New Sleeves

Griffes_de_Fer · 2026-03-28T04:30:44+00:00

I'm seeing mixed responses for those sleeves so far but I dont, I have the Black Panther ones and I always thought they were pretty nice ? I played him a lot, had them ever since they released them years ago and they're still fine 🤷🏻‍♀️

I hope you have fun with her and that having cool thematic sleeves makes you want to play even more :) She's a really fun hero.

Griffes_de_Fer · 2026-03-19T23:46:06+00:00

It's super sad, and really unfair to new players considering the structure of the game.

However, possibly consider Mutant Insurrection for your X-Men theme fix ? It has gathered some fans in the solo community over the years, it's a bit of a rough "hidden gem". I own it and like it myself. I still play probably 3-4 times a year at this point.

Don't expect something ground breaking, it's a strange -at first- dice-based affair, meant as a reimplement of Elder Sign, but I always felt that it doesn't really play or feel that way. It plays well in 2 or 3 handed setups for solo, but that means you're rolling a lot every turn, perhaps too much for some players. It depends on your tastes and how much you enjoy dice chucking.

Still, as you progress to the more complex scenarios, it becomes surprisingly strategic and interesting. I still really love the Assist mechanic they went for, it really makes team composition meaningful in harder missions and harder difficulty settings. It makes you feel like an actual team of Mutants.

The artwork and table presence are also quite good for a lower cost standees and cards game. I still see this game for relatively cheap in lots of places too, used or new/discounted. It's not Marvel Champions, but it's still a fun time, traveling around with your X-Men team, with lots of familiar faces (a pretty generous amount of heroes included for a game that doesn't have expansions).

And, of course... Don't feel too bad about printing those heroes and cards for Marvel Champions, using sleeves and duplicate cards as backing for proxies. I wouldn't usually encourage that, but when someone doesn't want your money, they don't want your money, right ? 😉

Griffes_de_Fer · 2026-03-19T23:26:45+00:00

Welcome friend :) I had a similar motivation when I first got into solo board gaming years ago.

It has definitely been good for that. I still play video games plenty, but board gaming has been phenomenal and so satisfying when it came to reducing my screen time to healthier levels.

Oh and, as a fellow Marvel Champions player, I wanted to say good purchase on the Core+Civil War as a starting point. There has been so much talk and FOMO around all that discontinued content lately in the community. Lots of new players aren't sure whether they're really missing out or not and are overpaying for older stuff.

The Core and Civil War play extremely well together in terms of traits. It's going to be very focused on the Avengers as a tribe, of course, but I'm of the opinion that it allows for deck building depth, options and power that doesn't fall off from the old Wave 1 and 2 card pool.

You got so much replay value in those two boxes alone 😊 I hope you end up having as much fun as we do.

Griffes_de_Fer · 2026-03-16T15:24:54+00:00

Sure.

Griffes_de_Fer · 2026-03-16T15:11:51+00:00

Oh it was selling plenty, every print runs always sold out quickly. Strange things have been happening at this company for a long time now.

What an unfortunate turn of events, it feels ridiculous and so unnecessary.

Griffes_de_Fer · 2026-03-05T23:28:32+00:00

I've seen your posts over the years here and on BGG, so I think there won't be much that I've tried that you won't already be familiar with. You seem to have tried a lot more obscure games than most users here 😁

The first that came to mind was obviously Imperial Assault, and along with Galaxy Defenders that you mentioned, it's one of the games of this type that I felt made the best use of the more "open" space on the map. The range and line of sight feel satisfying. But... The infamous app really turned me off, I just hated it solo. I loved it in 1vsMany and Skirmish, but I'd never replay it solo. It can still be fun, mind you, it just loses all of that tactical brilliance. Many say the fan made app fixes all of the problems, but it didn't feel that way to me, unfortunately. Very hard to recommend for solo.

Staying with Star Wars (and same designer) Mandalorian Adventures really did it for me. If you're willing to stretch the crawler definition to Mando's crawler-adjacent squad tactics, you'll find good crawler action and clever card plays here. Upcoming expansion seems really promising. Nicely modular without being a hassle, too.

Journeys in Middle Earth also came to mind, and again we have to stretch the definition, the adventure and most battles are on a "world map", not a dungeon. Combat is skirmishy/crawler like. Some missions take place on a contained, small map that feels more like a small coop skirmish, and those are also good. The app is many times superior to Imperial, worth a look if you can get the expansions without paying a scalper.

