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@trophygatherer

3 жыл бұрын

When you said no other game has Kamala Khan, completely looking over Legendary with the Champions expansion, I was surprised.

I heard some good-middling reviews last year and avoided the game. Then a friend let me play his copy in February, and I was blown away. Got it as a gift from my wife in March, and its my new favorite game. Everyone I've taught it to has loved it. Its thematic, exciting, and engaging. That being said, it engages my brain in a super satisfying way. I'm able to pretty easily suspend any disbelief over the breaks in theme (as talked about in the review). Also it is NOT good at 4. But its been a real comfort game during quarantine.

@Buffalodude1

3 жыл бұрын

@@stevefratus1546 I do honestly get where they are coming from. But for sure it is a type of game that is specific to certain people. Me and my friend group just happens to be some who love it. Yeah its so good solo. I just tracked my 50th solo play when I was trying out Ant-Man this week. I printed off the dividers from leewinder on BGG, and laminated them. Also I got a 3D printed counter set for my birthday in June. So its all blinged out too! Who is your favorite character???

@Buffalodude1

3 жыл бұрын

​@@TheShadesOfBlack Short answer is 2, but 1-3 is great. I've played 81 times just as an FYI. 50 of those have been solo with a single character (and you can do two if you'd like). I'd say that works really good. Except that characters like the Hulk can really struggle as Justice and thwarting is really important with a single character. And Hulk has almost no ability (save for 2 cards) to thwart. Past that most plays have been at 2 and the game really sings there. I usually let whoever else is playing choose first, and then I try to pick a character that will balance nicely with their pick. But I've enjoyed my plays at 3, even if it does start to feel long there. My two 4 plays were way too long and tedious.

@Buffalodude1

3 жыл бұрын

@@TheShadesOfBlack I do, I'm a bit neurotic about it. I've been using an app called BGStats since Oct. 2017. It syncs all my plays to BGG (WolverIanGTX). I really enjoy it mainly because I just like seeing numbers but it also helps me keep track of what I've played/haven't played.

@ntmetroid

3 жыл бұрын

I just picked it up with a couple character packs. I am loving it. Ive already played 6 times in 2 days. Have been playing only solo, but i really want to try it out coop

Points I'd like to bring to anyone who wants to buy this game: - It's not Arkham horror (I own both and love em') - I bought this specifically causes I wanted to play CGs with my friends without forcing a campaign commitment, stand-alone rules and deck building, before we even get started. - I wanted a 'Magic CG' - Summon minions, play cards, deal damage. MtG is arguably the most successful CCG in the world and it lacks in theme as much as Marvel does if you ask me. Sure, in Marvel you can just 'do the math' and realize you won, while in MtG you could still be interrupted and be a bit dramatic. - I wanted a boss fight - I'm a big fun of the old WoW:TCG raid decks, I wanted a game where me and my friends could punch a boss. Where one player plays a Protector and tanks, the other Thwarts the enemy, one of us is overly aggressive and just punches faces. If you want an involved LCG with satisfying deck building, look no further than Arkham. But if you're a 30-year old with a job and family, Marvel provides some quick brawls with low downtime and commitment, while still offering deckbuilding and a "campaing" (red skull expansion) if your want to go into that.

@ANAKHA8

3 жыл бұрын

30 year old with job and family here. Can confirm.

@allenlee78

3 жыл бұрын

42 year old with a family and a career can confirm. Great game for me.

@ClockworkGFX

3 жыл бұрын

Does Arkham actually have satisfying deck building? I feel like this game has better deck building, but less of an arch.

@gohantube7017

3 жыл бұрын

@Emperor_Ner0 It's subjective in the end. All the points I'm going to talk about can be either seen as a negative or positive. - In AH:LCG You have a lot more cards to choose from at this point. - Decks AH:LCG need to be thought out as a long term strategy, there are good early cards and cards that only really shine once you spend some EXP points. While in Marvel you don't have to full proof a deck or plan it out, it just needs to fulfill it's role. - Marvel deck building is A LOT faster. Pick a hero, pick a color, al decks play with the almost mandatory 4 resource cards, pick cards in your color that do the stuff you want to do. - Picking cards in Marvel is a lot more easier, all you need is to look at the cost, figure out if the effect is worth the cost and think about how often you can play it. In AH there are a lot more dimensions of play due to resource generation, actual positioning on the map, range, it makes it harder to evaluate a card. In their most optimal scenarios cards are worth more than their weight in gold, but the game makes it that those situations rarely arise. These are off the top of my head, but as I said, AH:LCG is how I described "satisfying". I love seeing the pieces fall into place 2-3 missions into a campaign. But it is also why the game rarely hits the table, since we spend a lot of time just talking about and building decks before we actually play. In marvel we mostly focus on having a good mix of colors and if less than 4 players, we try to fill out whatever is missing (no red color? better get some of those cards that can also deal with baddies).

@cadiboy04

2 жыл бұрын

30 year old with a job but not family. Also can confirm this. One of the greatest comments so far to represent this group of ppl Previously owned multiple full cycles of LOTR:LCG, now I'm going to let all of them and try to get this instead. It's so tiring to chase after all the new releases.

The question is do games need to tell stories all the time? "You put your worker here to collect fish." "Yes, but what is my motivation to get the fish?" "Points!"

