At the end of October, Marvel Crisis Protocol is going to receive two brand new starter sets, X-Men and Spider-Foes, each one packing in a complete roster of heroes (and villains) and all the tokens, cards, and measuring doodads that are required to play the superheroic tabletop wargame. We spoke to the super geniuses pulling the strings at development studio Atomic Mass Games to learn more about the upcoming box sets.
Will Shick, VP of Creative Development and Strategy, and Will Pagani, Game Development Director (and MCP's original lead developer), were kind enough to provide us with answers, which they worked on together. Released in 2019, Marvel Crisis Protocol was Atomic Mass Game's debut miniature wargame, and its combination of great hero sculpts and highly kinetic combat have made it a firm favorite among fans.
The current, two player starter set, which comes with two smaller forces and scenery, isn't going away. "If players are looking to get in and try the game with a friend, the two player core sets are a great start for them", AMG says. If you want to join a group at a local store or club that already has scenery, the new sets "are a one-stop-shop for everything a player needs… a full roster as well as all essential materials for game play."
You will want to have scenery as well, since a huge part of the fun of MCP is smashing rival super heroes into, through, or with the terrain. "We suggest around 15 pieces of terrain of varying sizes with the majority being between 'Size 2' and 'Size 3' category", AMG says - that means "cars, coffee stands, trees and the like". The official MCP terrain is very high quality but not cheap.
None of the characters in the starter sets are new to the game. The older ones "have received updated stat card stylings into the new horizontal character card style and have updated rules to match any errata or character updates".
MCP X-Men starter set
The X-Men starter set contains Cyclops, Wolverine, Storm, Beast, Rogue, Gambit, Magneto, Toad, Mystique, and Sabretooth, this set is a half-and-half split of Uncanny X-Men and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. If you need to square it in your head, just imagine it's one of the times when Magneto was headmaster of the Xavier institute or leading the X-Men.
Wargamer: Does this team have a particular strategy?
Atomic Mass Games: An agile approach is this roster's strength. If you choose to lean into the Uncanny X-Men half of the roster you can get a strong team-work oriented, objective play squad to the table. This is excellent when the Crisis [mission objective] is fast scoring and can earn you a decisive victory quickly!
When the Crisis lean a little to the slower scoring side, attrition based squads can shine. Bringing in a Brotherhood (and specifically Magneto) led team can dominate the opponent and win through Dazing and KO'ing opposing characters to assert your dominance over the objectives.
WG: Which team-member does the most damage?
AMG: This is a tough one - Sabretooth and Wolverine can dish out damage like mad but Magneto has to have the higher potential… if you can get him the terrain he needs to be constantly battering his opponent with debris! He does bring his own terrain to the game, so that will certainly help… However a good Adamantium Claw is nothing to look down on!
WG: Who is the biggest tank?
AMG: It's got to be Wolverine or Rogue. Both are very durable in different ways: Wolverine's Healing Factor will keep him healthy if opponents have a hard time bringing him down in one activation, while Rogue's Kree-Mutant Physiology and solid defensive stats means she can take several hits before becoming Dazed. These two will definitely be the spearhead of your force and love to hold down the area around Secure type objectives.
WG: Which character is the trickiest to get the most out of?
AMG: Mystique takes a lot of finesse to utilize her entire repertoire of options… but when you can position her properly and set up some of her Expert Sabotage and utilize Shapeshifter to trick your opponent the payoff can be huge!
WG: Which one power feels most like it's come from a comic book?
AMG: I really love how Magneto feels like a wrecking ball that cannot be stopped once it's been swung. He's not a fast moving character but any foe brave (or stupid) enough to enter his attack's ranges will feel the power of the Master of Magnetism! Being able to push his opponents very consistently with his attacks as well as throw a near infinite amount of terrain each turn, his only limit is the battlefield itself and how you as the player can position him!
WG: What's the flashiest thing you can do with this force?
AMG: Storm has a very flashy Leadership ability that can move the characters she's leading around the table in very unforeseen ways - it can create some very creative and interesting lines of play for people to explore.
