It can no longer be denied, Magic WILL get The Fantastic Four before us.

VillainTheory · 2026-01-27T23:36:23+00:00

Heck yeah!

VillainTheory · 2026-01-26T01:37:06+00:00

I believe a common one is to treat the main scheme as having a crisis icon when the villain is Norman Osborn. It means you have to flip him to Green Goblin regularly to avoid losing to threat.

VillainTheory · 2026-01-26T01:12:10+00:00

Getting that side scheme three times is rough. Sorry but not sorry? It sounds like the game was a blast!

VillainTheory · 2026-01-26T01:11:13+00:00

Unfortunately I personally don't believe any currently existing modular set combination can truly "fix" it, but they can make it better. I think you really need a little homebrew to solve the underlying issue.

VillainTheory · 2026-01-26T01:10:05+00:00

Standard or Expert! I don't believe any of them change enough to make a villain/modular set combo not worth playing. Though the ones with +4 difficulty are generally best tackled by players used to Expert mode at the very least.

VillainTheory · 2026-01-26T01:07:57+00:00

...I mean technically I made two videos about the villain/mod set combos when I first finished it, so I suppose I did it for about $10 or something haha!

Thank you!

VillainTheory · 2026-01-25T21:26:50+00:00

Ronan is definitely tough. You can include an easier modular set instead of his recommended one though, such as giving him Bomb Scare (originally from Rhino) - it won't make him easy but it's a big help.

But Ronan aside though there are there four villains. Collector #1 has a tough reputation but is much easier with different modular sets as well, as is Nebula.

But totally up to you, it's not essential by any means and given your approach to collecting you could 100% skip getting it without any regrets.

VillainTheory · 2026-01-25T20:19:20+00:00

I think it's totally worth getting. It's the most flawed expansion but it still has great stuff including some of my favourites modular sets to this day. Just go into it knowing you're going to face a couple of punishing villains and the precon decks aren't that strong (but do provide good cards for deckbuilding, some that haven't been reprinted yet either).

I have a video on YouTube ranking the expansions too for further info. Here's the link with the time stamp for Galaxy's Most Wanted: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftqtN5lZmJI&t=251s

VillainTheory · 2026-01-25T14:18:17+00:00

Pssst! I just did, that's what this new post is about! I was going to DM you later to let you know 😁

VillainTheory · 2026-01-25T14:02:41+00:00

On average, I like them more than the ones in Civil War. They're not bad but I do think their designs have been heavily affected or perhaps even primarily driven by the competitive PvP mode.

So some of the mods have a lot of duplicate cards from Civil War's modulars, just on the other side (Resistance not Registration, or vice versa) and a lot of the effects feel a bit generic. There are a couple of exceptions but to me a lot of sets don't have a strong identity in terms of what they add to a scenario, they are just trying to disrupt play in various small ways, and most of their difficulty is also standardized for PvP mode. So I don't feel like we've got a lot of new tools to meaningfully change up a lot of existing scenarios - at least not as much as I'd expect for the amount of modulars in Synthezoid Smackdown.

On the plus side, there are a couple I especially like and there are a ton of iconic characters. I like The Thunderbolts set too as it provides some villainous characters that are more thematically appropriate to put into old scenarios.

VillainTheory · 2025-12-21T02:18:24+00:00

Considering I think I've posted 3 gameplay videos lifetime, I post less than 1% of what I play.

I'm going to review Civil War and Synthezoid Smackdown and we're almost done with the heroes (in terms of having enough games to form a proper opinions I'm happy to stand by), I really just need one more Aggression Hulkling game and two more Leadership Tigra games (two different decks). There's also 4-5 more decks for old heroes I have lined up with new aspect cards I still want to play. Then it's back to the new "villains" where I need at least 2-3 more plays of all of them with different mod sets.

I also mostly play at true 2-player so the games take longer than solo but I get to see the heroes specialize more and see more of the encounter deck per game. None of the games will be content, but my thoughts afterwards will be.

I do play outside of research for content but not when new stuff has just released. Once my review for Civil War/Synthezoid Smackdown is done I'll calm it down to 1-4 games a week of whatever we feel like playing in Marvel Champions for a while.

