Here are all the Marvel Crisis Protocol rules updates and changes so far including the November 22nd ones, which are keeping the game fresh!
AMG kicked off the changes with their Ministravaganza event where they talked about a lot of the changes. Then, they’ve continued to preview new changes (and a ton of character cards) through their blog.
If you haven’t seen the Ministravaganza, we highly encourage you to watch the full stream below, as you’ll get to witness the dev’s excitement and passion first hand! We’ll first look at some of the big changes, then get into the character card changes!
All the Marvel Crisis Protocol Rules Updates We’ve Seen
The big news involves the upcoming core rules changes coming before the end of the year. AMG gave players, Four new fantastic changes coming very soon to our game tables!
- Increase to 10 Team Tactics Cards instead of 8 in rosters
This helps diversify games by adding more variety in cards we see in our games. The less used cards will inevitably see more play, which will make games more unique and more fun. - Crisis selection is now random instead of drafted
This adds more game variety and encourages less meta gaming with specific Crisis cards. In general, this helps make games less “spike-y” (haha). In their stream, they specifically said they wanted to stop the idea of “gaming the system”. They want the focus to be on characters! Just play the game and have fun battling with iconic heroes and villains. - Infinity Gems don’t take roster slots, they are assigned to characters during roster creation
This change adds some strategy by forcing you to lock into certain strategies but also takes away some more reaction-based options. So no more sideboarding your Thanos with Gems Black Order players! - Alter Ego is now only limited at the squad level
This is a very simple change. Two Peter Parkers can be in your roster, just not in the same squad. This might encourage you to play more of your favorite characters by using their different models.
A new localization project is also underway and will be bringing crisis protocol to non-English languages. With this comes redesigned cards, including new rules changes for old characters to bring them in line with current characters.
Note: they changed Hulk Not Puny Banner to 4 power on release.
Along with the new core rule update, there will be downloads for all card changes along with a physical card pack released later to get updated physical cards. They also showed off Hulk, Captain America, and Shuri’s updated cards above.
Be sure to check out all the other reveals from Juggernaut and the new X-Men to the Hulkbuster and Ms. Marvel card reveals as well here from the weekend! Next up, on their blog, they previewed some of the character cards (which are printed in the style) and why they made certain changes.
Let’s take a look at some of the changes that went live on November 22nd, 2021, and what to expect going forward. If you’re looking for the card changes, they are below the main points.
Marvel Crisis Protocol Mission Changes & Mechanics
First up, the draw two and pick one is no longer. Now you just draw one card at random from three. Then, the player without priority will select the maximum threat value for the game.
The big change for mechanics here is Step 3 of each activation phase. It has been changed to include all non-player effects (including crisis effects and special conditions) so that the priority player will select the order in which the effects are resolved as well as the benefits and penalties first.
This makes a big difference as the Activated token will be gained at the end of the activation, not after the character has done its second action.
Ability Changes
The first one is pretty obvious and players basically never even used it, Beam attacks now damage OTHER units. How it was written before, it affected even the attacking character. Next, throws have changed. Now either objects and Characters must be bigger than the terrain they collide with to destroy it. Lastly, KOs have one very small but very big change. All effects on characters expire before the character is removed from the battlefield. This includes pretty much everything and should make it easier to resolve certain Team Tactics cards.
A new set of rules were added to clarify how to resolve simultaneous effects between players. Check them out below:
Just to note, you only use this when the existing rules don’t clarify. So if a rule is in place and covers the timing, use those instead.
Marvel Crisis Protocol Core Set & Character Card Updates
When they changed the stat cards across the board to the new style, it gave them the time to look at some of the older cards and decide what needed to be changed. Since the game has been running for a while now, they have a better feel of how to make characters.