@awesomeanimal

3 жыл бұрын

The difference is the ip it's based on. As efka said, superhero comics are less about punching and more about personal dilemmas. I can see why somebody playing as their favorite hero might find punching by itself to be a bit hollow. But i can also see other people not minding at all. Everyone has their tastes and there's a game for everyone

@awesomeanimal

3 жыл бұрын

@@stevefratus1546 that's fine. I personally disagree with his review and love marvel champions. But i can see why it wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea

@nicka.9057

3 жыл бұрын

@@zeroisnine How does that insult apply here? If you're going to express anger at least back it up with some inkling of intelligence.

A couple of points that were not really brought up in the review: - This game plays really well solo. It's not the same experience as playing multi-player, but it is still really strong. During this pandemic, when getting together with other people can be difficult, Marvel Champions has hit the table more than any other game in my collection precisely for this reason. - I believe the people who really enjoy this game love to turn up the difficulty on themselves. In fact, FFG had to invent a new difficulty level, Heroic, to satisfy the demand for greater difficulty from the players. This ability to make the villains more difficult requires players to deck-build and find synergies and strategies to defeat the now-more-powerful villains. The pre-constructed decks will not be good enough to defeat the hardest villains on the hardest difficulty settings, and this is where a lot of players find enjoyment. Essentially, the players have to continue to raise the bar for themselves and then attempt to get over it.

@Gatherey

3 жыл бұрын

Solo mode is quite fun. In the beginning I was really into it, but after beating all core box villains + goblin couple of times with each available hero, I didn't want to play the game anymore. I thought Red Skull and its campaign might improve it, but played it twice and lost interest in the game at all. Still fun one-shot thing, but it gets kind of boring after XX plays (for me XX = 40), I'd play AH LCG every day of the year over this even if I am tired.

@j.fabianmena9775

3 жыл бұрын

Also to note in Solo play, the game is super fast to setup, lighting fast.

@ntmetroid

3 жыл бұрын

I just picked it up and have played 6 solo games (thor, captain America, captain marvel, iron man, black panther, and spider man) and have faught each villain a couple of times with a variety of scenarios. I am having a great time. So far i havent messed with deck building or higher difficulties. But after i play once or twice with each heroes base deck, ill probably dig into that. I love it. Cant wait to get it to the table with a buddy and try it 2p coop.

So I used to play lots of competitive card games, and now I can't keep up with them, even the LCGs. For me, this game fills a completely different niche than Arkham Horror. I mostly play card games like this solo or 2-player coop, at my own pace. Arkham Horror is a campaign game where I play a single deck for 8-10 straight games, unless something goes wrong early and I die. I really enjoy its story elements. That's fun. But especially if I have to put it down in the middle of a campaign and don't get back to it for a month or two, I end up scratching my head, restarting the campaign maybe with a new deck, and hoping the next time I'll have enough time to play through the whole thing. Marvel Champions is not a campaign game, it lets me exercise my deck-building goals to make 4 or 3 decks (if I use Spider-woman) at the same time, and then sit down and play those decks when I feel like it. If I want to do some deckbuilding, I'll rip apart some decks and make new ones. I used to do this all the time for competitive games, and I get a similar thrill out of doing it for Marvel Champions. Moreso, when I want to play, I can always just pick a hero, take a brief second to remember what the deck's goal was, and shuffle up something to fight. This fills the niche of MarioKart as a video game, or an app that I love and can always reinstall and get back in to on my phone. I've put this game down for months, come back to it, and just shuffled up the Ms. Marvel deck and had a grand ol' time. I roleplay, and I have some other campaign board games that fill a similar niche to Arkham Horror. Usually, when I'm in to one, I won't put it down for quite a while, but once it's down, I'm not likely to pick it up anytime soon. I don't have another board game for solo or 2-player coop that gives me the same feel that Marvel Champions does. The next closest would be Spirit Island, except it's complex enough I always feel I need a warm-up game. This one, coming from a card game background, just feels natural. I guess it's a comfort food. Also, this is the first LCG that I felt like I could make a decent deck after only 1 or 2 expansions, instead of having to wait an entire year's cycle to build a concept I enjoyed like with Lord of the Rings. So that's not to say that your review is wrong or anything, but I definitely didn't feel the same way on almost any of your points. Except the notion of playing 4 heroes against Rhino, that feels long, tedious, and unnecessary, but really this is a game I view as purely a 1-2 player game anyway.

I've been playing this game since it came out, and have a subscription so I don't miss out on anything. I still wanted to watch your review of it just because I love your reviews so much. Cheers!

@NoPunIncluded

3 жыл бұрын

I'm not at all surprised there's so many people enjoying this game. I clearly didn't get out of it what I wanted, but also, I can totally see why many folks do.

You get to “play cards and pretend that you have super powers.” Yup, pretty much all I want. If I want story, I got to Arkham.

As a fellow Daredevil superfan I had the biggest grin on my face during the opening. I knew there was a reason I loved this channel!

@tjeerdposthuma6992

3 жыл бұрын

Same! :)

Are you delaying AH Review, because you want to include Innsmouth as well, or is Part 2 still planned with Forgotten Age to Dream Eaters?

