Welcome, Banana to our second issue of The Marvel Champions 20 Questions Hotseat. Thank you for taking time out of your day to answer our questions.
Hello, thanks for having me. I always enjoy talking Marvel Champions so excited to do that with you today.
Without further ado, let’s get started.
1. Let’s kick this off with your history with Marvel. What was your history with Marvel, if any, before you discovered Marvel Champions?
Well, it all started with the Marvel animated series of the early 90s. I was 4 or 5 years old when they were on so I spent my Saturday mornings watching X-Men and Spider-Man specifically. That lead to comics, there was a Spider-Man animated series comic that my parents started getting for me, and from there it’s been comics, games, now the MCU and this game.
2. Moving into Marvel Champions, where and when did you learn about the game?
I first learned of it while watching the FFG in-flight report from Gen con that announced the game initially. I immediately formed a Facebook group for the game and you made the Discord channel about the same time I believe.
3. Before playing the game, what was your first impression?
Well, I had played Star Wars: Destiny before but not any of the LCGs, but I heard good things. So I knew they could design and produce a good game, and since it was co-op with the LCG model I wasn’t concerned with the OP issues we had with Destiny. So I was really excited for Marvel. I’m a geek right so I like lots of IPs but Marvel has to be the top of the list for me.
4. When did you play the game your first time and how did it affect your first impression?
The First time I played it was launch day when I got home from my FLGS. Sleeved everything up, and played the recommended Spider-Man deck vs Rhino. I was hooked from the first Backflip. It didn’t really change my impression just cemented it really.
5. Clearly you love the game enough to do content for it, what was the final push that made you want to do content?
Destiny being officially axed, really a year ago, I was brought on to co-host Discard to Reroll: A Star Wars Destiny Podcast(D2R). I enjoyed that experience greatly, and I like diving into games, going deep. So with Destiny being killed by FFG we aren’t really recording D2R. My co-host of The Side Scheme, Tommy and I were talking all that time about Champions and we both had podcasted before so it naturally moved into us making The Side Scheme.
6. Speaking of content, what kind of content do you do for the game and where can people find it?
Starting out, the plan was to be super-casual and to a monthly podcast. We are both really into the game so that has shifted to recording at least once a month, sometimes more and also includes 3 articles a week and gameplay videos. We do occasional streams and do YouTube videos. Our YouTube content, I would especially like to grow and evolve it here in the very near future.
7. Has doing content for the game taught you anything about the game or yourself that you may not have learned? If so what was it, If not why not?
That I’m not as bad of a writer as I anticipated. I was nervous about writing articles for the game but overall I think they are being well received.
8. Diving into the game itself, who is your favorite hero to play as, what aspect is your favorite and why?
Thor, because he’s the God of Thunder, he is a beast in Multiplayer games and is more of a challenge solo. I’m glad he’s not OP at everything all the time. My favorite overall aspect is Aggression. Before Thor came out, Captain America Aggression was my favorite deck. I just like doing massive amounts of damage at a time.
9. How about the villain side, who is your favorite villain to play against, which encounter set is your favorite so far and why?
Expert Mutagen Formula is my favorite encounter to play against. It’s very aggro and can punish you, has lots of minions and schemes with double icons that can make you get behind early. My favorite modular set is probably Doomsday Chair. Modok is a beast and the upgrade in that pack is super annoying to deal with.
10. How do you prefer to play and if it is not alone, what does your playgroup look like?
I mainly play solo at home here after the kids go to sleep. I play mainly 2 handed now. Let’s be real, the game isn’t balanced for true solo play. This is evidenced by the Captain America stun-lock decks, where you can cheese through the encounters and not actually play the game. I have played with the D2R team, friends and family. But mainly playing 2 handed solo at the moment.
11. Do you customize your gaming experience anyway that goes beyond the official rules for the game, if so how and why?
I have a house rule where I one-hit KO everything, I’ve yet to lose haha. No, I play the game as described in the RRG(Rules Reference Guide) and L2P(Learn to Play) manuals.
12. As is, how does Marvel Champions stack up to other games you play or have played?
I can confidently say, it’s the best Marvel Card game I have played. Hard to compare it to Destiny or DBSTCG (Dragon Ball Super Trading Card Game), but I enjoy Marvel Champions the most right now.
13. Is there anything you would change with how the game currently is? If so how, If not why not?
Nothing that I can think of. So far I think FFG has done a good job design-wise with what we have available to play.
14. What was the craziest game you’ve had so far or your favorite memory from playing the game to date?
7 damage Lightning Strike with Thor to kill 3 minions and Klaw was pretty epic.
15. If FFG came to you and said they wanted to put you in charge of creating OP for this game, how would you do it and what would that look like?
Quarterly scenario kits for stores. Players to sign up and play against a scenario designed for that quarter. Each kit supports 8 players and each player gets a copy of the scenario/encounter deck and some promo cards. Then stores can schedule these events anytime they want in that quarter. Then have Legendary encounters at big events like Gen Con and Nova that would be super challenging scenarios for groups of 8. It would be like a MMO raid with 2 teams of 4 working together to defeat the Legendary villain.
16. If you could bring any hero into the game, who would they be, what would they do and why?
Moon Knight, because he’s my f&@king jam. He would have a different identity card depending on the aspect you play with him. I think this would be a cool way to thematically showcase his multiple personas.
17. If you could bring any villain into the game, who would they be, what would they do and why?
Doctor Doom, he would be a campaign box villain. The scenarios leading up to him would all have a Doom Bot, so you think you got him, but nope he is just a bot and you’ll have to keep moving. He would have to have a base values of 3 scheme and 3 attack with a crazy deck full of Doom Bots also because he’s so powerful.
18. If you had to turn yourself into a card for the game, what kind of card (it can be a hero, upgrade, event, hero, villain, minion, etc) would you be, what would you do and why?
I would be a hero, and my ability would be that I one-hit-KO everything. In all seriousness though, I’d like to be a basic ally with 2 thwart, 2 attack, 2 cost, with 1 HP and the ability: “When I enter play, I can either heal 2 from a character or remove 3 threat from a scheme.”
19. Time to head towards the conclusion but we need to touch on the MCU. What is your favorite MCU film and why?
Captain America: Winter Soldier, Cap is my favorite hero from Marvel. (Moon Knight is my favorite overall character however.) This movie was great from start to finish, everything about it was on point and epic. Thor Ragnarok would be my second favorite.
20. Before we get out of here, what is something you would like to share with our readers that most of them may not know about yourself?
I got married at 19 to my high school sweetheart, we have 3 young kids now and will have our 12th wedding anniversary this year.
Thanks again Banana for answering our questions. We wish you the best in your content and would like to thank you for giving back to the community.
Thanks for having me. Anytime I get to talk a little bit about Marvel Champions, I am down. I hope everyone enjoys this and the content I Rebel and The Side Scheme both put out. Stay Scheming Champions!
If people would like to find you or your content, where can they find it?
Podcast- spreaker.com/thesidescheme
YouTube- YouTube.com/thesidescheme
Facebook- Facebook.com/thesidescheme
Twitch- twitch.tv/thesidescheme
Website- thesidescheme.wixsite.com/thesidescheme
Thank you readers for reading this article and stay tuned for our next entry into this brand new series, coming Friday. Till then, we wish you nothing but the best and stay safe out there.
-JediGeekGirl
irebeldestiny.com 