The Uncanny X-Men affiliation in general is very objective focused and very team-work oriented, so this Leadership ability allows them to become very effective at setting each other up to make multiple attack actions in a turn by giving them ways to position themselves to contend objectives, get into range to make attacks, or even set up a bonus move to snag an 'Extract' objective token that would be otherwise out of reach.
WG: Is there a particular Affiliation set that would make a great way to expand from this box?
AMG: While not an Affiliation set, I would suggest CP173 Avalanche, Exodus & Lady Mastermind and / or CP152 Angel and Archangel. Both of these sets give strength to both sides of the roster - Uncanny X-Men and Brotherhood of Mutants - and give you some things you're missing from the roster - some very fast characters in Angel and Archangel, some very control and manipulation style characters with Avalanche and Lady Mastermind. Exodus specifically has excellent synergies with Magento - they don't call him the Herald of Magneto for nothing!
MCP Spider-Foes starter set
The Spider-Foes starter set contains Green Goblin, Kraven the Hunter, Lizard, Mysterio, Shocker, Sandman (and his sand constructs!), Carnage, Rhino, Vulture, and Electro. Spider-Man really does have the best villains.
Wargamer: Does this team have a particular strategy?
Atomic Mass Games: The Spider-Foes are a very tricksy Affiliation with a splash of brute strength. Always having traps laid to spring on your opponent buys you enough room to get your heavy hitters into position to leverage their brawling capabilities and turn the tide of the scenario in your favor!
WG: Which character does the most damage?
AMG: Carnage, without a doubt. Carnage has the ability to Daze or KO multiple characters each activation and is extremely mobile while doing so. A blur of symbiotic mayhem that preys upon groups of enemies.
WG: Which character is best at tanking hits?
AMG: Rhino has the toughest hide for sure, but Mysterio can just straight up avoid hits through his tricks! Which one is better? You'll have to decide! Brute force or brains? The constant struggle of the Spider-Foes!
WG: Which character is the trickiest to get the most out of?
AMG: Mysterio is certainly the king of traps in this roster, but players should not overlook the sneaky-ness of Green Goblin or Doctor Octopus - they've certainly got tricks up their sleeves that can mess with your opponents plans. Combining all three can set up quite the puzzle for your opponent to work around.
WG: Which one power feels most like it's come from a comic book?
AG: I think Sandman has excellent flavor. The sand constructs he brings to the table as extensions of his own self are very neat and flavorful. Bringing them into play with his own stamina and being able to reabsorb that stamina is such a cool and thematic way to show him gaining and losing the grit of his body. I love the imagery of parts of him breaking off and forming hammers or grasping hands to hinder his opponents!
WG: What's the flashiest thing you can do with this force?
AG: There are many ways to lure your opponent into various reactive superpowers during your own turns in this roster. Throws or pushes are one thing but even Mysterio can cause your opponents to move - this can trigger all sorts of abilities like Green Goblin's and Mysterio's Tricks and Traps superpowers, or even just grouping them up for Carnage and Kraven to jump into and deal significant damage… Manipulation of your opponents pieces to set up your own positioning can be very satisfying and rewarding with this affiliation in particular.
AG: Is there a particular Affiliation set that would make a great way to expand from this box?
WG: CP214 - Criminal Syndicate Affiliation Pack. Firstly, it contains additional characters that are commonly set against Spidey that aren't in the starter set (notably King Pin and Bullseye). Secondly, many of the Spider-Foes themselves are part of the Criminal Syndicate affiliation - this gives you another way to play your new characters and is a VERY different play style to what you have available in the starter set.
WG: Thanks, Will and Will!
Wargamer's video editor Lewis Killick is a massive MCP fan. He often shares his excellent MCP minis in the painting channel in the official Wargamer Discord community - why not hop in and say hello?
AMG's other big starter set project of late has been the new single faction Star Wars Legion starter sets. We're intrigued what's coming next for MCP and on the Star Wars Legion roadmap - we'll learn more soon though, with AMG's Ministravaganza showcase coming November 15.