Oh contemptable algorithm, look upon this content and bless it with thine power

@whatsabandicoot

3 жыл бұрын

*throws sacrificial reply onto the heap* All hail the algorithm

I think in the end you still "skewer the game for not being what you want it to be" when you compare it to the other Fantasy Flight LCGs and point out that those game "do more", principally in terms of storytelling. While I can understand the appeal that a more narrative and campaign oriented games might have for certain players, what I personally like about this game, and made me chose it instead of Arkham or LotR, is, precisely, the way it still allows to immerse yourself in the theme (which I think it still does), but through a more modular and less narrative centric form that can be played in a single session rather than a campaign (which I think was clearly the designer's intention).

Strip away the theme and perish the thought of a narrative. What’s left is an elegant machine that is satisfying to toy with - alone or with friends.

One of the big reasons I decided to collect this over Arkham is that my game group changes frequently so its tough to get the same players to the table every week. Having this game be episodic makes it perfect for one night sessions with new and veteran players. Also, I am a superhero fan lol.

The joy of this game for me is deck building to beat the villains on the hardest difficulty. Every new character is a puzzle to solve on how to build them to be able to win on Heroic. I usually play solo with two heroes, and finding new character combos, and winning after many losses is good times.

Totally feel/felt the same about Daredevil - but there’s an incredible custom content scene and I was able to make my own version of him, so I’m happy for the time being!

The way this game is described it sounds like a Saturday Morning Superhero TV show. You all the cool abilities, and all the cool fights but each episode has zero consequences and are a far cry from the comic books which inspires them

To each their own. This is one of my favorite games. I love the deck building and the decisions that each turn brings. It is also fun to watch my teammates do cool things, like Hawkeye pulling the perfect arrow to save our bacon, or Iron Man going aerial and laying waste to everything.

Efka, have you tried the Once and Future Kang scenario? You still have to beat down a villain, but the theme comes through WAY better than anything previously released (in my opinion).

@jfducusin7186

3 жыл бұрын

Im pretty sure he didn't. His review might change if he did, or at least it would have given him hope that maybe, its not literally punching things all time.

Why does every game have to tell a story? Unrelated game.. but HIVE one of my fav. games to teach people does not have a story. Not every thing has to have narrative. I own all of AH LCG and that game has to much investment in time .. money and physical space. Playing a round of AH involves 30~40mins of deck building only to lose horribly because you didn’t bring a specific set of skills. Marvel I can build a deck in 10 mins and have a game completed in just over 1hr. Games to easy? up the difficulty. Not having a dig. Just my opinion 😊

@bodybagbilly

3 жыл бұрын

I feel like these negative-ish reviews of Marvel Champions all suffer from the same two problems. 1- The reviews aren't judging the game on what it is, but what they think it should be. 2- Marvel Champion's is built to be new player accessible (especially young new player accessible). I know AH is the gold standard in LCG's, but would you give a 12 yrs old a starter box and tell them to go to town? Would you describe the game Pandemic as garbage, because 'every game you play involves you managing outbreaks until you get the cards to find the cure and win'? Would you buy your 60 yrs old mother Pandemic: Legacy instead because there is flavor text after each game?

@Guzzer_78

3 жыл бұрын

@@bodybagbilly I love AH but the investment in time to build a deck that just doesn't work or not suitable for the campaign leads to some major frustration. Especially, in our experience, a 4 player game take 3-4hrs. Lord of the ring oozes theme and is a great game but personally it's not a pickup and play game and also very dependant on what deck you build. Marvel, I can get the box.. build a deck in 10 mins and be playing a game. I just don't understand why everything has to be so deep.. story telling and have some crazy mechanics. Another of our favourite games is River Dragons.. objective if the game is to get your villager to the opposite side of the river by putting down stones/planks. That's it.. no story on why they want to cross.. no crazy in-depth strategy.. just fun! I'd understand if reviewers didn't have fun with Marvel..but it's not the case. Most criticism is what the game didn't have compared to what it actually has.

@AlexBartnik

3 жыл бұрын

Hive doesn't have any pretense of having a real story at all. Neither does Azul. People don't mind because bees and patterns are pretty clearly abstract games. Marvel is an established IP with a massive universe and thousands of volumes of narrative. All of these heroes and villains have stories and personalities that will color your opinions and expectations of them before you ever open the box, and for most people, that prior knowledge will influence their decision to buy this game. So using that universe as the base of your game saddles you with the expectation of telling a story with it.

@bodybagbilly

3 жыл бұрын

@@AlexBartnik There is a little story there if you bother to read the cards and Rise of Red Skull manual. At least as much as every X-Men video game I've ever played and enjoyed. I would love to play a Marvel game with more story too, but this is not that... And I don't see why that can't be ok?

@bodybagbilly

3 жыл бұрын

@@TheErnieforss All things are subjective and so I have to disagree with you. The theme of getting together with your friends to beat up a bad guy is there for me, which is 90% of what comics boils down to, and I love the game mechanics. Having to make tough decisions like which cards to play, which ones to save, and which ones to spend is always a great mechanic in my book, and the book keeping in the game is pretty manageable as well.

You like Daredevil? A man of Culture I see

Ok, understand your kritik, but what do you think about Aeon's End?

I want to learn how to make an Effka phaux-hawk. Does Skillshare have that?

