Marvel Champions hasn’t even been out for a year yet, but players are already hungry for more content. Fantasy Flight LCGs have a reputation of putting out new content on a monthly basis, so the wait for the first major expansion has been painful for some players. Luckily, there are now plenty of details about the Rise of the Red Skull to start tearing through.
The Marvel Champions expansion was unofficially revealed at a retailer summit last month, but last week’s product reveal stream made things official. The Rise of the Red Skull is an upcoming campaign box that players will be able to purchase if they want access to a handful of new heroes and the game’s first story campaign.
The game has seen a lot of new content in 2020, but mostly in the form of additional heroes for play. There have been two new Villain Scenarios so far and players are definitely looking for more challenges, in addition to new heroes to play as. Luckily, the Rise of the Red Skull expansion box has that covered…
What is Rise of the Red Skull?
The nefarious organization known as Hydra has insidiously spread its tentacles through all of society, corrupting governments and subverting justice around the world. Their dark plots may begin with an unexpected attack on Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S., but you can be certain that there are tendrils running deep below the surface. Your battle against evil is only beginning…
The Rise of Red Skull boasts a massive infusion of new content for your games of Marvel Champions. Hawkeye and Spider-Woman join your roster of heroes with fully pre-built and ready-to-play player decks stuffed with new cards. Whether you’re playing these new heroes or relying on old favorites, you can test their mettle against five brand-new villains.
Who are the new heroes?
As suspected after the box art was revealed at GAMA last month, Rise of the Red Skull will add Spider-Woman and Hawkeye to the list of playable heroes.
What are the new Villain scenarios?
Crossbones, Absorbing Man, Taskmaster, Zola, and Red Skull. Each of these five scenarios offers a unique challenge, and while you can simply choose a villain to battle, this campaign expansion lives up to its name with the introduction of campaign mode to Marvel Champions: The Card Game.
Are there Legacy style upgrade cards for the heroes and villains?
Yes! These upgrade cards are used depending on the results of your games and are not intended for use outside of playing through the campaign story.
What do I do if I play Captain Marvel with the Spider-Woman ally?
The Spider-Woman ally card could only be used as a Resource card while Spider-Woman the hero is on the table. This is the official ruling. There will not be a replacement or substitute ally printed for Captain Marvel’s deck.
How big is the Rise of the Red Skull box?
Storage is a serious issue for many Marvel Champions players. The stream confirmed that Rise of the Red Skull will come in a full cardboard box, but it sounds like the box will be smaller than the Core Set box. The team compared it to the similar Lord of the Rings campaign expansion boxes in terms of size.
Do I have to play two aspects as Spider-Woman?
Yes. Players must choose two aspects and pick an equal number of cards from each. Playing just one aspect is not an option.
Will there be new playmats?
Yes! There will be Hawkeye, Spider-Woman, and a large Rise of the Red Skull playmat available.
Are the villain scenarios playable outside of the campaign?
Definitely. Every villain scenario can stand on its own as a single challenge.
What is Hawkeye’s deck like?
If you’re ready to harry the villain from long range, then Hawkeye (The Rise of Red Skull, 1A) may be the right hero for you. Rather than wading into the fray, Hawkeye specializes in watching from afar, firing Arrow events like an Explosive Arrow (The Rise of Red Skull, 6), which can effortlessly clear out all the minions engaged with any player at the table. Of course, you’ll need to exhaust Hawkeye’s Bow (The Rise of Red Skull, 2) to fire these Arrows, but this is an upgrade you’ll want in play no matter what—since it raises your base attack and gives all of your Arrow events the new ranged keyword!
In his pre-built deck included in this campaign expansion, Hawkeye uses the Leadership aspect, and you’ll find a wealth of new Leadership cards for any hero to utilize, including Kate Bishop as Hawkeye (The Rise of Red Skull, 11). As long as you’re willing to discard cards from your hand, Kate can be an exceptional source of damage, especially if she teams up with a hero who has high-resource cards, such as Captain Marvel or Hulk.
When does Rise of the Red Skull release?
This is the big question and - unfortunately - there’s still not a concrete answer. The team at FFG is aiming for a third quarter release this year, but the global supply chain disruptions caused by coronavirus are obviously having an impact. Because the game is produced in China and because so many small business game stores and hobby shows are closed down indefinitely, it’s very hard to predict when the expansion will actually release. Be sure to check back frequently and hopefully there will be more updates on this from later in the summer.
What comes after Rise of the Red Skull?
The Rise of the Red Skull article hinted at an additional Villain Scenario and four more heroes arriving before the second expansion for the game. For now, players just have some silhouettes to theorize about.
Be sure to check back in the near future for more Marvel Champions strategy guides, news, and updates. Until then, good luck out there, heroes.
Marvel Champions is available now at local game stores.
Source: Fantasy Flight Games
