SuperHeroScape™: SHIELD and Skrulls 10/8

[NecroBlade]

Thanks, that means a lot! There are a few more specific groups (like Wrecking Crew) or potential larger synergy webs (like Teammates), but even then straight bonding isn't really a thing, and I try to make sure you pay for what you're getting above and beyond stand-alone heroes (that may or may not happen to stumble into other synergies). I'm pretty happy where my cards are landing, but in time I may decide, for example, that there aren't enough Magical Defense characters to make that power actually interesting. That could go two ways, though, adding more or scrapping it altogether. And then of course I could take a look at the other clever C3G synergies like Ice Resistance and such.

[Tornado]

Magical Defense is my favorite power in C3G.
It is really awesome but with each new card with MD it becomes a little less good. I love that.
Now it also allows one to cast spells which is probably my favorite addition to C3G since I started.

Nice cards. Love Hasbro IM and yours is even scarier.

[NecroBlade]

I won't be delving into spells myself, but I do like the subtle change in strength with every additional figure with the power. The official Iron Man only ever felt good to me if he had height, mine is a bit of a correction to that hopefully without being an over-correction.

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Silver Surfer



No change from last time other than +10 points. Graphic updates and re-ordering the powers, too, but they don't change gameplay at all.


Thanos



Much bigger changes here. Embracing the idea of starting with Glyphs, Thanos starts his Infinity Gauntlet Quest with both the Gauntlet and one Gem (see below). While he lost an Attack, it's made up for by the Power Gem. The Super Strength part doesn't do anything for him since he already has it, but Cap and Red Skull could make use of it (plus there are many, many more non-Super Strength figures in future waves). However, once I hit on the idea of putting the Gems "in" the Gauntlet, having a minor buff without it and a larger buff once attached felt natural. One important thing to note is that the figure is no longer carrying the Gems directly, they're on the Gauntlet's card, so if the figure is killed they don't have to destroy any of them, they just drop the Gauntlet, Gems and all. They're mainly intended for scenario or campaign play, where Thanos attempts to win through collection. I'll go over the other Gems in the future, but I started Thanos with Power since it's the simplest and mirrors the Gauntlet's +1 Defense. Thanos increases a whopping 80 points, though he really only gained +1 Defense, and only until he dies and drops the Gauntlet (after which he's actually -1 Attack). Of course, an ally (or enemy!) can make just as much use of the Gauntlet after Thanos is gone. He's just a monster on offense with 8 Attack at 6 Range on height, and 7 Life behind 9 Defense on height.

[Tornado]

Cool. Thanos quest make for a fun scenario in a card. I think the C3G version in one of the best cards to come out of the project.

[NecroBlade]

To complete the Infinity Gauntlet Quest, you'll need these.

Mind Infinity Gem:


Without the Gauntlet, you get +1 to d20 rolls. That helps Doom and Hulk so far, and obviously Spidey and Venom will get use out of it, too. With the Gauntlet, you also get a mind exchange power (which is 20% to hit because of them Gem boosting itself).


Reality Infinity Gem:


Without the Gauntlet, you can "levitate". With the Gauntlet, you can also strip away enemy hiding spots and defensive coverage from the likes of shadow and jungle. This might be my favorite Gem, because what it does is pretty unique and it interacts the most with other powers.


Soul Infinity Gem:


Without the Gauntlet, you can trap figures with resurrection powers. Might be good to try that on Thanos himself. With the Gauntlet, you can also trade those figures back in for auto-skulls.


Space Infinity Gem:


Without the Gauntlet, you get a free 1-space disengage, or the limited ability to mess with enemy positions. With the Gauntlet, the range is expanded. This is the only Gem that really only modifies the first power, instead of adding another.


Time Infinity Gem:


Without the Gauntlet, you can use the 'X' to grant the flexibility to have this figure "steal time" from another one of your figures. With the Gauntlet, you get the most powerful effect, but it's once per game only.


Fun combos:

• Power + Soul: Use your extra attack to destroy figures more easily, then turn those figures into skulls, and keep the cycle going!
• Mind + Time: How many turns in a row do you want? Take a turn, mind exchange, take another turn, mind exchange again.
• Reality + Space: Toss around any figure within 2 spaces, regardless of obstacles. Throw someone into lava for free damage, then follow them in yourself with no consequences!

[NecroBlade]

Well, since no one else wanted the Infinity Gems, Thanos has them all now. I hope you're happy with yourselves.

Spider-Man


Dropped his Defense by 1 (back to official stats) and his points by 20. Not much else to say here.


Venom


Same comment about Defense/points. Swapped his previous Special Attack for Slashing Tendrils, in part because now he actually has a way to get around Spidey-Sense! That said, I may tweak the number down the road, since it's actually only about the same odds as using his normal attack. Handy when other defense buffs are involved (like height or Cap) or you need to hit multiple figures, but he does cost 200. Moved Slashing Tendrils to before attacking, so it keeps the same roll number as his Sense (mirroring Spider-Man), and better earns 200 points.


And that (re)wraps up my reimagined Marvel SuperHeroScape™ Master Set! May take a brief pause, may continue as usual right into Wave 1. Rest assured, deigns are ready!

[Ronin]

Captain America
Dig the representation of the shield in the new take, and the push to make him more of a front-liner.

Red Skull
Interesting take on the Cube. I'd include the rule that he can't hand it off right in the power text - it's not a busy card, and it'd preserve design space if you ever wanted a figure that could hand glyphs off. This is assuming you don't have a bunch of cards you haven't shown off yet that are quite busy and bring glyphs in, though.

Don't love the idea of Clone as a species or of giving a nefarious name to a pretty benign generalist leader effect, but those are Hasbro's mistakes and not yours.