I don't understand basing a good chunk of the review on "it doesn't have a good narrative like arkham horror LCG", because it's obviously not trying to have a narrative. It's not trying to accomplish the same thing. Here they just wanted a make a quicker game where you can actually tune the difficulty as much as you want, and push yourself if you feel the need to. Could it be more? Sure. Is it enough as I is? I think so, at least I find it fun and engaging when I take the time to crank up the difficulty. Is it worth the price? Probably not except for the expansions I do prefer Arkham due to the deep scenarios, but that's not what I play MC for, and I don't think it's fair to say it should be that because it's "big brother" has an incredible story.

@maaaaa51

3 жыл бұрын

exactly

Does this game play well in coop? How long are solo games usually?

I will play this if they ever release a Ghost Rider deck where Nick Cage is on the art of every card

@skinflutey

3 жыл бұрын

But it’s Wicker Man Nick Cage

My favorite game this year - partially because it plays so well solo - and I agree 100% with the missed opportunity for storytelling (like AH)

Using cards to pay for the resources cost of other cards is excellent and now I have a hard time playing LOTR LCG bc Champions system is so much better

Just wanted to say the video quality is outstanding. What camera are you using?

I think that's what I need now. A simple game to play solo during lockdown. I'll get the Red Skull campaign too and see how It go.

I love how you are more patient with your reviews too allow the games to be more fleshed out and you get enough play throughs to really understand the game instead of mostly first impressions

For a brief moment I believed Daredevil would get his own hero deck. LMAO

Why do you need a story? I mean, I could argue the story is a hero(es) who are overcoming a villain. And some times the story is, how would this hero(es) take out said villain? I mean, yes, in comics, heroes beat up villains and win in interesting ways but they also snack the crud out of each other too. I really think the thing this game is missing are more alternate main schemes. I think that would add to the story on the villains.

I feel like Aeon's End scratches this itch (and from the comments it looks like I'm not alone) for me. It looks cool! But ultimately not something I need in my collection.

Playing a card or using it as a resource is not that simple in my eyes, it is confusing - cause as a beginner you have to find out which card to play and which to throw away. That made it very hard for me to get into the game with the result that I haven't played it a lot - catching dust for over a year now. It didn't help that there quite a lot of questions left about the interactions of several cards and skills. So an avid fan of superhero comic books I guess I'll have to cope with the reality that this is just not for me...

Recently got this game and am loving it. Just solo so far but it feels so thematic to me personally, but I’m pretty good at imagining scenarios in my mind to justify the matchups.

I too wish there was more narrative but it's a nice simple fun time with cards for what it is.

This game is not for everyone. Simply put it makes lcgs approachable to the masses. It does what it’s set out to do and does a damn fine job of it. Sure no narrative and somewhat straight forward and not much sense of excitement after winning or loosing. Yes ah lcg has all that. But guess what that game is so hard to approach and learn. It’s not common to hear people reading the rule book twice and then having to watch a play through to get their games going. They lowered the barrier to entry and therefore removed a ton of complexity. I can share marvel lcg with my young son. I cannot share ah with him. So though I agree with everything you said, there is a specific profile it’s tArgetting. The excitement comes from the process of the game play. Oh no! Ultron sent out 4 robots at me. Crap what treachercy card will I get!!!! Oh man another side scheme??? (Yes I agree side scheme is busy work) Tension... though you know you will likely be fine. Etc etc. agree they can get more creative and I hope they do. Meanwhile what it has to offer is still fun.

@user-fr1ys2wn4t

3 жыл бұрын

Spot on. people underestimate the importance of learning curve. Sure you can have a complex game, but who can you play it with? I can play this with everyone and that's a big +

One day someone is going review this game without making somewhat senseless comparisons to Arkham Horror. But today is not that day. I own everything for both games and love both of them. But they're really apples and oranges. Obviously there's superficial similarities - co-op LCG by the same publisher, but they're so different. Never mind the fact that Arkham has 6 cycles worth of content, extra scenarios and Return to sets - of course it's going to feel deep and more developed - it literally has more miles on the clock. I've owned both games since day one - I've played Arkham 103 times in 4 years, Marvel 216 times in 1 year. Marvel is demonstrably easier to get to the table. One of the best things about Marvel (which Efka briefly touched on but didn't fully explain) is it's inherent modularity. It's the entire breadth of the Hero + Aspect + Villain + Modular set that gives it replayability and interest. It's like Marvel Alliance 3 or any other old school fighting game character selection menu: "OK cool, let's have Captain Marvel with Leadership vs Green Goblin with some Hydra goons" I returned to Arkham recently, having played Marvel a ton since my last play, and I was struck by 2 things. 1) I had really missed the narrative elements; 2) it just simply didn't feel like a card game. You scrap together resources, play a few cards but spend most of your time and resources moving and performing tests - you don't actually play cards. You fight tooth and nail for stuff but the game gives you little positive feedback. You scrape together some XP, make some tweaks to your deck and you might simply never see or play that upgraded card again. Arkham is a deeply narrative RPG-lite game which happens to use cards as its delivery system, built from the ground up for long form campaign play. Marvel is a light co-operative pick up and play card game. Other than a passing mention, I'm not sure why reviewers keep on making comparisons between these games when they're simply so different

I know these are one-offs but i really like what FFG did with Warhammer Quest and Heroes of Terrinoth. Heores of Terrinoth especially had creative and diverse scenarios that required playing the game differently to win. Not quite as diverse as Arkham Horror, but for a single box, full of ideas

My name is Hurley and I wrote a rap So the algorithm doesnt think this is wack They say engagement always drive the views So now i can go back to being a recluse

@nickolaslillogodoy3496

3 жыл бұрын

Underapreciated comment right here

@danpsou

3 жыл бұрын

You're a gentleman.

