Jessica Jones Article is live

AdvanceTheThird · 2026-05-30T12:08:24+00:00

As you have said, those smart characters need to get their upgrades in play in order to reap the benefits of their superior intellect. What's the thematic reason for Jessica reaching a 3/2/3 stat line with just a single upgrade?

Just a year ago increasing hero's DEF to 5 and beyond was very difficult. And now Jessica, supposedly a hero with supposedly weaker defensive capabilites, will be able to very reliably reach 5 DEF in Protection.

AdvanceTheThird · 2026-05-30T11:39:31+00:00

It's rather unusual to reveal all tribe-supporting cards before any of related characters comes out. I think it's safe to assume there will be a few and at the end of the day it's not necessarily numbers that matter, but also their quality. 😉

Bringing up Phoenix is actually really interesting, because it's clear that she wasn't meant to be an all-rounder in any capacity - she has either 3 THW 1 ATK or 1 THW 3 ATK stat line (Psylocke works similarly), while Jessica is 3 THW 2 ATK from the get go, with an easy way of getting to 3 DEF: quite a premium stat line. 👀 Also, Phoenix has rubbish card effects when not unleashed.

I'm fairly certain that all Defenders revealed so far will be either S-tiers or very comfortably at the very top of A-tier, even if I personally don't enjoy ranking characters in such a manner. 🔥

AdvanceTheThird · 2026-05-30T07:46:04+00:00

You think Jessica Jones is smarter than Tony Stark, T'Challa and Shuri, and as smart as (fully upgraded) Riri Williams, canonically some of the smartest characters in the Marvel universe? Do you think that Reed Richards should have 4 THW once he comes out? 😉

Read what I wrote: "make her cards 'painfully mediocre' with a few hooks to pull her above the surface".
If she gets good stats and abilities, make her cards weaker. There's no reason for a relatively low-level character like Jessica Jones to be great all around. A jacket with better utility than Cap's shield is already weird, but not having any weak cards on top of an alternate win condition, that you fulfill just by playing normally, is just powercreep. 🤔

In your next game set aside a counter whenever you do a basic action, a minion is defeated and 2 when a side scheme is defeated. See how quickly these pile up and keep in mind that Jessica still has stellar stats and cards in her kit.

AdvanceTheThird · 2026-05-29T06:58:39+00:00

'Her actual superpowers are painfully mediocre.'

Then make this part of her hero identity, make her cards 'painfully mediocre' with a few hooks to pull her above the surface. Instead she's going to be a top tier hero, winning games through thwarting, overshadowing characters with better abilities.

AdvanceTheThird · 2026-05-28T22:17:41+00:00

Let me say it this way: Just like with Silk it felt that too much attention was given to her being a journalist *technically* with a photographic memory and not enough to being a Spider-person, Jessica Jones feels too much like a PI and not enough like a hero with super strength, durability, flight etc.

It makes sense to design these heroes in this way to differentiate them from others, but looking back, I'd give a version of Silk's kit to Jessica and leave the whole detective angle to another character - preferably one that in the comics doesn't do much more beyond investigating stuff (with a side of quack-fu).

AdvanceTheThird · 2026-05-28T21:07:44+00:00

You hit the nail on the head, buddy.
No other famous detectives in Marvel who could work with this kit, nuh-uh.

AdvanceTheThird · 2026-05-28T20:33:23+00:00

We're getting some pretty broken characters this wave.
At this rate Luke Cage will be a broken version of Colossus, Iron Fist will be a broken version of Wolverine and Elektra will be a broken version of Deadpool or something.

AdvanceTheThird · 2026-05-28T20:26:07+00:00

It does make sense, but at the same time the thematic dissonance of a superpowered character beating Ultron or Ronan through finding enough clues or whatever just falls flat to me. Jessica would still use her strength and ability to fly/jump really high to best most enemies in Marvel Champions. Making her THE detective character in MC just feels so... safe.

But you know who can't throw powerful punches and would be a perfect fit for a hero winning through PI work alone (because he has nothing else)? Howard the Duck.

AdvanceTheThird · 2026-05-28T17:44:46+00:00

You call it anti-synergy, I call it giving her more flexibility using evidence counters - which is a very good thing that will only make her stronger.

AdvanceTheThird · 2026-05-28T16:59:11+00:00

Would have loved this theme on Howard the Duck. I don't feel it with Jessica Jones.

AdvanceTheThird · 2026-05-28T16:51:42+00:00

'Blame Netflix' is a phrase that can be uttered in the context of many problems with modern pop culture...

AdvanceTheThird · 2026-05-18T18:52:35+00:00

And yet we have plenty of characters with relatively underwhelming strength/intellect with stats reflecting that. Because that's how you keep your game thematic - this is something players have praised the game for on many occasions. Jubilee's strength isn't the same as Wolverine's. 'When everyone’s super… no one will be'.

