The NeXt Evolution expansion for the popular game, Marvel Champions, is the game’s sixth campaign expansion. This expansion pack ushered in a new era of gameplay and strategy, introducing a fresh roster of heroes and villains to the mix. With its innovative mechanics and engaging narrative, Marvel Champions NeXt Evolution not only invigorates the game, expanding the card pool and bringing fresh ideas, for both heroes and villains. Whether you’re a seasoned player or still beginning your journey into the Marvel Champions universe, this expansion promises a thrilling and immersive gaming experience and is a safe bet for expanding your collection.
Introduction: A Brief Overview of Marvel Champions
Marvel Champions: The Card Game is a Living Card Game (LCG) where players step into the shoes of Marvel’s superheroes (and their alter-egos) each with a unique deck tailored to their distinct abilities and story arcs. These Champions must cooperate to thwart the villains’ nefarious schemes and save the day, drawing upon their collective might and strategic prowess.
One of the great things about Marvel Champions, as opposed to other Living Card games, is that players can jump right in, using the prebuilt hero decks, that come ready to go in any pack you buy – no deck construction required. Then, if you choose, you can use their card pool to build decks that further enhance the abilities of these heroes. So it can provide enjoyment for a lot of different types of players.
But the best thing about Marvel Champions lies in its continued evolution; with every expansion, the characters and options expand, introducing new dynamics and challenges. Its unique blend of continuous content updates, thematic appeal, and accessibility keeps Marvel champions as compelling as the day it came out.
Marvel Champions NeXt Evolution Expansion
Marvel Champions NeXt Evolution Expansion breathes fresh life into the Marvel Champions universe by introducing two new playable heroes, Cable and Domino. This expansion also brings brand-new scenarios designed to be played individually or as part of a larger campaign, adding a fresh batch of challenges for players to overcome. It features classic X-Force characters, including Cable and Domino, each with unique decks and abilities. You’ll face off against iconic X-men/X-force villains: The Marauders, Juggernaut, Mr. Sinister, and Stryfe.
This expansion also introduces the new player-side scheme card type. Players can now deploy side schemes and receive benefits once they are cleared, adding a new layer of gameplay strategy. Whether you’re eager to experiment with new play styles or explore the expanded lore, the NeXt Evolution pack offers a wealth of content to delve into.
What’s In The Box?
Heroes: Two New Playable Heroes
Cable
Cable leans heavily into the new player-side schemes. His ability to include side schemes from every aspect, was a smart move on the designer’s part, since otherwise he would have been quite limited – plus it gave them an excuse to give us player side schemes for every aspect right out of the gate, just like they did with X-men allies in the Cyclops pack.
He gets ready when he clears a side scheme and most of his cards are boosted based on how many side schemes are in the victory display (which is where you put completed player side schemes). He’s very powerful, and I think most players pretty quickly ditched his leadership cards for Justice to lean into his thwarting abilities and get him focused on clearing threats.
Not to say he wouldn’t work in other aspects, but you really need someone at the table clearing side schemes for Cable to reach his potential, and often it makes the most sense to just do it yourself.
Domino
Domino is all about deck manipulation and making sure the odds are stacked in your favor. A lot of her cards center around either looking at the top card and benefiting based on the number of resources displayed. For her, wilds count double, and her deck is packed with wilds. She has one card in her deck, Jackpot, with all three resources displayed. You’ll spend most of the game trying to get this card on top of your deck so you can take advantage of the boost.
Domino has a very fun play style and feels very fresh. Many of her cards require you to be lucky, but her abilities and her cards also allow her to make her own luck, which feels very thematic. She works great with a deck packed with wild resources, and aspect cards that allow you to cycle the cards in your deck, but for the most part, you’ll focus on the cards in her kit.
New Villains
In the NeXt Evolution box, there are five scenarios that offer unique challenges. The new villains present a looming threat, with their sinister plans slowly unfolding.
A diabolical plot involving the young mutant Hope Summers is at the center of the villains’ schemes, causing concern about her involvement.