I got the arkam lcg first and loved it But. I can safely say if rather take marvel champions out to play with my gf than arkam. It's fast and fun and for us the battle against the vilain is all the narrative we need

i bought both games and i love both for different reasons. if i wanna do a massive story campaign, i bust out AH. but if i wanna blow some time with a quick game with nothing to really think about, i play MC. comparing the two is like comparing "silence of the lambs" to "commando". both are great movies but for different reasons.

Would you prefer Aeon's End or Marvel Champions?

Your recommendation of: Core + Red Skull + (Insert Fav. Here pack here) Sounds grear because it sounds like Champions is just "Simple Arkham horror Boss fight, but marvel flavoured" ...which honestly isn't bad for me & my regular group of casual board gamers with not a whole lot of time, thnx!

I am a long-time comic book reader. I have bought almost everything released for Arkham Horror LCG and adore it. I have also bought almost everything released for Marvel Champions and ... like it a fair bit. It is a fine game and ticks a lot of boxes for me. But compared to Arkham Horror, it's extremely thin in terms of narrative. On the flipside, it's a lot lighter and can be played more quickly and, I strongly believe, easily. I enjoy playing Marvel Champions solo a lot more than I enjoy playing Arkham Horror LCG solo. One game of Marvel Champions is satisfying, whereas I usually only want to play Arkham Horror LCG as part of a campaign. I think Efka is pretty spot on in his comments, although mileage will vary for different people.

That last comment really sums it up - "I don't think it tells a story at all". I bought the core box, played a few scenarios, and was just left wanting SOMETHING that would wrap it all up. Even one line of dialogue on the back of the last bad guy card or ......anything... you just finish the game and go...ok then. It feels like it COULD be good, just needs to take some more risk.

@energythief

3 жыл бұрын

There is a storyline on the main schemes, albeit sparse.

Brilliant review made from your personal point of view. I wholeheartedly disagree with the premade decks. I think they suck horribly 😄 You kinda have to like deckbuilding to enjoy this game, so it's no surprise that you don't like it. And remember that each new Hero pack you buy further expands your deckbuilding tools. Thor has gone from being bad to excellent with the addition of new cards like "Team-building exercise" and the aerial cards from the star lord pack. I love things like that!

Guys! Fantastic review! Clever and funny :)

Spot on about the conclusion. The absolutely worst part about this game is how it usually ends. It's so anticlimactic. Most of the time you know that you've won by the time the last encounter card is revealed. The expansion campaign helps a bit by adding a metagame, but what this game really lacks is interactivity during player phases.

I see a lot of comments forgoing the fact that a superhero IP is literally based all around story and narrative, so I can completely understand it feeling like a miss if there is none there. That being said, I’ve never played and I’m a huge Arkham fan, so I may be a bit biased. I really want to try this one though.

So is it really fair to compare this game to something like Arkham Horror Card Game, the mythos of which is heavily narrative, thematic, and mood based, or is it more accurate to compare it to something like Sentinels of the Multiverse, which is more alt-Superhero beat-‘em-up?

Great video. Do think saying something doesn’t have a soul is a bit mean. But luckily it’s a board game and doesn’t have feelings and the infinity gauntlet reference is what really mattered. I feel 1. These games can’t really be evaluated well until years down the line because of how much they change. So even if I personally think it isn’t great now It might be later, 2. Lack of locations compared to Arkham Horror is a big loss for the game. The reason AH Card game is so bloody good is it drips theme, yes a stubborn detective might turn up in the strangest of places with hilarious consequences but it usually leads to a whole bunch of laughter. New York City is such a big part of Spider-Man, and you never get the feeling that you’re in New York. So while the mechanics can be kinda cool and thematically linked like Captain wanting to assemble a team it’s only surface level compared to Arkham’s settings and sometimes absolutely crazy happenings that somehow just work. I truly believe Arkham is a better game because of the locations. Setting matters. 2b. These characters are interesting decade after decade they sell products because people love them. But without a proper setting, players imaginations never get encouraged anything more than surface level. It’s like reading a book without details in it. Without fellow players getting imagination spurred on, this game boils down to people doing mechanical actions. Which is fine but not something I enjoy personally. It probably makes a far better solo game for people because of this honestly but I don’t play games solo. 3. OMG YOUR DOGGO IS SUCH A CUTIE❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ The Image of Bessie on your Computer was super heroic in appearance, was that Planned? You script from about 10:30 and on is absolutely spot on and inspired. Exactly how I feel for something I used to truly enjoy in Superheroes. The lack of true narrative in characters from such a narrative heavy field of Comic Books and Graphic Novels is just baffling to me,

Pretty well balanced review! I agree with the precon decks. I like them. I like that they feel like the character. I’m not really in it for the deckbuilding b/c I just don’t have the time; but I’m willing to plop down $15 for a character I like. The game is flawed, like our favorite heroes, but it is fun enough for me. I actually wasn’t impressed the first time I played. But, months later, I found myself wanting to give it another try and now I’ve been all in.