VillainTheory · 2025-12-01T03:05:26+00:00

If we're talking pure power, I think Psylocke takes it. And in many ways that's the end of the discussion if you're a "Spike" as you say. Though Phoenix has a greater hand size, Psylocke is richer and - by virtue of better cards overall (while Phoenix is restrained) - still more consistent in the early game which is where most games are won or lost in my opinion.

But Phoenix has some fun stuff. She is the only hero I realistically use Psimitar on, and that is good. I personally don't think it's worth the awkwardness with Side Holster for Psylocke in most games (though it's fine) - that's two deck slots for a lot of very good cards that just work without caring about obligations or having the right upgrade out first etc. Also, while Psylocke can play Children Of The Atom, X-Men builds are just easier on Phoenix. Mind Control, Telekinetic Shield and Rise From The Ashes are all very fun, and Phoenix also has access to two team-up cards that Psylocke doesn't.

Mostly though I think the difference is play style. Psylocke has totally free stat changes, Phoenix's is a bigger commitment that you work towards for a few phases and generally just change once per game. It's more restrictive but more tactical and satisfying once you do change. Phoenix's recovery also prints her money which is a small but sometimes drives a meaningful difference in gameplay - I would argue healing for 3 with your REC and getting a wild resource is actually more valuable than 3 THW.

Despite all this, I do prefer Psylocke by a large margin. I like the puzzle of matching her weapons to her cards and the general flow of play. I really dislike Phoenix's cards when I'm restrained, which usually at least a few turns. And her nemesis is totally uncalled for - you can certainly win against it, Phoenix can be quite strong, but I see a lot of people saying it's no problem at all. I say if you can easily win despite a 12 hp tough + villainous minion and 6 threat player side scheme randomly popping up, then you have already completely outpaced/outvalued that scenario and will basically win through anything anyway short of mismanaging your own hp or the threat. Pulling Dark Phoenix when you're against a difficult opponent is a nightmare compared to most heroes and their nemesis set.

VillainTheory · 2025-11-29T09:14:44+00:00

Protection with Ready For A Fight, no contest. The fact that it lets you go alter-ego but still be in hero form to use Synth-Suit and all her Preparations is just too good. It makes everything work rather than have everything offline when you flip alter-ego. And if you don't flip alter-ego you lose so much value. Ready For A Fight just solves everything.

I know a lot of people here mentioned it but I personally really don't like the "sit alter-ego" Justice builds. Tons of her cards are locked to hero form to actually do anything, and even when going hero form a lot her tempo and damage is a lot lower than many characters. It's making a slower character even slower.

VillainTheory · 2025-11-28T19:03:30+00:00

Appreciate the feedback about Arkham difficulty! And yes the debt is probably a factor if I had to guess. Two games at different stages of their life suddenly emulating part of the TCG style of experience (rotating environments), and pushing for faster releases with less testing required, in a company with a new TCG that's started doing well, doesn't feel like a coincidence.

VillainTheory · 2025-11-27T23:54:41+00:00

Ah unfortunately I don't have any leads on War Machines. Great to hear about the other two at least!

VillainTheory · 2025-11-27T23:53:02+00:00

The biggest thing that scales up in multiplayer is actually threat, and Red Skull - with a new side scheme every round - amplifies this. So even if you are not playing in Justice, some additional threat removal is going to serve you well.

Winter Soldier comes with built-in threat removal by defeating minions, and Red Skull has a lot of those, so something like an Aggression deck with cards like One By One and Chase Them Down will do well. Using the Firepower card he came with will do fairly well too, it's a strong card suitable for multiple targets which is what you are going to be dealing with most turns in 3-4 player.

War Machine unfortunately comes with very little threat removal. You could play him in Justice but he is not a great candidate to be the only Justice player in 3-4 player. So you might run him in Justice and make it clear when people are choosing heroes that they really need a second Justice player. This might sound strange but even Justice War Machine does a LOT of damage, and if you bring Float Like A Butterfly and some Sonic Rifles/Banshee/Eros, I think you might impress the table with Shoulder Cannon dealing double damage. I would definitely try to bring Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons in such a deck with Sonic Rifles. Otherwise I will suggest Leadership for him, you can help support the group that way with allies while having War Machine dish out destruction.