Morlock Siege
The scenario was intriguing, and I was interested in how having lots of villain cards to choose from would increase the replayability. I think they definitely accomplished that, since there are something like 35 unique combinations, but, because the villains are all different, unfortunately, they are pretty unbalanced. So what you draw and in what order really impacts the difficulty. It’s never an issue that it is too difficult, but you can draw a set that is pretty easy.
The way they did the multiple villains, by putting out a lot of intense minions (instead of multiple villains out at the same time), was similar to Mansion Attack, which I thought was a big step forward for facing off against a team of villains. This continues to move that idea forward, but, I think the variability and low difficulty make this one pretty forgettable.
On the Run
I’m usually not a fan of repeat villains in a box, but because there are so many, I think it does work in this case. But just like with the previous scenario, having that many villains in the stack really just dilutes their impact. I would have preferred, one well-designed, well-balanced villain. I think what I’ve decided is that I don’t actually need a ton of variability in an individual scenario. I have everything, so there are a lot of villains to choose from in the game, so I already have a lot of variety at my disposal.
It’s possible that there are some combinations that are tricky, but I have consistently found this one to be too easy and not interesting enough to draw me in. Sadly, not much love for either of the Marauder scenarios. They remind me a bit of the two sentinel scenarios in the previous box, the way they blur together a bit, and I wonder if, over time, as I play them out of context a little more and experiment with different modules they’ll begin to feel more unique.
Juggernaut
The third scenario, where players face off against The Unstoppable Juggernaut, provides a thrilling puzzle where you have to survive his powerful hits until you can get his helmet off. There’s a lull in the action once you do, but as soon as he regains his helmet, he mercilessly pummels you again.
His overkill is an obvious problem, but, if you let him, he can actually scheme at an astonishing speed and when he kicks his scheme, it really hurts, especially because he hits you even if you are in alter-ego.
People have said that this is a (vastly) improved Rhino, and I agree, but he also reminds me a bit of Venom with how hard he hits, but the helmet is so much better than the Bell Tower because if you don’t interact with it, you will regret it. It isn’t required, sure, but it’s so much better integrated and feels necessary and thematically and mechanically.
And best of all, they’ve successfully nerfed the chump-blocking strategy in this one. I think it’s important for the designers to reduce that strategy’s effectiveness, and push players to try new things, so I was happy to see that here.
Juggernaut is my favorite from this box and has earned a spot as one of my favorite villains in the game.
Mr Sinister
In some scenarios, once you get your board set up and your hero has reached their max power, often the end game feels like a foregone conclusion. As a result, any scenarios that don’t do a good job of having the villain progress over time will only be interesting during the early game.
Mr. Sinister does this, perhaps better than any other scenario in the game. Because he is continually boosting his stats and gaining keywords, he reliably gets much more powerful over the course of the game. I like this sense of progression a lot and think of it as a vast improvement over someone like Crossbones gaining weapons, or the Hood bringing in more and more modular sets. Much better tuned and balanced, and doesn’t rely entirely on poor play in order to get his upgrades into play.
Stryfe
Stryfe is tricky but is much more difficult in your first couple of plays. He starts with a loaded-up side scheme with a crisis icon. If you can clear it before you beat the villain’s level, you’ll be much better off. As a result, f you bring a lot of thwarting capability, you might find this less difficult than intended.
He introduces a concept where he benefits a lot from the cards in your hand. Decks that bring a lot of events, upgrades, or any single type of card, will find it very punishing. I really liked the idea of what he does in the late game, where he ups your hand size, meaning that he’s more likely to hit hard with his boost ability, it is interesting, but ultimately, I don’t think the trade-off of having to spend an extra card is high enough. If you have a decent deck, even if everything costs a little more, drawing more cards is a really strong benefit. As a result, my experienced playgroup found that he got easier as he progressed, rather than harder. Which, I’m assuming is the opposite of what they were going for.
Eventually, you’ll find Stryfe generally challenging, but somewhat solvable. Long term, that’s a negative, but I did have fun puzzling through this one in my initial plays. The challenges it presented were interesting and created a lot of surprising moments.
It’s not one I’ll take out frequently, but one that I’ll return to every so often for its unique mechanics and feel. Nothing else in the game is like it.