I love AH LCG and agree it has more narrative but I enjoy Marvel Champions more for what it is. It’s easier to get to the table as a non campaign game and has stronger card play. I feel too much of Arkham is dumping my hand to boost random skill tests whereas you get more interesting card play in Marvel. And thus far I’ve been really impressed how FFG has made each hero play and feel so much different. Each hero’s powers and cards really bring out the unique flavor and feel of each hero. And the multiple aspects allow you to further differentiate the same hero between games. My only complaint is that they need to continue that trend with the villains. Some feel generic but I must say that is getting better. Goblin and Kang in particular feel like more unique experiences.

Nice review. I completely agrees with you, I was very disappointed by the game because it's not AT ALL a narrative game whereas it is derived from a very narrative IP. To the point that winning the game doesn't even feel good, as you and other reviewers mentionned it : at the end of the game the tension just leaves the room, like going to theater to watch a super hero film and being forced out by a fire alarm right before the ending. It's a puzzle you have to solve but it's too mechanics-focused for me. Strangely, when it comes to defeating a boss in the Marvel universe, I had much more fun with Marvel United... it made me feel more like a super-hero than Champions ever did and I can't really explain why... Thanks for the review.

I think its a good solo game. And playing the solo league makes it perfect fun. But expensive and hard to get in germany...

I believe the lack of a campaign was a deliberate choice and most likely a correct one. This goes along with the choice to eliminate any deck building requirements. This is to be a lighter version of AH and LotR games. Both of the prior games require huge investments of time and money. For Marvel Champions you grab your heros deck, grab a villain deck and POW you are playing. Yes they could have made it a deeper game with just a little more work but they really wanted a light, quick playing game.

Where is the Arkham horror LCG Review part 2?

Thank you for this review. I am a huge fan of AH LCG for its thematic storytelling and decisions which make consequences. I like the Marvel theme, but just doing math with cards with Marvel pictures on them is not quite enough to commit to such an expensive game.

I thought Tussie Mussie was next from the last video’s teaser??

"play cards and make pretend that you have super powers".. that's fine with me! I do understand your gripes though

You said this game has no story but what about the campaign? I love playing the campaign because there is a fun comic book story to go along with the game with new mechanic.

What brand are those token containers? They look cute

Psssst. Marvel Legendary's Champions-pack totally has Kamala Khan. Only reason I bought that set. It's pretty cool.

As a solo game the gameplay loop was fascinating enough that I sat down and played the core set 24 times....which is about 22 times more than I play most board games. Sure it lacks some narrative, but as other comments point out, it doesn't really need; the critique that you get to the end and then nothing happens about sums up any euro game once you calculated victory points....do a bit of maths, work out if you won or not, shrug, go put the kettle on.

where's the X-Men FFG! wheres my JUBILEE!!

I like the dog.

How does this compare to sentinels for you both please?

@NoPunIncluded

3 ай бұрын

got sentinels on my review pile, haven't gotten to it yet though

This is the pure 'maths puzzle' side of LCGs, with Arkham really focusing on the narrative side. I love Marvel for what it is and it plays amazingly when I just want to shuffle some cards and get bigger numbers, but I much prefer it as a solo game as opposed to Arkham where a group who can get into the narrative is much more viable.

Everyone comes from a different angle, of course, but for me, Arkham: TCG actually suffers from too much "fussy-ness" by virtue of the weight of its narrative elements and the demands on the player for its campaign-style approach. Before I ever got into Marvel Champions, this is what quickly drove me away from Arkham. Rich, cohesive story? Yes. Demanding investment? Also yes. As you say, Marvel Champions is much more like a series of "boss fights" but it manages to be much less obnoxious in its demands on the player to simply get the game to the table. You don't have to worry so much about all the fuss that Arkham requires of you. I can spend 15 minutes customizing a hero deck, pick and villain and have a good, self-contained, 30-minute super hero battle. Arkham is not accessible on that same level. To put it in nebulous, personal (but potentially insightful) terms, I tended to feel exhausted after preparing and playing through a scenario or string of scenarios in Arkham: TCG. I feel energized after prepping and playing through a scenario of Marvel Champs. Part of that is almost certainly down to Marvel's more bite-sized and loosey-goosey nature, which by my account, is what miraculously saved it from the waste bin shuffle that I ultimately had to give to Arkham. Cheers!

Oooo! A Daredevil fan!

This was a fair review, especially with the content that was available at the time

Its basically why I have been holding off on this despite so many stellar reviews. Something just felt missing. Honestly it seems too much like Legendary marvel to me which I also did not like despite yes being a very different game but it is really so different in the end?

@grog3514

3 жыл бұрын

I will say that the games are very different. I don't care for legendary much at all. I rate it a 6 because I love the art and that I can play with x-men. It's really a 4 or 4.5. Champions is actually a good game. Its not my favorite but I liked it enough to buy it and the red skull expansion. I would rate it a 7.5 and will probably go to 8.5 once they start making x-men content.

I'm a casual Marvel fan and first time deck building game player. Out of : Mansions of Madness, Hellboy, Imperial Assault, Outer Rim, Gloomhaven, Mageknight, Aliens AGDITC/GAFHYB, Firefly, Fallout, and Zombicide... I have played Marvel Champions ten times more than every other game combined. Not saying it is better, just saying it is infinitely more playable.