Doom
Pretty cool take. Doom is one of those characters that you could tackle a hundred different ways, but this feels pretty representative overall.

Iron Man
6D with an auto-shield is tough to beat. I dig the move back to a normal attack to get him working with Cap.

Surfer
Not too much to say about this one, really - he hews pretty close to the Hasbro take (and your previous one).

Thanos
"Bringing an item of power" is a very Thanos move, so it's cool for him to come packing the Gauntlet + Power Gem. It does lock him down a little bit to a particular story arc, thematically, but I can't argue it's not a defining story arc for him.

Infinity Gems
Soul feels comparatively niche, and Space feels stronger than the other un-gauntleted versions at a glance. Pretty cool effects, though.

With Time, if Thanos uses the once-per-game effect, but then he dies and someone else grabs the gem, can they then use the once-per-game effect? (ie is this once-per-game-per-figure, or once-per-game-per-everyone)

Spidey
Feels a bit odd that he can use Thwip! to move figures away from him. Probably not totally out-of-bounds thematically, but it doesn't register as cleanly as the "moving toward" possibility. Otherwise awesome.

Venom
This card doesn't speak to me so much, but I'm fussy about Venom. Slashing Tendrils just feels like kind of a Marvel vs Capcom style reinvention and not something he does terribly much. Evasion isn't a big thing for him either, but giving him a spider-sense is another one of those legacy Hasbro mistakes. (Also you've got his species down as human, but I'm willing to chalk that up to an oversight. )

[NecroBlade]

Originally Posted by Ronin

Captain America
Dig the representation of the shield in the new take, and the push to make him more of a front-liner.

Thanks for all the feedback (again)! I do like the way this Cap moves and fights better than the previous one.

Red Skull
Interesting take on the Cube. I'd include the rule that he can't hand it off right in the power text - it's not a busy card, and it'd preserve design space if you ever wanted a figure that could hand glyphs off. This is assuming you don't have a bunch of cards you haven't shown off yet that are quite busy and bring glyphs in, though.

Don't love the idea of Clone as a species or of giving a nefarious name to a pretty benign generalist leader effect, but those are Hasbro's mistakes and not yours.

There aren't a ton of starting glyphs, and no plans whatsoever for someone who would hand them off, but I'm also not a fan of writing something on every card when it could be written once in the rules. And I hear you on the Clone thing. That's the only thing that stuck with all the designs, though, was the official left box (well, except Surfer's size change).

Doom
Pretty cool take. Doom is one of those characters that you could tackle a hundred different ways, but this feels pretty representative overall.

Good to hear. I'm using alter-egos just in case, but am not really interested in doing multiple versions of the same characters.

Infinity Gems
Soul feels comparatively niche, and Space feels stronger than the other un-gauntleted versions at a glance. Pretty cool effects, though.

With Time, if Thanos uses the once-per-game effect, but then he dies and someone else grabs the gem, can they then use the once-per-game effect? (ie is this once-per-game-per-figure, or once-per-game-per-everyone)

I wasn't necessarily aiming to make the gems perfectly balanced (though this probably upsets Thanos), just something thematic for each. I'm open to suggestions, though. Time is once per game, since it's tied to the power on the card, not the figure using it. Though that does lend itself to using it as quickly as possible, once-per-game-per-everyone would not be fun to track.

Spidey
Feels a bit odd that he can use Thwip! to move figures away from him. Probably not totally out-of-bounds thematically, but it doesn't register as cleanly as the "moving toward" possibility. Otherwise awesome.

Since he's melee, he'll be moving figures to him most of the time. Nothing wrong with yanking someone sideways off the ruin, though, and for "pushes"... maybe he's just firing little impact webs that knock them off balance?

Venom
This card doesn't speak to me so much, but I'm fussy about Venom. Slashing Tendrils just feels like kind of a Marvel vs Capcom style reinvention and not something he does terribly much. Evasion isn't a big thing for him either, but giving him a spider-sense is another one of those legacy Hasbro mistakes. (Also you've got his species down as human, but I'm willing to chalk that up to an oversight. )

For me at least, and in large part because it's the Master Set, Venom is a foil for Spidey, which is why he mirrors him so closely in terms of powers. Fixing Human -> Symbiote now. Also fixing Slashing Tendrils to before attacking, instead of... instead. That way the die roll stays and he earns his 200 better. I'm open to other ideas there as well if you have any for some kind of Sense-avoiding multi-attack.

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Not going to post any new cards for no. I'll start Wave 1 with the start of the next month!

[Tornado]

Good stuff Necro!

[NecroBlade]

@Matt Helm just wrapped his Wave 1 and its time to (re) kick off mine... with Beast and Black Panther! Since the official 10 units in this wave aren't set up as nemesis pairs as was the Master Set, let's just go alphabetical.



Ultimately the previous version felt like one power too many, so while I was sad to see Unleashed Fury go, I think this is a cleaner card. He's a little less feral and a little more nimble. And a bit lighter on points, too, since he can't throw quite so many dice.




Let's face it, Vibranium Boots (like Drake's Grapple Gun before it) was too situational. Phantom Walk gives an alternative thematic movement. Vibranium Claws got a slight boost so it has a little punch when it does come into play. And the Armor swapped for Kinetic Redistribution. It's not quite as sturdy (needing a d20), but it does prevent a complete whiff of a roll and gives you a nice bonus when it's overkill. He gained some here, lost some there, and lost 10 points in the bargain as well.

[Tornado]

Cool. Is Negotiation mandatory?
I think it needs a may in there if not.

[Matt Helm]

I know you a different writing style than I do but would this help:

Negotiation
Before moving, you may reveal the "X" Order Marker on this card and choose an enemy figure adjacent to Beast. The player controlling the chosen figure must remove the unrevealed Order Marker with the lowest numerical value from that figure's card.