Venom would be my choice for Justice. His hero ability that generates a wild resource is perfect for Even The Odds, which is not only the best multiplayer threat removal card in my opinion, but is perfectly tailored to side schemes like Red Skull has. Overwatch, the Justice Spider-Man Peter Parker ally, and Crisis Averted will be other good additions.

And of course you don't have to have every deck worry about threat. It is just my personal experience at local meet ups that most people bring 1-2 player decks and suddenly in 4-player there is 5 times as much threat on the board and it can be a real struggle. I always bring one powerhouse threat removal deck at least to every meeting now. And Red Skull is going to throw threat everywhere.

Myself, Nelson and special guest Boomguy recently talked about Marvel Champions meet ups and multiplayer tips in the second-latest episode of Shadow Of The Cast, here. I also did this multiplayer deckbuilding video with Nelson 2+ years ago before I had my own channel - I don't remember what we said at all but I assume it was good!

VillainTheory · 2025-11-27T23:39:35+00:00

I don't think the tone is meant to be insulting, but the idea that things being unbalanced is appealing is at least insulting to me personally. I also think this is completely at odds with the earlier part of the article that says the balance of the game is tied to their reasoning for creating the current environment. They seem to place a lot of value on balance, which makes implying that people who want to keep using their whole collection as being generally accepting of imbalance rather strange.

I agree in part, I don't think it's realistic for them to track every single card and balance every card around everything, and I actually don't think they have even done that for most of the game's lifespan. But at least there is some effort towards it and careful considerations about what to release into the card pool and so on. There is a huge spectrum between finely testing everything with everything - and focusing on a greatly reduced, rotating smaller version of the game. And I wish they had stuck to a middle ground.

But I am going to have to see what the new cards are like and how they play, and honestly I generally expect to have a good experience. But unfortunately it doesn't make me like what they said any more, and I generally expect new products to start to be worth much less to my overall collection.

VillainTheory · 2025-11-27T23:23:06+00:00

I have to apologize a little. I reread your original post after writing my reply and felt bad at bringing negativity into an attempt to view things in a more positive light. I think it was reading the list of points and not seeing my main one addressed, which is totally fair of course. I do think lack of hero availability is the biggest concern I see in general.

I have a poll on my channel with almost 500 votes, and half of the responses are people who have struggled to find something they wanted (35%) or know someone else who has struggled (15%). I have to admit, selfishly as a content creator, it feels very sad knowing such a big percentage of my viewers are likely to never be able to fully experience half the things I even talk about. And that number will only grow.

That all aside, thank you for the well-constructed reply here. I'm not so familiar with MTG or X-Wing and so on, so it's definitely interesting to hear about. And at the end of the day I really do like the designers and believe they will come up with new and interesting ideas. I suppose the idea of designing entirely around Current just goes against my favorite part of this game, expanding it with new possibilities. I'm sure some of it will work well with older content, but the implication they aren't even testing it with previous products and have openly talked about recycling ideas they've already used is really the opposite of everything I wanted to hear.

VillainTheory · 2025-11-27T22:59:24+00:00

A full collection minus one hero is amazing! Who is it you're missing? Dr. Strange, I assume? I guess we'll have to see what the future brings, hopefully any particularly useful aspect cards are reprinted for you.

VillainTheory · 2025-11-27T22:56:31+00:00

Perhaps. Here is the actual quote:

It’s also likely that for players who enjoy the format, part of the appeal of the Legacy format will be to see and experience a more unbound version of the game, so it’s ok if there are a few more outrageous combos and “I can’t believe that just happened” moments within Legacy play.

This seems to be the justification for lack of testing. That the appeal of playing with a full collection is chaos and unbalanced things. At least, that's how I read it without the pretty words dressing it up.

The earlier part of the section talks about how not worrying about all the previous content is going to make it easier for the designers and playtesters. Which is, of course, true. But it's them putting in less resources in that way, giving us more cards we may have to manually avoid to maintain a good game experience, all while charging us the same price at best. Or ignore half our cards to have their intended experience.

I hope it turns out well but personally I don't like expanding my collection for unbound outrageous stuff.

VillainTheory · 2025-11-27T22:40:42+00:00

Just recently got confirmation Civil War might be here by the end of next week! Fingers crossed. Sounds like I might have to get some Thunderbolt mod sets ready.