They mentioned in-stream that all the characters up to X-Men in 2020 could be getting an update. So we expect all the changes to be good. Let’s hear a little from them about the changes to Cap:
We realized that he was slightly underperforming for his 4-threat value compared to others in his weight class. While he has always boasted one of the most powerful Leadership abilities in the game, Steve Rogers was always meant to be much more than just a leadership. Moving his displacement abilities to allow him to deal with characters at Size 3 instead of Size 2 not only gives him more scenario play, it also dramatically increases the danger presented by his Shield Slam attack, especially given its low cost of 2 Power.
They also added a lot of flat power to all his abilities, to really show how good he is when it comes to his shield.
Iron Man Changes
You’ll see that in this case we only adjusted one number. Friday AI has gone from 3 Power to 2 Power. This means under Cap’s leadership he can start blasting with Friday AI on Round 1, and even outside of Steve’s leadership it doesn’t take nearly as much for Iron Man to get to the point where he can double tap with Friday AI every activation
Iron Man only received one change, but the reduction does make it much easier to spam.
Captain Marvel Changes
Once again, a simple number tweak bringing Binary Form’s cost from 5 to 4 really let Carol Danvers feel like the powerhouse she is meant to be. Under Cap’s leadership or part of She-Hulk’s A-Force, getting into Binary by Round 2 is very easy, and from there keeping it going is well within a player’s grasp depending on the tactical situation.
Again, just some small number tweaking, but it should have a big impact when it comes to her in-game efficacy.
Ultron Changes
The first thing we did was give a stronger reason for players to use Ultron’s strike. At strength 6 and granting 1 power, this attack is no longer just filler. It’s a potent attack and puts Ultron in rare company among his 4 threat “peers.” The next change was to give his Energy Blast Wild Incinerate. Easily one of the best special conditions, Incinerate not only lets Ultron be more effective, it also synergizes really well with Red Skull’s Cabal leadership and the Cabal’s Dark Reign team tactic card by making it that much easier to deal damage to those pesky opposing characters.
They actually made a decent amount of changes here. The biggest one might be a total rework Analyze and Annihilate. Instead of having to activate it, it’s just an innate ability. Re-rolling is always nice, so this adds some power. Then they also tweaked almost all his numbers.
So, you should take him out for a spin and see how the changes feel. Next, let’s check out how the Guardians of the Galaxy will be changing!
Marvel Crisis Protocol Guardians of the Galaxy Update
Let’s start with the Star-Lord himself! Overall, however, these are all pretty small changes, but they are all good and really bring them to where the game is now.
It’s a new day for the Guardians as Winging It now no longer costs anything, other than a bit of forethought before the Activation Phase begins. Not only can the Guardians now count on benefiting from their Leadership every round, but it also still provides that classic Guardians flexibility as the other 88% of the plan comes together in the middle of the action.
This is a really great change. It improves his flexibility while making his hit and run also adds that flexibility. If Star-Lord is good at anything, it’s being flexible and it’s cool to see them taking it that way.
Gamora Updates
As with the majority of these character rebalances, it only takes a couple of small nudges to net big results. The first thing we identified when looking at Gamora was that her Stamina value of 5/5 made Dazing or KO’ing her with a single decent attack too reliable. By simply increasing her stamina on both sides by 1, the likelihood that she would require more focused effort to neutralize increased significantly.
This is a good change, as the game has evolved, she was just getting beat on pretty hard. This is a small adjustment that feels like it will actually make her strong again. As she really should be!
Groot Changes
Groot received minor adjustments but, paired with the changes made to Rocket that we will look at next, each had a significant impact on the pair. First, we increased the range of his Strike from 2 to 3. Not only does this better represent his powers as we see them in the comics, it also lets him contribute more to the battle while still hanging a bit back with his companion Rocket. Additionally, with this change, we had to also address the fact that Groot could now much more easily access his healing from Living Plant. So, it was adjusted to be once per turn.
He’ll be hitting a little harder but it looks like they really upped his synergy with Rocket, which makes us happy! However, he’ll only be able to do Living Plant once per turn so that’s a bummer.
