One Year On – Marvel Champions

Since my review I’ve continued playing Marvel Champions, but not as much as I would have liked, and that causes a few issues…

I probably only play every two or three months, but I do try to play at least three games when I do. The first is usually a nightmare, being slow and a bit of a drag because I can never remember the rules, and the rules reference isn’t great. I also find that by not playing very often it can take time to get the difficulty level right.

After that, though, I start to enjoy myself and always wonder why I don’t play more of it.

I love the Marvel universe and this game really captures the theme, but in more recent times I’ve found myself drawn to another Marvel feature rather than this one, and that’s Marvel: Crisis Protocol, which is probably the reason it hasn’t seen so much play.

There are a lot of expansions out now, something like fifteen at time of writing, and because of that the game really shines for those willing to part with the cash and keep up with everything.

I’m not, but I do have the odd expansion. One of the best things is starting off with a new character, getting the feel of how the deck plays and marvelling (pun intended) at the way they’ve captured the essence of their powers from within the realms of the comics.

As a casual player, though, I don’t really need to keep buying new superheroes, but will more likely invest in some of the bad guy. That way, when I do get the game out, I get the excitement of playing a favourite hero – Spider-Man, Iron-Man, Black Panther – and have much more variance in who to go up against, as you’ll soon learn how to play against the three in the box.

My daughter started playing last year and has taken to playing Ms. Marvel. She enjoyed the game, especially assembling her deck beforehand, and soon found her favourite card combinations. As a team, me playing Iron-Man or Black Panther, she took care of thwarting the enemy whilst I dealt out the damage – it’s fun finding your character’s place in the team and helping each other out, especially by playing cards in their turn to pull off a great move.

I do find though, if I haven’t played for some time, I’d rather play solo initially. That way I can find my feet with the rules again without dragging other players down. I also find the solo game a more interesting proposition, though maybe not always as fun. It gives me the opportunity to fine tune my deck. To tinker with new ways of playing and explore how characters play using a different aspect deck.

Knowing what I know now, would I still have bought it? Oh yeah. Though in hindsight I’d have tried harder to keep up with the expansion release. Now I feel so far behind that I’ll never catch up, but it does mean I can pick and choose which characters to buy.

Will it remain in my collection? Most likely. I say that because of Marvel: Crisis Protocol, which fuels my Marvel needs in a manner more suited to me… miniatures! I also find the game hard to get back in to when I haven’t played for some time, as I don’t find the rules particularly intuitive, and it means I really have to want to play it to be bothered getting it off the shelf. After a couple of games, though, I always wonder why I don’t play it more!

One Year On – A game that I can see remaining in my collection for the foreseeable future, even though it doesn’t see much more than casual play. Just with the core contents it’s a great game but being able to pick up your favourite characters as expansions, as and when they come out, increases the replayability and fun of the game massively. Play with others or solo; it offers a challenging and exciting experience – rewards repeat play immensely, as you learn and refine your characters deck.

Read the review here