Campaign: Not My Favorite
The campaign heavily features player-side schemes, which I get is the big thing for this box. I like them, generally, but the benefits from clearing them were too powerful, and disproportionally rewards thwarting – which is already strong. The main problem is that the additional minion or encounter cards added to the deck to offset these rewards are usually only a minor inconvenience. This is the first time where campaign mode made the game easier, which I think was a mistake. The NeXt Evolution expansion includes five brand-new scenarios, each of which can be played individually or as part of a larger campaign.
Hope Summers plays a crucial role in the campaign, often finding herself in over her head, whether being captured by the Marauders or assisting players in facing off against the Unstoppable Juggernaut.
I also didn’t love the over-reliance on the protecting the ally mechanic in this box. I don’t have a problem with that generally, but I just didn’t like how prominent it was in four out of five scenarios. I think it was intended to be a thematic link, but the allies you had to protect, Hope in particular, provided too much benefit (unlike, say, the senator from Sabertooth) so it ultimately contributed to the box feeling too easy.
Overall, the campaign is decent to play but lacks the thematic cohesion of Sinister Motives or Rise of the Red Skull. It doesn’t add enough complexity or challenge to motivate me to play in this mode over just facing off against the individual scenarios.
Final Thoughts: NeXt Evolution Continues to Impress
While it does have its flaws, this is a solid box and one that any fan should pick up without hesitation. These are two of the most interesting heroes in the game and it introduces a brand new card type with hero side schemes, which you’ll want to start adding to all your decks. And while the first two scenarios lean a little easier, Juggernaut is fabulous and carries this box. Mr. Sinister and Stryfe are interesting enough and are decently balanced, and both bring some new ideas to the game. The villains’ plans hinge on Hope Summers, making her a crucial element in their schemes. So there’s a lot to like here.
I can’t tell if it’s power creep, or if this box is a bit easier than the others – for me, it’s definitely a bit too easy in campaign mode. That’s not a deal breaker for me at all, because, it’s not as much of an issue outside of the campaign. Plus, one of Marvel Champions’ strengths is the ability to tune the difficulty by adding expert cards or swapping out modular sets, so it’s easy enough to dial them up if I want to.
Despite it being easier, I wouldn’t recommend it as your first big box expansion. Even if you love the X-force, I’d probably still recommend picking up either Red Skull or Mutant Genesis before you grab this one. Mostly because, while the villains lean easy, they are all fairly complicated and often have a lot going on. Once you’ve got one expansion under your belt though, I have no problem recommending this one.
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For more Marvel Champions content check out our comprehensive list of expansions with links to all our reviews.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1. What’s the most challenging villain within the NeXt Evolution expansion?
A1. The level of challenge can vary based on player strategy and character choice, but among the villains presented in this expansion, many players find Juggernaut to be a formidable adversary due to his powerful hits and fast scheming.
Q2. Is the campaign mode in NeXt Evolution a standalone experience or does it connect to other expansions?
A2. While the campaign in NeXt Evolution offers a complete narrative on its own, it also interlocks well with other Marvel Champions campaigns, providing a rich, interconnected gaming experience.
Q3. Does protecting the ally mechanic feature in all scenarios within the NeXt Evolution expansion?
A3. No, the protecting the ally mechanic is prominent, but not ubiquitous. It appears in four out of five scenarios within the NeXt Evolution expansion.
Q4. How does the difficulty of NeXt Evolution compare to earlier expansions?
A4. NeXt Evolution presents a variety of challenges that can test even seasoned players. Its difficulty level is comparable to earlier expansions like Sinister Motives or Rise of the Red Skull but with unique twists and mechanics offering a fresh experience.
Q5. How pivotal are player-side schemes in the NeXt Evolution expansion?
A5. The campaign heavily features player-side schemes, with all campaign rewards tied to them, making them a significant part of the play experience in the NeXt Evolution expansion.
Q6. What is the role of the tough status card in the game?
A6. The tough status card is a valuable defensive element in the game. It is often provided as a reward through aspect cards like Establish Perimeter, which gives each identity a tough status card. This card helps strengthen a hero’s defenses by absorbing damage, adding a strategic layer to gameplay.