Rocket Changes
The first one worth covering is the fact that Personal Bodyguard has gone from a very restrictive Range 1 to a much more dynamic Range 2. Combined with Groot’s increased Strike range, this allows the pair to have much more impact on the battlefield. The second change to Rocket is a whole new superpower called Nimble.
Adding the two ranges together makes the pair much stronger. Especially with them adding Nimble, this stops your opponent from damaging him by throwing Groot into Rocket or Rocket into like… anything else. Plus, this helps his survivability in all terms of the game. Just remember, you can only use Living Tree once per turn, so be careful with Groot.
Valkyrie, Medusa & Enchantress Updates: Marvel Crisis Protocol
New Valkyrie, Medusa, and Enchantress updates for Marvel Crisis Protocol are all part of updating characters to the latest state of the game.
Let’s start with Valkyrie, she has always felt really strong for a 3 threat character. So, while most of the characters have been getting buffs, she’s actually grabbing a nerf. They increased the cost of her throw, which could really add up over the course of a game.
Not only that, but they also made her Dragon Fang harder to trigger. So overall, she’ll probably still be pretty strong, but this does bring her power to a much more balanced state as she can’t just run up and do a throw automatically turn 1 in most rosters.
Medusa is actually one of Rob’s favorite characters to play because if you know how to use her, she is insanely strong. They basically just changed all her abilities to be worse. Some of the biggest changes are making it so you can no longer Spam push with her (which was just annoying to play against) and her Flurry has been given a worse trigger.
We’ll just have to see if she keeps her character feel or if this will totally gut her.
Last but not least is Enchantress. She is getting quite the NERF-hammer here. With Amora’s Kiss turning into an action, that kinda wrecks her utility super hard right off the bat. Then making Siren’s Call once per turn really just changes what she can do overall.
She was another annoying character who could create serious problems in turn one, not so much anymore. Still, she has some strong mechanics, just not quite as OP as before.
Let’s take a look at some of the new Marvel Crisis Protocol Character Card changes and what to expect from the Criminal Syndicate for the game update is rumored to be rolling out soon.
Marvel Crisis Protocol Criminal Syndicate Update
Leading off the new Criminal Syndicate changes is the man, er king himself, Wilson Fisk.
At first glance, you won’t see a huge difference to the original card of the 4 threat leader. Kingpin’s changes, although subtly, are extremely healthy for future gameplay.
Aside from a spiffy new card, you won’t notice terribly much different about the Kingpin. The only update is that Hail to the King now contains a size restriction on the throw: only characters Size 3 or less can be flung by this attack. While Fisk is strong (and indeed, sports a Solid Frame), his physical might is not up to the task of tossing around characters of Size 4 or higher. We feel this tweak brings him back in line without taking away anything an honest criminal needs to dominate the battlefield.
Kingpin has continued to have a dominant show as the leader of the Criminal Syndicate. This change is pretty balanced and also very thematic as he won’t be throwing around a hulk now, will he?
Green Goblin Character Card Updates
Starting at the top, Green Goblin’s signature Pumpkin Bombs are now Strength 5 on his healthy side, and up to Strength 6 when Injured. This tweak gives him better access to his kit, a higher chance to damage, and makes the healthy side of Goblin a little harder to ignore. As a Leader in one affiliation and a nuisance in others, we felt good old GG deserved a tune-up to help get him out the gates and in the opponents’ face like other 4-threats.
Looking beyond mere attacks, even a Criminal Syndicate player must admit that destroying Spider-Man is a worthy goal. As such, the Oscorp Weaponry now no longer costs Power to use. That’s right! A corporation giving away free goodies…. What could go wrong?
Green Goblin deserved every bit of this buff. Strength 5 Pumpkin bombs are going to help build up that energy to start making things happen on the board. With the new free leadership, You’ll be sure to see more of this spider villain hit the table.
M.O.D.O.K. Character Changes
The current boogieman of the game is also getting an update!
