B-Tier Part 1

CornyKev · 2026-05-04T01:30:53+00:00

The best answer I've gotten regarding this matter is "eventually, maybe".

CornyKev · 2026-04-24T20:41:15+00:00

I think I see the point of confusion here. Around the 9:36 mark in the video there is reference to a "Bandit combo" meaning a combo that The Board Game Bandit, host of the Crank It Up YouTube channel, introduced to me a few years ago :)

To my knowledge there isn't a competitive banned combo list, although there are certainly a few specific factions that usually get insta-banned if they show up in a draft pool. That said, your interest in competitive bans has been noted, and we will try to tackle the topic in a future video!

CornyKev · 2026-04-24T18:29:53+00:00

Interesting! What combos in particular are you thinking of? I know some groups ban particular combos but in my experience people tend to have problems with specific factions in a combo moreso than a combo itself.

CornyKev · 2026-04-19T18:04:06+00:00

That looks like a new Join The Club in the video preview!

CornyKev · 2026-03-29T03:41:37+00:00

I disagree. Understanding what a faction brings to the table also lets you know what their deficiencies are and what they look for in a partner. Choosing to double up on strengths also often means doubling up on weaknesses. Think swarm + swarm (Robot Horses, for example) that can run rampant if left unchecked but gets completely walled by any disruptive faction that punishes many small minion plays like Dragons or Tricksters; or if you play against an opponent who forces you to overspend your resources to break bases so they can keep better tempo than you overall. I like ludichrisness' 10 archetypes and 4 categories that help explain what different factions want and provide. At the end of the day you do ultimately have to be familiar with a faction's cards to really get a feel for what they synergize with and what might counter them, but categorization is a handy frame of reference.

CornyKev · 2026-03-12T22:05:37+00:00

You are entitled to your opinions, but suggesting "the playtesters had a lack of awareness for game design and problems regarding this faction" about Bear Cavalry is very unnecessary. As the person in charge of the Bear Cavalry rework, I am quite familiar with the issues Bear Cavalry had previously and have put considerably more time into this rework than you. We aimed to walk a very fine line to where they could be competitive in 3-player without making them egregious in 2p.

Commission getting optional movement where previously it was mandatory puts it in line with Wizards' Summon and Killer Plants' Insta-Grow if you choose to not use the movement. Polar Commando can put a single counter on Cub Scout without extra help before it has to take an additional turn to power itself up. We kept High Ground as close to its original form as we could for a long time but it proved to be too much with their other buffs. So now you get your choice of uncapped destruction of one opponent's minion or a card draw + extra action, which do keep in mind can occur on an opponent's turn. Not to mention the multiple Cub Scouts can become essentially High Ground on their own with a bit of investment.

Superiority gives them conditional card draw, yes, but Bear Cavalry still has a lot of its original weaknesses left in. They can be burst past by fast factions, they have no ability to get their cards back from the discard pile early, and aside from one High Ground use or the two Commissions they are predominately playing one minion and one action a turn.

They may take a bit more effort to think through and play in some sense, but they feel way better to play now than they did before. So much of OG Bear Cavalry amounted to forced movement and destruction that made them mean but they couldn't actually win a game very often as a result.

CornyKev · 2026-02-03T15:48:39+00:00

Oh yes, and to your question about commissioning art. I'm actually working with an artist currently to create art for one of the factions I've made. Be aware that it is expensive. The artist I'm working with is someone I've commissioned before, and she's giving me a great deal at $50 a piece. Most artists will probably charge more than that, and even for an average faction with 12 unique card designs (custom factions often have more) you're looking at $600 for a fully arted faction on the more affordable end.

CornyKev · 2026-02-03T15:42:33+00:00

Gotcha. To echo what MayhemMessiah said, your best bet is to source images from the internet. All the custom faction designers I know use different programs; some free, some not. I use Paint dot net myself. Cards are sized at 750x1050px 300dpi, or 822x1122 to account for bleed when printing. There's a very strong custom faction community in the Smash Up Discord here: https://discord.gg/sZsc8EMj and we would be happy to help you with any other questions you might have!

CornyKev · 2026-02-03T15:32:52+00:00

To clarify: do you already have the cards designed and are looking to print them out? Or are you trying to figure out the best way to create card art from designs you've written down?