Use your imagination for story. Like every other board game or card game has a perfect story. They all just end and that's it ;)

Getting very tired of people talking about narrative in this game. It is not a narrative experience. Each game is a unique fight. Sure you can take on narrative threads but that's not the draw. This game is quicker due to not bogging it down in a multi-game campaign. It's built to appeal to multiple sets of people: those who love superheroes, those who want a semi-crunchy card game, and those that want something quick. It's built to replay villains again and again, not just once through, then it takes up box space. The campaign box that came out is literally one of the best bits of content because it gives you 5 new "bosses" to fight AND a narrative thread to follow, so people can hopefully stop complaining. The core box is literally the best LCG FFG has put out and makes you actually want to play the villains again, instead of just play them once and forget them. Deck construction is also the cleanest its ever been. Arkham/LotR are bloated with not feeling like the characters and drowning you in choices to create a deck. Having to only create half a deck is amazingly freeing and actually gets me tinkering more than the others ever did. To just play the precons is horrible, because they come with no synergies, its just a way to facilitate new aspect cards for all. They come with a loaded aspect of "mostly" new cards so each hero shakes up that aspect pretty hard. The fact that each heroes feels different and plays like their comic book counter parts is just icing on the cake. I will concede winning in the game is a little of a thud sometimes, but that doesn't stop the journey from being tense and enjoyable. Each character being a different game play experience is also a reason to return with odd setups and take on the same villains again and again. IMO - Marvel Champions > LotR LCG > Arkham LCG, for what that counts

15:42 Marvel Champions is considered a Living Card Game (LCG) not “Collectible Card Game”. There is a vast difference, and if cleared up actually adds to your idea of a Lazy Card Gaming (LCG), as players don’t need to spend time “collecting” individual cards or pay to win, and all the same cards are available to all the same players in all the same sets.

They kept it closer to LotR LCG than Arkham. The expansions have gotten better and the mad titans shadow is really good

Disclaimer: I haven't played all that much AH:LCG but I have played a ton of Android:Netrunner, another one of FFG's living card games. What you outline really resonates with a feeling I've had about Marvel Champions, specifically the bit about punching and thwarting being all that you do. One of the things I love about Netrunner is how different decks tell a different story through their unique mechanics and the way you play them. Sure, most of the time you're still trying to score/steal 7 points or kill the runner, but the way in which you do that is wildly different for a lot of decks. Some have you revealing all the facedown traps and defenses the corp lays for you, others have you building up a big rig of equipment to deal with whatever those defenses may be cheaply, yet others have you running face-first into those traps to try and drain the corp's resources while you have still have little to lose, yet others have you moving an elaborate set of chess-themes countermeasures across their defenses to poke holes, YET others have you slowly disintegrating their defenses using viruses, STILL others let you force the corp to discard cards into their trash pile that you can then attack or cause them to miss out on key pieces, etc. Your win/loss triggers are always the same, but the things you do that LEAD to these triggers being reached are wildly different from character to character, opponent to opponent and even game to game. Point being: M:C doesn't feel like it has this design space. You either punch, thwart or play cards to help you punch/thwart better. Dr Strange has one gimmick to generate punches, Iron Man has another, others are explicitly bad at thwarting but good at punching, etc. But at the end of the day you're still just engaging in different shades of punching and thwarting.

@samhs101

3 жыл бұрын

Rip Netrunner: easily the best card game ever made. Absolutely stunning.

I see this and just think maybe I’d try dice masters instead

Whoa! This review is the biggest upset in board gaming since Quinns slapped a 'meh' on Wingspan! 😮

I would argue that, in Champions, the story is the journey, and the pivotal moments in the game that you tell to your friends or remember afterward. And if you were to construct your own deck, then you're more of a major driver in that story. It's true that the end of a scenario in Champions can be anticlimactic, but constructing a deck that allowed for specific game winning interactions is a great feeling, but I also think those moments don't present themselves as much playing on the standard difficultly and aren't as satisfying if you don't build your own deck. Whether you value a highly curated narrative more or the story of things like how you were able to prevent the deaths of all your teammates by defending six attacks in a round with Black Widow or when the team you assembled was able to prop Ant-Man to attack four times for 8 damage instead of the normal 3 damage once... Well, that's dependent on the person, and it sounds like Efka clearly falls in the former camp, which is great self awareness, but that's also clearly not what Champions is trying to accomplish, and dinging it for that seems strange. It would probably be more accurate to say "I don't like this Hershey's chocolate bar because it's more plain than the Hershey's Symphony bar that has more things in it, and that's something I enjoy." as opposed to "This chocolate Santa that was supposed to have filling in it is actually empty."

Great review with very valid points. Marvel felt like the “lightest” of the cooperative LCGS with Arkham it’s far heavier cousin. For me, Lord of the Rings is the perfect inbetween. Mechanically it’s old and has been improved and refined by Arkham and Marvel but for me it still strikes the best balance.

The sum of the parts of a game of Marvel Champions makes for an amazing story, even worthy of a new comic book. Unfortunately during the game the story is not so intriguing. Definitely the sum of its story parts are best detailed at the end retrospectively.

Oh... I didn't know you were a Marvel mushroom. :O :P

3:30 doggy!

Tu es un merveilleux champignon Efka ♥

Totally agree.

