Written by Herohodgson
Introduction
Its been almost 18 months since Marvel Champions was first released, and whilst the pace of the game’s expansion was rather relentless pre-COVID, there are still things I think it would be good to see once the world has stabilized. With the nature of a game being a co-op, there is a fantastic array of support from content creators that have been working on custom cards and unique scenario ideas to keep things fresh. From an official FFG perspective though, here are the 10 things I’d love to see happen within the game over the next 12-18 months.
#10: Sort Out the Release Schedule
Okay so FFG get a bit of a pass here. We all know the pressures every company is under at the moment, but having packs be available way before release date in certain geographies is pretty poor for the community as a whole. Most of us are used to product arriving first in the USA, closely followed by Europe, followed by the rest of the world. It’s all out of whack at the moment though and FFG needs to get its releases back under control so we can all enjoy the content at roughly the same time
#9: More Organized Play kits
More OP kits would be fantastic. Some people aren’t fussed but I definitely like collecting all the alternate artwork stuff. The Goblin mats are the nicest in the game in my opinion too. Whilst I’m never keen to see people flogging them for daft money online (seeing people posting a WTB ‘because I want to add to my collection’, then the same person listing it on eBay for twice the price later is never cool), I would really like to see more of this stuff. This time though, try having the villain scheme rather than thwart… 😉
#8: Reprint Standard and Expert Cards
My standard modular set has been unsleeved and sleeved more times than a gigolo’s prized possession. My Expert set is about the same. Recently I decided to get some custom content that I had found on social media printed and also threw in a set of my own designed standard and expert cards into the order – a fantastic decision if I want to play multiple villains in one sitting. Adding another set of the three expert cards to the villain deck also massively increases the difficulty without diluting the card pool too much. If one of the next expansion boxes could include another set of these two that would be really useful
#7: New Modular Sets
I’m actually happy with the current roster of main villains. One area though that I still think we’re lacking in, is the variety in modular sets. In my mind, all the Hydra ones kinda feel the same, even sharing minions across most of them. Some of the other Red Skull modular sets aren’t even playable outside of the campaign. Green Goblin did a good job of bringing some new content, but what if with each hero release, we got 5/7 new cards for a villain modular set? That would really bump up the roster numbers without too much cost. I would even be happy seeing existing main villains like the Wrecking Crew and Rhino brought back as a modular set to go with someone else. (Ultron with a Red Skull encounter set you say?!)
#6: Your Favorite Hero
The game already has a great roster, enough to entice new players to the game and keep aficionados happy. But we all have that one hero that’s missing, don’t we? Whether its because they are our favorite character, or we just think it would make a great pack. For me, I’d love to see Daredevil or a ridiculous Deadpool deck. Its unfair to assume FFG will get everyone printed, and chances are you can find the one you’re after via the custom content releases on social media if you want, but if we could finally see [insert name here] that would be wonderful. This brings me nicely onto…
5: X-Men
I know this one divides opinion. I honestly think there are enough X-Men to have a game all to themselves (‘cough-cough’ Mutant Insurrection), but I think if they released a core box with 4-5 heroes and Magneto that would be amazing. Even if they had some sort of restrictions in place saying that ‘you must have at least one X-Men on your team’ or the cards themselves can’t go in non-mutant decks, etc. I think it would still be great to see. I wouldn’t want to see them spend 8-12 months releasing just X-Men content, but it would be a nice addition.
4: Plots/Deck Building Bonuses
The Red Skull campaign gave us some set aside cards that we could interact and debate using during a game. What about throwing in some deck building cards that are set aside in the game area, but give bonuses for certain decks? How about something like “if all your non-character cards are grey/basic, have a +1 hand size”, or you could even have negative effects from advantageous deck building bonuses “Include 4 cards from another aspect, but deal yourself 4 damage at the start of the game”. I think this would be a really cool way to spice up deck building and debate risk/reward.
#3: New Ways To Interact With Nemesis Sets
At the moment just one card in a deck of 30-40 something brings out your nemesis villain. Some of them can make the game almost impossible to win, but the thematic nature of seeing your hero battle it out with their familiar foe is always fun. If there was a way of perhaps bringing out or shuffling in your nemesis villain without maybe triggering the whole nemesis set, that would be fun. I know Kang can do this, but maybe a new modular set or challenge mode would be a much better way of seeing the cards more often for those that want to. A reprint of the standard set, which I’ve mentioned above, would also help as you could sneak another Shadows of the Past in to double your odds, if you fancy the challenge.
#2: An Ally/Upgrade Expansion Pack
Allies rock, I love them all. They’re a great way to get some of the lesser-known characters into the game itself. However, at this point (probably due to the amount I play), I’m getting a little bored of the 7-10 that we have for each aspect. Only 3 or 4 will end up going into your deck based on your draw, playstyle and in some cases, the knowledge of who you’re up against. What if they took each main hero that we have in the game and made an ally version of them? I know we already have some of them but I think a separate pack with maybe 15 new allies would be great, maybe even throw in 5-10 upgrades and supports too – I’m thinking a 5 cost HulkBuster armor set? This would be a great way to freshen up every aspect we have without needing a whole new character release cycle.
#1: Thanos
Its not a secret that the current uptake in Marvel interest is down to the film franchises. I must admit I myself wasn’t a huge Marvel buff until the end of 2019 when I finally got caught up with everything. Whilst we have had a teaser that Thanos may be coming via a non-certified screenshot of a release schedule, as well as the infinity stones popping up in the Red Skull and the Galaxy’s Most Wanted box, he is yet to be formally confirmed. In the first Avengers film we saw a grinning Thanos during a post credits scene, which told us that he was on his way. Perhaps in the Galaxy’s Most Wanted visual guide we will see something similar, confirming our suspicions that the Mad Titan is coming to Marvel Champions.
Do you agree with my list? Comment with what you’d like to see most in Marvel Champions
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