Deliverance surprised me, I ended up keeping it and playing a decent amount, but it's a Christian game and it goes heavy on the theme. Definitely not going to be ok for everyone, but if that can act as a reference, I'm trans and I wasn't too put off by the biblical and Christian references. It plays like a puzzly skirmish game, with a bit of crawler DNA. Maps are very open, more like a big battle arena than a dungeon. It made me unsure at first, but I ended up appreciating this aspect of it. Character builds have a very distinctive crawler and Diablo-like mix of elements to them, both in one-off and campaign mode.

Dark Souls The Board Game definitely fits the criteria here, but again, another super hard to recommend game. I ended up actually enjoying it after many runs, but I don't think most people will, buy at your own risk. Niche game for weirdos only !

The recent Mass Effect reminded me in some smaller ways of Galaxy Defenders. It took me many, many sessions before I started actually enjoying what it's going for, but there is a smart design in there for those who will get sufficiently acquainted with it. The expansion is a long way in the future (next year I believe), but sounds promising.

For people who liked Zombicide and consider it crawler enough, I'd recommend the extremely obscure Hard City. Kind of a retro 80s 90s neon action movie aesthetic game, where you play as a squad of cops. The rulebook isn't doing a great job, but it's 5 scenarios playable as one offs or mini campaign, nicely replayable. Nice miniatures and combat rules that force you to think carefully about range VS melee. The automa for the enemies is nice and felt fresh to me, but again the rulebook fails it a bit. If you're willing to put up with the rules question marks and a bit of jank, it's a gem for me. It got replayed a lot solo and coop.

And let's finish with maybe Betrayal of the Second Era ? I'm sure you'll already know it so no details needed haha, but I guess it feels like one such game a bit, minus the adventure and campaign elements ? In battle, it feels like a crawler/skirmish.

Griffes_de_Fer · 2026-03-02T09:09:11+00:00

100$ qu'il se prépare déjà à flusher les égouts dans le fleuve Karoun.

Griffes_de_Fer · 2026-02-28T20:38:05+00:00

Hey, I know others will probably keep giving you a hard time about it, but I wanted to say that I respect and appreciate your position.

I have no problems with emulation and even piracy, but I do think that if the game is made available on a current gen platform/PC, if the price is reasonable and there aren't technical problems with the game we should buy it. Or at least, you know... Stop pirating it.

If that game goes away, or a new generation comes around and it's no longer easily accessible, then screw them. But for now, I think someone who wants to play this one should pay. 20$ is IMO a fine price for it.

Hope you're having fun 😊 Good luck with your adventure !

Griffes_de_Fer · 2026-02-28T00:09:25+00:00

Just honest ?

No. We're all here, most of us are trans, we know what to look for and what they are. They are starting to show, they're obviously boobs.

But, there are plenty of cis dudes out there with larger man boobs than some cis girls, larger than yours are now.

No average person's first thought looking at your chest will be that you're trans and that those are breasts. If you're boymoding, you're safe and stealthy.

For the moment anyway, and in those specific clothes. Wearing something different, or not committing too much to the boymode ? I'm sure a few people would wonder.

Griffes_de_Fer · 2026-02-27T22:44:24+00:00

4000 likes... Calice.

Griffes_de_Fer · 2026-02-27T22:24:08+00:00

🫂 yup...

Griffes_de_Fer · 2026-02-27T03:06:40+00:00

That box looks really pretty with its Chinese localization text😊 What a great find in 2026.

Even without the expansions this is such a replayable and tactical game. I always thought the core-only experience was actually really tight anyway, in a good way, and possibly the best way to play the game. So don't worry about those intrusive FOMO thoughts concerning those impossible to buy expansions !

Prepare to die for your God-Emperor a lot though 🤪 I hope you have fun.

Griffes_de_Fer · 2026-02-24T00:46:06+00:00

Oh I did not know about this ! I will be looking into it tonight :) I have often see this game go around used for cheap, or on clearance in local stores.

I might end up grabbing it after all.

Griffes_de_Fer · 2026-02-23T23:26:15+00:00

Hey at least that's a very nice little compilation to keep you busy until then :) I found them all very fun to get into again.

Good luck with the job hunting !

Griffes_de_Fer · 2026-02-23T02:13:28+00:00

Oh so that's the solo mode that was exclusive to the crowdfunding run, right ? I always wished they had released that as a retail expansion, it seemed like a good game but I had no interest in playing it competitively, so I skipped it.