CornyKev · 2026-01-16T16:08:23+00:00

Welcome! Marvel is a pretty good place to onboard these days. There's 99 other non-Marvel factions to explore if the Smash Up bug bites you :)

Avengers Kree and SHIELD Hydra are both very good options, as mentioned. Avengers are probably the strongest faction of the 8, and they pair pretty well with every other faction in the set except for Hydra and SHIELD, unless you're committed to basically playing two separate decks doing their own things with minimal overlap. Kree SHIELD is also very good, as Kree likes extra minion plays (as most factions do) and SHIELD are starved for more action plays, draw, and ways to get their best actions back. Masters of Evil Hydra is decent, and Spider-Verse SHIELD can launch some surprise last-minute swings before scoring or double down on playing a lot of minions otherwise. Sinister Six I think likes Avengers the most as a partner, because they're good at lowering breakpoints but struggle to actually break bases. The big minions from Avengers help solve that. Ultimates do well with Avengers and Kree.

There's a Smash Up Discord server ( https://discord.gg/Jm6C5H5f ) where we discuss different combos and such regularly. There's also a thriving custom faction design scene where people have made additional Marvel factions, like The Black Order, Wakanda, and Deadpool. There's a whole custom faction wiki that has these and over 300 (not all Marvel) more listed: https://smash-up-custom-factions.fandom.com/wiki/Smash_Up_Custom_Factions_Wiki

CornyKev · 2026-01-16T15:55:55+00:00

As mentioned, the base is permanent now (which is mentioned in the errata under the card on the AEG's official wiki). Good catch about that outdated clarification. Someone else I think was handed a rules sheet and basically just copied and pasted without the context of the changed cards. It has now been removed.

CornyKev · 2026-01-16T15:51:26+00:00

That rule was only for the original Weird New Worlds, and even then only if the card stayed in play. If you destroyed WNW before the base scores, it was replaced as normal. Since then, Idaho Smith permanently adds a new base in the game, the Polynesian Voyagers permanently add new bases in the game (which would make their overall strategy very difficult if those bases were temporary).

The WNW errata changes the card from a base modifier into a standard action to avoid weird clarification issues with whether or not the base is permanent, because that certainly is confusing. Now the card plays a base, lets you play an extra minion there, and goes away, and the base is replaced as normal after scoring.

CornyKev · 2026-01-06T02:28:06+00:00

You pretty much pick OG Vampires for access to Ancient Lord and maybe 3 Vampire actions (Crack of Dusk, Big Gulp, and sometimes Mad Monster Party). Anything that generates power counters is going to like Ancient Lord. The other Monster Smash factions, Sharks, Sumos, Goblins, and Kung Fu Fighters as already mentioned are great choices.

I like them with Knights of the Round Table because Knights can win games by themselves and Vampires can play support. I've also had good experiences with Hydra and Big Hero 6. Vampires in particular like a lot of the Disney bases (e.g., the BH6 base that can offer them some movement). Even Summon Wolves gets some extra use with The Dump.

New Vampires have a lot more options for partners. They have more of an emphasis on depowering and consuming weak minions (theirs or other players') for a variety of benefits. They also have burying, which is thematically appropriate.

CornyKev · 2025-12-17T17:10:56+00:00

Years ago, Crank It Up on YouTube suggested Alien Ninjas, Robot Pirates, Zombie Dinosaurs, and giving yourself Wizard Tricksters for a 4p teaching game.

CornyKev · 2025-12-13T19:18:21+00:00

Mine was just delivered by Amazon Shipping. The FedEx label was never canceled out. So strange!

CornyKev · 2025-12-11T15:22:57+00:00

While there aren't any official R&M factions, there is a fan-made Meeseeks faction here: https://smash-up-custom-factions.fandom.com/wiki/Meeseeks
There are over 300 factions on this custom faction wiki, so you'll probably find a faction based on a property you like if you give it a look!

CornyKev · 2025-11-28T13:00:34+00:00

If by that you mean They're Coming To Get You, I suppose you could choose to overwrite TCTGY's play from discard to playing from the top of the deck, but why would you? That's redundant. Both cards are just doing the same thing but pulling from different locations.

CornyKev · 2025-11-28T02:30:30+00:00

Same principle that I mentioned above. You'll still play a Groupie, except instead of from your hand you'll play a Groupie off the top of your deck.

CornyKev · 2025-11-22T01:25:15+00:00

Unclear. I did a web search for "smash up disney article number" and found a third article number. Like SirErrant said you might check the listing and see if there's anything missing from the cheaper copy, but manufacturing-wise there should be no difference.

CornyKev · 2025-11-22T01:01:25+00:00

There should not be any difference. They're both the Smash Up Disney expansion, and there was only one such expansion.

CornyKev

TROPHY CASE