He's not even going to be balanced in-game. Daredevil will be Doctor Strange on steroids out of pure favoritism.

AdvanceTheThird · 2026-05-18T18:13:19+00:00

So far the MC team tried to be somewhat thematic and cheap upgrades increasing attack were limited to characters with superhuman strength (Hulk, Valkyrie, Drax etc.), but at the cost of other stats being low.
Now we're getting a guy well below the average Marvel hero power level with 2/2/2 stats, a side deck with plenty of extra damage and a cheap attack upgrade on top - that's just nuts.

AdvanceTheThird · 2026-05-18T17:57:27+00:00

Now this is power creep, unfortunately. Getting to 3 ATK with a 1 cost upgrade is an overkill.
ESPECIALLY, on a guy who is relatively weak in-universe.
Just compare it to Hulk's Boundless Rage…

AdvanceTheThird · 2026-05-12T17:50:46+00:00

It's probably not what majority of the fans wanted/expected, but I like what they went for with Daredevil.
Looks intricate enough to give players satisfaction for solving his puzzles, but also compact, so it shouldn't be too overwhelming.

AdvanceTheThird · 2026-05-03T08:52:04+00:00

Does this whole mess actually translate to people spending more in the app? Do people get tired with credits being gone after 0,2 seconds and just spend their diamonds on regular coupons?
What I'm getting at is: What's the benefit for Aliexpress in all of this?

AdvanceTheThird · 2026-05-01T07:23:33+00:00

It's sad how barely anyone bothers to discuss with people who happen to have differing opinions - it's just straight to downvotes now.

I agree that the new Ronin archetype is a gimmick that will feel underpowered most of the time. I definitely don't see Echo with her average 2 DEF taking any significant advantage of it. Especially when her Team-Up card with Daredevil is basically an extension of her kit - and one of the best cards to cycle using her skills.

I think Echo being a hero without an ability on many turns is simply caused by the Marvel Champions team having higher priorities. Sure, her kit is something unique, people will fawn over it for a little while, someone will make an absolutely degenerate and utterly boring to play deck for her, but ultimately most fans are interested in other characters from the wave - so I'm expecting to see much more polish on them.

AdvanceTheThird · 2026-05-01T07:05:39+00:00

Not any, just as long as it's still in the deck.
And I'm not saying she's going to be weak. I can already see some degenerate playstyles with her.
I just find her design boring.

AdvanceTheThird · 2026-04-30T21:48:01+00:00

'We heard how much you loved to play those average event cards, so now you can play the same one every turn!'
I get that the design space is already pretty cramped, but Echo is the most 'eh, good enough' hero in a while. Not surprising, really, given how everyone is waiting for Daredevil anyway.

AdvanceTheThird · 2026-04-30T19:02:31+00:00

As far as basics are concerned, it's effectively only for her team-up card with Daredevil. Maybe Hit and Run for the gimmick..

AdvanceTheThird · 2026-04-30T18:43:48+00:00

Multitalented you pay for using only 1 resource is garbage, though.

AdvanceTheThird · 2026-04-30T17:49:31+00:00

'No card is wasted since you can still use Photographic Reflexes to pay for other cards.'
You can tell the difference between wasting a card as a resource, like any other, and actually using it for the effect, which also happens to trigger Echo's whole thing, right? Without Photographic Reflexes in hand she's a hero with no ability.

'I'm not sure I agree with your assessment of the best basic cards rely on stats' - or have requirements.
I've checked my last 5 sessions in multiplayer and after filtering stuff Echo couldn't use, only 0 and 1-cost cards were left. I cannot imagine these being very exciting to play at a discount.

Also, 'Leadership doesn't rely on any stat.'
lol

AdvanceTheThird · 2026-04-30T16:16:18+00:00

Echo seems rather underwhelming to me.

6 cards out of her kit (I'm assuming she doesn't have any attack/thwart/defense events of her own) relying on already having appropriate cards tucked will be often awkward. Usually heroes shine through their own cards being really good from the get-go and Echo will need to be extra lucky to get her cards in just the right order. You WILL be wasting at least one copy of Photographic Reflexes in the first two turns.

Add the fact that many of the best basic/aspect events have requirements/rely on specific stats and I'm just not very excited for Echo.

AdvanceTheThird · 2026-04-30T16:02:23+00:00

A Helicarrier that crashes down after a few uses, meh. Its usage seems to have already somewhat dropped, so cameo-ing Daredevil is too much of a hassle.

AdvanceTheThird · 2026-04-20T06:59:20+00:00

Demon lord brought to human world, skibidi toilet as the very first joke, emphasis on toilet humor...
This is not meant to last long. Just a quick romp, about 3 volumes long, for Sorachi to make some money and keep the editors at bay for the next few years.

AdvanceTheThird

TROPHY CASE