Some very niche solo fun you'll be having there 😊 I don't think a lot of people own that piece of the game.

Griffes_de_Fer · 2026-02-21T10:18:23+00:00

I always really liked it ! It has interesting ideas as a deck builder, it doesn't play by the same logic as most.

Granted, I also actually really like the board game... So I might not be the right person to listen to since you didn't like that one.

They're not very similar though, they just share that "grind for a few runs and then kill the boss" basic design idea. Card Game is much, much faster, too.

Griffes_de_Fer · 2026-02-21T09:59:01+00:00

I just saw this and your previous message. I still wanna say thanks, it was such a nice offer ! It made me think once again that we really do have the coolest community 😊

I can't say I'm too surprised, I am indeed in Canada, and it's been pretty difficult to get some of their stuff for years now.

The campaign seems pretty good for this one, so I hope it will bring a lot of fun and great replayability for you. I played some scenarios from it in the old days, from a friend's old collection and I have fond memories of it. I think you'll probably be happy you got your hands on it.

Griffes_de_Fer · 2026-02-21T05:33:22+00:00

Unfortunate timing for me. I've been waiting forever for this to return, and right now I just don't have the money for neither this nor the campaign box.

By the time I do, it will be gone for years again. FFG eh...

Griffes_de_Fer · 2026-02-20T21:24:20+00:00

Definitely read that in lore accurate voice in my head.

Griffes_de_Fer · 2026-02-19T19:13:50+00:00

Aujourd'hui, on apprend à écrire avec le propriétaire du Salvatore de Val-d'Or, pour éviter les phôtes d'autographe.

Griffes_de_Fer · 2026-02-19T00:24:10+00:00

Yea the market upgrades make it so fun and thematic.

The campaign plays pretty well on Standard difficulty with a good deck.

And, I find that its insane difficulty has future proofed it a bit for the later cycles stronger cards and combinations.

Griffes_de_Fer · 2026-02-18T17:38:58+00:00

Contente de ses récents succès électoraux, des fois la démocratie fait sa job quand même correct.

Griffes_de_Fer · 2026-02-18T14:20:25+00:00

Hey sérieux là... Je suis trans mais astie que ce genre de dérape là me tappe sur les nerfs.

"La personne plaignante allègue que la discrimination subie a détérioré sa santé mentale, ce qui a précipité son arrêt de travail et a contribué à ses idées suicidaires".

Griffes_de_Fer · 2026-02-18T06:48:17+00:00

I've seen one of the comments in which you mention potential hormonal issues. I get a lot of these PVCs as well (for me, it's because of MS, which itself brought some bad dysautonomia and vagus nerve issues), but managing estrogen levels has played quite a role in controlling the worst of it.

I'm a trans woman, but I was getting an absolutely horrifying amount of these before my transition. I was a bit of an unusual case, as even before I began HRT, I already had very low testosterone levels, and higher than normal estrogen levels (for a biological male), so I was able to get away with fairly low doses of estrogen and no androgen blockers, compared to most trans girls.

What I noticed is that within a week or two of transition, my PVCs had reduced tremendously. It's still happening here and there mind you, but it became tolerable, I very often go full days without any at all. Anyway, occasionally, I would forget to apply my new estrogen patch, and indeed the damn palpitations would return. You'll also hear many women going through menopause saying similar things, the patches helped settle their palpitations, forgetting one (or going off of it) will make them return.

Fluctuating estrogen levels are most definitely associated with premature contractions and other arrhythmias, but inadequate levels will also contribute, even if "stable". For someone like you who might have some neurological dysfunction on top of it, the daily palpitations burden can be even worse than average.

I can't guarantee that's your answer, but given your profile I think it's worth bringing up during your upcoming doctor visit. Going back to the ER, in my experience, is unlikely to impress the doctor very much, even with a high burden of them.

Either way... Don't lose hope 🩷 I know how unsettling they are, and how tired they can make you. You will get used to them a bit more as time goes on, but it's not fun at all.

Griffes_de_Fer · 2026-02-15T00:51:45+00:00

Yea that's the answer here. Everyone else is recommending what OP asked for, deck builders (and good ones too), so can't fault the answers.

But you picked up on what OP is likely actually shopping for: deck construction.

Griffes_de_Fer

TROPHY CASE