Welcome, Amerikano to our Marvel Champions 20 Questions Hotseat. Thank you for taking time out of your day to answer our questions.
Absolutely! I’m excited to be here. 20 questions was a favorite family vacation car ride activity, so thanks for the stroll down memory lane!
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?
Admittedly, my history with Marvel is not that long. It began with the Bryan Singer X-Men film from 2000. Comics weren’t a big part of my life, actually. I became more interested in comics after Marvel Studios began their humongous undertaking that has become known as the MCU.
2. Moving into Marvel Champions, where and when did you learn about the game?
It was in December, well after the base game had been released. I was in my house – probably lying down on my favorite couch spot. I was browsing boardgamegeek.com and stumbled upon it, honestly.
3. Before playing the game, what was your first impression?
I had owned the Lord of the Rings LCG and loved it but felt like I needed to get rid of it because I wasn’t in a position to keep up with all of the releases (and I’m the kind of person that needs to keep up with the LCG). So, I read and watched everything I could about MC and the thought of a more streamlined co-op LCG that I could start with at the beginning made me reeeally excited.
4. When did you play the game your first time and how did it affect your first impression?
Well, I had a pretty good idea that I would really like the game before I purchased it because of all of the content I consumed. I read through the Learn to Play Guide and sat down with my wife to play the recommended introduction scenario and hero/aspect combos. I enjoyed it so much that after we finished, I sat and read through all of the hero and aspect cards.
5. Clearly you love the game enough to do content for it, what was the final push that made you want to do content?
Well, my wife can only listen to my ramblings about the game for so long. JK. Joking aside, I wanted to get more involved with discussions about the game. Those discussions will only grow deeper with time and more content. Also, my co-hosts give the protection aspect a bad rap. Protection needed a defender!
6. Speaking of content, what kind of content do you do for the game and where can people find it?
I’m the 4th and newest host on the Marvel Champions Monthly podcast. We are now releasing shorter (about an hour) audio podcasts bi-monthly. We discuss the game and get into the lore of the comics. I have also been doing a bunch of written articles for our website. I have a hero kit inspection series called Heroic Intuition. KennedyHawk and myself have kicked off a new article series where we take a look at the art (on 4-6 cards) of a specific character in the game and discuss the art and the comic panels from where the art was taken.
You can check out all of our stuff here: https://marvelchampionsmonthly.podbean.com
I’m also pretty active on our Marvel Champions Monthly discord server (and the main Marvel Champions server).
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?
I’m a pretty casual player. Writing articles, especially, has helped me look at the things that I think would help casual players. Also, I need to make sure I know what I’m talking about. So researching the rules (and RRG) has helped make games much smoother and I usually have an answer when my wife turns to me and says, “How would X work?”
8. Diving into the game itself, who is your favorite hero to play as, what aspect is your favorite and why?
Right now, my favorite hero is Iron Man. I love pairing him with protection. There are a lot of energy resources in the current protection card pool. So, being able to play Repulsor Blast, flip over 5 cards and deal 11 damage just feels so right. Protection, in general, seems to be more of a reactionary playstyle. I like that. I don’t mind holding on to a specific event if I’m preparing for the villain to smack me in the face.
9. How about the villain side, who is your favorite villain to play against, which encounter set is your favorite so far and why?
Klaw is my favorite scenario. I love how flavorful the Masters of Evil (recommended) encounter set is. From a HP standpoint, Klaw isn’t an extremely beefy villain. So having those big minions show up is a lot of fun.
10. How do you prefer to play and if it is not alone, what does your playgroup look like?
I prefer to play two-player. I love the teamwork that can play out between two heroes taking down the baddie. My main gaming partner is my wife. She’s amazingly supportive. But, she does actually enjoy the game a lot (she said she rates it “at least a 9” out of 10).
11. Do you customize your gaming experience anyway that goes beyond the official rules for the game, if so how and why?
The only thing I’ve done is dipped my toe a little bit in some custom heroes. I’m happy to enjoy the game as it is designed, though. So, it’s a bit of a two-edged sword for me. I love the prospect of X hero, but what if I love the fan-made version? Will I be disappointed with the official one?
12. As is, how does Marvel Champions stack up to other games you play or have played?
It’s right up there at the top. I’m actually excited to see how it will evolve and grow over the course of its life. I’m pretty big into board games. One of the benefits of a board game is that I can buy the base game and be good forever. So, while MC is different than that, the prospect it offers excites me and wants me to keep coming back to find subtleties and nuances.
13. Is there anything you would change with how the game currently is? If so how, If not why not?
I think the game really shines with the different scenarios available. Maybe a slightly modified release of more frequent scenarios. But, I think the announced story box helps with that issue – especially if the developers continue with that trend in future story boxes.
14. What was the craziest game you’ve had so far or your favorite memory from playing the game to date?
My favorite memory was introducing my brother-in-law to the game. He’s not much of a gamer. But, to his credit, he has been asking for recommendations lately. He wanted to be Iron Man. I thought, “OK, he’s a smart guy, he can figure this out.” Watching the light bulb go off when I explained how aerial affected certain cards was amazing. He was so impressed with how thematic it was (I mean, the Mark V Helmet allowing you to thwart an additional scheme of you are aerial just makes sense!).
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?
Building a community is an integral part to organized play. Getting people signed up to play is the biggest thing. I like extra content that’s not necessary for the game but just fun to have, like playmats. So, one way to get people into the door would be a raffle for OP participants would be easy enough. Grand prize winner getting to choose between a few different prizes (i.e., playmat, etc.).
16. If you could bring any hero into the game, who would they be, what would they do and why?
I’m sure we’ll see him because he’s on so much of the card art, but I’d have to say Daredevil. His general vibe would be a skulking brawler. Of course he would have an Upgrade card called “Man Without Fear”. It would have the “Title” trait and it would have something to do with readying Daredevil. Because I love cards that ready your identity.
17. If you could bring any villain into the game, who would they be, what would they do and why?
Purple Man. Partly because of his ridiculous name. But mostly because he can control people. He would have innocent people as his minions, like police officers and you would have to take care of them without defeating them otherwise it would give the main scheme an acceleration token or something.
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 protection shield. 1 cost upgrade. Restricted. You could exhaust me to either gain +1 attack or +1 defense. Don’t ask why.
19. Time to head towards the conclusion but we need to touch on the MCU. What is your favorite MCU film and why?
Film? Doctor Strange. It’s visually stunning. MCU production? Season 1 of Daredevil on Netflix. The rawness is so good.
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?
My internet name comes from my years spent living in the Philippines. The kids there called me Amerikano (for obvious reasons). I liked it. So I kept it.
Thanks again Amerikano for answering our questions. We wish you the best in your content and would like to thank you for giving back to the community.
Thank you, JediGeekGirl. This has been fun and very insightful! Marvel Champions has a great online community and I’m excited to be a part of it!
If people would like to find you or your content, where can they find it?
Podbean: https://marvelchampionsmonthly.podbean.com/
Discord: https://discord.gg/hhjkPn3
Thank you readers for reading this article and stay tuned for our next entry into this series, coming Monday. Till then, we wish you nothing but the best and stay safe out there.
-JediGeekGirl
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