It seems like the main criticisms are: "All you do in the game is play cards and do some combination of thwarting or attacking" That's not incorrect, but it seems like a disingenuous interpretation. Can't all games be reduced to such simplistic terms, particularly card games which by their nature are more abstracted than most other tabletop games? All you do in Arkham is play cards, gather clues and do tests. All you do in Magic is play cards, control game elements and hit the opponents HP All you do in Netrunner is play cards, make runs and steal/advance agendas "Nothing happens when the game ends" Are there many games when something happens after the game ends? Virtually every tabletop game I can think of - the end game condition ends and to simply go to finally scoring or already have a declared winner, or win/loss state. The only ones that do have something happen are those that have scenario/campaign play with a companion app/book full of text to read afterwards. Efka's example of being on 1 HP and having a nail biting experience to just limp over the line, defeat Green Goblin and snatchs victory from the jaws of defeat is the narrative he's looking for - except it's emergent from the actual gameplay, rather than some prescribed flavour text from a book or card. "This game doesn't have the same narrative depth or complexity as Arkham" Yes, and? They're just simply different games with different core designs and different goals. The two games are simply so different, at this point, other than a passing mention, there's little value in a longform comparison.

@thijsschipper6406

3 жыл бұрын

I can't speak for AH or MTG much, but the big difference between this and your example of Netrunner: in Netrunner, making a run is only the START of a journey. Your run could succeed, or it could fail. You could run into defenses that are weak, or costly, or even impossible to get around. You may finally see that face down card that's been taunting you all game. You could end up dead. There could be a 3 pointer at the end, or a 1 pointer. Or nothing. Or a trap. All of this ties into the rest of your available actions, too. Your money, rig and character have a huge effect on how any given run might play out. In Marvel, making an attack is the start and immediate end. An attack does damage. The end. Thwarting removes threat. The end. The difference is massive.

For all those people who are saying "you dont need story for all games". FFG promised this would be a campaign experience before release. Point 2: I have seen comments along the type "ok I enjoy just being able to beat up the villain and thats it" Wouldn`t a mechanic maybe along a Story deck or a special scheme deck that you could change where if you won maybe the villain will say something, or if you lost someone could come to help you or just see the aftermath of your loss would be more interesting than "oh i lost" or "oh good i won"?

Awesome review 😃 I enjoyed every minute of it!

I think, as usual, you are the most intelligent and logical reviewer out there E, and I love that you layer in so many small details that make a difference, to provide an entertaining review. I love Marvel Champions, but also greatly desire the narrative you talk about here. Great discussion here, and love your work, keep being awesome!

Instalike for the Daredevil demand.

The dog stole the show, not even listening anymore, just hoping the cozy pup shows up again.

Imagine if board games could be non-legacy and non-narrative focused, oh no that would be devastating! apparently...

I think that's a fair review. If you are going into Marvel Champions wanting Arkham Horror, you will be sorely disappointed. Story is by far the weakest aspect of the game. It does however excel quite well at mechanics and at flavor. This is the type of game where I like to come up with wacky deck ideas for to see if they'll work by trying to focus really hard on a specific concept or to see how swingy I can get my hero in a single turn. I think most of the fun comes from that deck building aspect, and that most of the rest of it comes from seeing characters you wouldn't expect or seeing callouts that are iconic (stuff like Fastball special as a teamup between colossus and wolverine being a thing). I've actually learned a bit more about comic book lore just by playing this game which is neat to me as a Marvel nerd. All that said though, I agree with you. If you are in it for a deep story, or you aren't super into marvel, or you don't really like digging into deck building, this game probably will seem pretty meh and I'd probably recommend checking something out instead. In my case, I like the mechanics and the flavor, and that's enough to scratch my itch, but it's definitely not a game for everyone.

I own and play both arkham horror and marvel champions. I like both. Arkham feels like playing an interactive book with a world to explore however arkham is much slower and you constantly are dreading lossing. Since losing or not gaining enough xp effects how well you will do in an 8+ hour campaign. Marvel is like facing off against a boss fight where the responsibility point is right outside the boss door. This is because marvel has a much more carefree element where the games are fast and losing has no long-term consequences. Marvel just has a great pick up and play attitude where you can just enjoy playing cards and using abilities instead of dreading what's coming next and carefully counting out your every move.

Fair review but I enjoy the game quite a bit even with the shortcomings highlighted in the video. It's strong points of being Marvel, great solo play, varied heroes & villains, scalable difficulty, simplified deckbuilding, and fast gameplay outweighs the negatives of narrow gameplay objectives, and shallow narrative. It's basically a create your own marvel scenario card game puzzle. I'm just fine with that. I have plenty of heavy games and enjoy this one being a lot more focused and simplified in concept.

I think the scope of the review is wrong, putting aside that I would like to have more story-driven scenarios, it is not the focus of the game. It s the same if you compare it to magic, is it all about reducing your enemy's health points to 0? Yes, is it a bad game? (well it depends) but mechanically is brilliant.

@gelui13

2 жыл бұрын

Also, you are complaining because a thematic game is lacking a properly written narrative, and when it´s finished then it´s finished. But this could be also a valid point to critique TI4! It´s all about how you approach the game. I have complaints about Marvel champions and some concerns, but you pointed all your critiques to the narrative :/