Bow to the Will of M.O.D.O.K.! is now only usable once per turn. This is because a being as mighty as M.O.D.O.K. does not NEED to use it more than once! Fool! (It’s also because we saw this power being abused in ways that made the game unfun for opponents, and even at Threat 5, we needed to tone it down.)
Next, if your puny eyes are perceptive enough, you will notice that Pea-Brain! is entirely reworded! You’ll see this new wording appear across reactive superpowers that contain rerolls. Functionally it is no different, but it makes the timing much clearer to players, which is always an improvement to the game! You may also notice, if your pathetic attention span lasts long enough, that this superpower is now ALSO only usable once per turn. For the exact same reasons!
These changes to M.O.D.O.K. are all quality of life changes the community has been asking for. Putting the bow superpower to once per turn is a much-needed change, one you will see happen to other characters with similar abilities. Although M.O.D.O.K. is getting a slight debuff this probably will not stop him from being in most 10 man rosters still.
Bullseye Changes
We saved a bit of a surprise for last; a gift to you loyal readers who stuck it through to the end. While it might look like a bit of a low blow, we are confident these changes will help Bullseye sneak into your Rosters (and maybe your hearts? Hopefully not).
Bullseye has been brought down from a Threat 3 to a Threat 2. This comes with a couple of small changes; he’s now down to 4/4 Stamina and 2 Mystic defense, and his Throwing Knives generate a single flat Power. But with the rest of his kit still intact, we think this lower-threat Bullseye serves his affiliation much better. An affiliated Threat 2 gives more flexibility when building around different Crisis values, and for the lower cost, you can bet Poindexter will give you a bang for your buck.
Wow…how cool is this change? This is the first time we have seen a change in threat (we think) This character at 3 threat was very lackluster. But it is very exciting to see what this character can do now that he is a viable option at 2 threat.
Marvel Crisis Protocol Black Order Update & Changes
Rebalances and changes for Marvel Crisis Protocol continue as the update for Black Order for Characters, and the Infinity Stones were revealed!
Staying true to first activations we start by looking at Corvus Glaive.
First things first. You’ll see that Husband of Proxima Midnight and Wife of Corvus Glaive now have a new Power cost of 1. While this may not seem like much, it does mean that players will have to be more mindful of managing each character’s power if they want to ensure that they can double activate. Additionally, we have reduced the Range of the superpowers from 4 to 3.
Husband of Proxima is crucial to Black Order. Taxing that ability is a great rework. Yes, it is a NERF but not one that changed how this character works. If you are a Black Order player you will just need to manage your power better, you can still set up your activations the same.
Death Blow is also harder to proc but you are throwing the same amount of dice. There was also a small buff to the energy defense on the healthy side. However, other than that it’s safe to say Corvus is still a beast.
Proxima Midnight Character Card Updates
Since the couple’s release, there has been plenty of discussion about their unique Husband and Wife superpowers, especially with how it allows them to really excel at what the Black Order in general want to do: maintain priority and Daze or KO a single target before it can react.
Wife of Corvus Glaive costs one power to activate and has the same text change as Husband of Proxima Midnight. Having the reduced range will allow your opponent to capitalize on your mistakes if you measure wrong or place them within someone’s threat range. The opponent is going to do everything they can to separate the husband and wife duo, and this range change will make it that much easier.
Ebony Maw Character Changes
Ebony Maw who was one of the strongest dudes in the MCU is finally about to drop knowledge on his enemies. Knowledge in the form of huge mystic attacks and easy power generation that is…
The first thing to note is that the strength of Black Tongue has gone from 5 to 6. Not only does this put its damage potential better in line for a modern-day Threat 5, it also significantly increases the chance of Sinister Influence triggering. While the increase to Maw’s damage output is useful, where Maw really struggled was in his durability. Mind Over Matter allowing him to use his 6 Mystic defense against any attack type was impressive, but ultimately led to a play pattern where Maw was forced into not using the rest of his cool kit so that he could bolster his rather weaker defenses.