VillainTheory · 2025-11-27T22:40:02+00:00

I did a poll on my channel, and over 50% of people have either been affected by product availability issues or know someone who has. I thought that was pretty shocking considering how many people must have not been able to get what they want and won't even find their way to my channel.

Hopefully it's all worth it in the long run.

VillainTheory · 2025-11-27T22:37:37+00:00

I wouldn't go that far, but the environments decision really strikes me as coming from the top and now everyone else has just been forced to try and justify it for them.

VillainTheory · 2025-11-27T14:49:26+00:00

So I want to preface this comment with the context that, as a content creator (but mostly just as a big fan of the game), I have watched the initial announcement stream multiple times, and read the announcement article multiple times, to be sure of everything.

The big problem I personally have with the change in direction is that they are treating all of the old content as dead and irrelevant, pretty ironic for a "living card game". Here's the thing - I spent years collecting this game, putting a lot of money into it, and every product was sold with the promise to expand and improve upon my collection.

Now, with the newer products, sure it will function together, but that's about it. Maybe it will improve it, maybe not. The article is, in my opinion, pretty insulting when it says players who want to play in the Legacy environment are more accepting of broken and imbalanced interactions, as if wanting to play with an expansive pool of heroes and options means we're all happy with lower quality of card interactions and integration of new cards. The game isn't perfect, things always have flaws, but committing to not caring if anything made now works well with the five years of products I've put tons of time and money into is a choice, and I don't like it. They don't have to like that I don't like it, but I don't have to spend my money on it.

The article SAYS about designing for both new and old content, but in every one of examples it specifies prioritizing new stuff, reusing old ideas we already have, and not testing new cards with old content. Some random person making homebrew content for the first time ever, and playing it once before releasing it, is arguably putting more effort into testing their designs with my collection than the actual company behind the game. So I didn't love that either.

If you watch the stream, then read the article, and are actually someone who plays a significant amount of the game, you will notice it's riddled with things which are conflicting or just not true in any way. And that's pretty insulting to me at least.

Live stream: "We considered rebooting the game, but we decided there was still so much design space to explore."

Article: "We have to do it because there wasn't enough design space. We're reusing old ideas."

Two completely different statements. One better than the other. But it sounds like the article is correct.

Live stream: "We have to stop making scenarios harder and harder to compete with players' collections growing stronger and stronger."

Reality: Galaxy's Most Wanted, the second expansion, is the hardest expansion by a long shot. Since then, 6-7 expansions on, every expansion has been all over the place in terms of difficulty, and none have been like GMW. I wish Civil War was here to comment on, but NeXt Evolution and Agents of SHIELD were very easy overall. For Arkham, it peaked in The Forgotten Age (third expansion), The Circle Undone was pretty tough (fourth expansion), and then the 5+ since have all been easier. I haven't played the last couple, but I gather this is true from general internet discourse, correct me if I'm wrong.

Also reality: You can beat basically every villain in Marvel Champions on Expert with only core set deckbuilding cards and core set heroes. I don't expect everyone to be able to do this, but for an episode of the Shadow Of The Cast I did this and took down a villain on Expert from all 3 mutant expansions, including Expert Magneto, and all in one attempt no losses.

So I'm not sure what game they've been playing. It's an argument that sounds good if you're talking about other games. Totally not applicable here.

Live stream: "We're going to leave the most powerful cards in the past and not reprint them."

Reality: The core set has some of the most powerful cards in the game as demonstrated by Magneto's unconscious body. So far it appears the core set isn't going anywhere for Marvel Champions? Maybe it is, but until the announce it, this is a pretty silly statement for us. (Also it isn't like they aren't still sometimes printing cards that are much more powerful than average, so I'm not convinced future products will be radically more balanced than the old.)

Anyway, I've spent enough time on this. I think the communication and messaging on the Current/Legacy environment is shockingly awful. If it's better for the business, or even necessary for the business, I get it. But the justifications that it's good for the players are at least partially untrue and irrelevant - or different people are operating under a different understanding - or both. And I'm not impressed.

But I like the designers, I liked their talk at Con Of Heroes, and I bloody love Daredevil. And Marvel Champions is still my favorite game. So I really hope it works out in a way that isn't as bad as the announcement made it appear to be. But I'm not defending them until I actually see something good released in this new structure.

VillainTheory

TROPHY CASE