It’s here where you want to do as much as possible to minimise the number of rounds your villain will have, as otherwise the destruction they can cause during their own phase is twofold. The former is where your team has free reign to lay down attacks as a hero or plan accordingly in alter ego form. The flow of the game is dictated by both the hero phase and villain phase constantly alternating. Spider-Man’s core ability, for example, might let him interrupt villain attacks at crucial moments, but only as Peter Parker does he gain an additional resource – useful for deploying more cards during the initial hero’s phase. You see, while each game begins by having you choose between your line-up out of Spider-Man, Captain Marvel, Black Panther, She-Hulk and Captain America, it’s their civilian form that always kicks off proceedings. The first thing Marvel Champions gets right is recognising that the person behind the mask has just as much value as their superhero identity. All three advance in difficulty in this exact ascending order. Marvel Champions actually has three possible villains to take on in this starter set: Rhino, Klaw and Ultron. Only through smart card actions can you prevent this from happening, working your super-powered deck consisting of ally, upgrade and supports cards, which each tout different effects, against them. The aim of the game is to get your villain’s HP to zero before he can either destroy you or accumulate enough points to advance his scheme.
