried this, just a little worried how fast the model will be stretched to its limits in future content.
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