Static Mind Over Matter is a must if you are paying five threat for this character. Maw never had an issue with power generation but he also could never really utilize that and have a solid defense.
He was a glass cannon at five threat, but got a lot of general number bumps that the dev think he needed However, are we going to see this guy running with Black Order? As strong as this piece is coming off he potentially could also find a home outside of affiliation now as well.
Infinity Gem: Space Changes
Space Gem is seeing a slight rework, as making something cheaper is always enticing right?
The first one to go over is pretty simple, the Space Gem is getting a reduction in cost from 2 Threat to 1. Our hope is that this small adjustment makes the Space Gem a more interesting choice for characters that can take it, especially compared to the Mind Gem. Additionally, we expect that the change to the Time Gem we are about to look at will also increase consideration for the Space Gem as well.
Infinity Gem: Time Changes
From the start the Time Gem was the most difficult of the Infinity Gems to both reflect its power and balance in the game. After a lot of consideration, we decided to rework the gem from the ground up because, while the original ability was fun and flavorful, it opened too many negative first turn play patterns when it came to Crisis design.
Now, this is something we should all take a look at, this card has completely changed from its original. No complaints here, as the original time gem was an auto-include in most black order lists on Thanos.
That being said this card is also a very powerful effect at a cheap threat cost. Also, with the rework of how you make your roster with stones, this could be a lot better than the old-time gem.
Marvel Crisis Protocol Banned & Restricted Update
AMG just hit some major cards with the banned and restricted hammer. They also released new errata to current tactics cards that we will also go over. Jumping into the restricted list we see a hotly debated card finally getting reined in.
… we in the development team took this chance to revisit the Ban and Restricted list. As you all know we do this rarely, with extreme caution, and always in an attempt to make the game more fun and enjoyable for all kinds of players.
Bitter Rivals was a must-take in most eight-card crisis tactic lists. Throwing restricted at the end of that will make this card a lot less likely to be everywhere. Sure it’s not by any means gone, it just may not be as popular of a choice now…
On the banned side of things, we see our first Crisis Card to hit the banned list. Panic Grips City as Evacuation Efforts Continue! is a unique scenario where you can cash in on the civilians you save to score Victory Points.
This scenario lead to some upsetting games and was taken by players more than the creators like to see. Of course, you are going to play crisis cards that are in your favor but this one sets a unique tone that won’t be missed by most of the community.
All You’ve Got also got the ax this week. Plenty saw this one coming because with the power level of characters increasing, cards like this are not healthy.
Revised Tactic Cards
AMG took a look at some of the existing Tactics cards they thought needed polishing during the banned and restricted update. These cards will also be available in the revised pack that they will release at some point.
Ricochet Blast might see some more play with the cheap cost change. Doomed Prophecy is only taken by Asgard now, with this change we could see more people taking this affiliation with such a powerful tactic card exclusive to them. Pentagram of Farallah got a small NERF with the cost jumping to three instead of two.
Advanced R&D got a decent gameplay NERF by making the active character be the one to play it. The “little utility tweak” is going to punish players that don’t focus on their order of activation. This card will still be as popular but maybe not always as strong.
November 2021 Updates are Live
AMG threw us for a loop by saying all updates that they have spoiled up until this point are now legal. This is very exciting for players that have been following the updates closely. This can even be exciting for the players that were waiting for the rules to become legal before they invested the time in learning them.
Welcome once again to Atomic Mass Transmissions! As we are sure you are eagerly aware of, we recently released the digital printable versions of our revised Stat, Tactic, and Infinity Gem cards.
If you want to see more about all the current and upcoming updates check this post out here. You can find all the printable character cards, tactic cards, and Infinity gem/stone updates here on AMG
Keep an eye out for more Marvel Crisis Protocol Changes after the holidays and the latest on all the upcoming new releases and character packs. Now, go download those updates and try out those new rules!
Are you excited about the new Marvel Crisis Protocol changes? Do you like the new card layout?
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About the Author: Travis Pasch
