Get ready to face off against four notorious villains, all at once, during a brutal prison break. This is the first time Marvel Champions The Card Game gave us multiple villains in a scenario with the four brutes taking turns as the active villain.
You’ll need to defeat Wrecker, Piledriver, Bulldozer, and Thunderball, each with their own hit points and their own side scheme. Since these schemes trigger a nasty effect when they reach ten threats, you’ll need to keep a handle on each of them. So while you can attack and thwart any villain, regardless of who is active, you’ll have to decide what is most important at any given moment.
You can flip the members of the wrecking crew over for expert mode, offering increased hit points and stats, making them hit even harder. Sounds like the makings of an epic battle… but does it hold up?
Meet The Crew: A Look at the Unique Gameplay Styles of the Four Villains
Each of the members of the Wrecking Crew has a unique gameplay style. Although there might be some shared cards and minions, the diversity of each villain deck brings a slightly different feel, proving that they are not just common thugs.
Team leader, Wrecker‘s crowbar granting him additional attack and thwarting, punishing those who fail to defend. His side scheme can damage all friendly characters if triggered, and his cards often enhance the other villains’ side schemes. With solid stats and hit points, Wrecker presents a formidable challenge.
Thunder Ball is a schemer with a powerful ball and chain, dealing damage to every character. His side scheme can stun friendly characters, making him an effective crowd-control villain. His cards reflect his cunning nature.
Piledriver, the defender villain with retaliates, inflicts damage upon those who strike him. He has cards that force players to target him, and he will dismantle your support if left unchecked. His side scheme can impact all players simultaneously.
Bulldozer, the heavy-hitter and perhaps the wrecking crew’s greatest asset, stems from his overkill keyword – so only you can take the damage. Aside from delivering devastating blows, Bulldozer disrupts your deck by forcing discards, resulting in encountering more villain cards. His side scheme can discard 10 cards from every player’s deck.
The unique characteristics of each villain contribute to the intrigue of the Wrecking Crew scenario pack. Because the wrecking crew decided to join forces, heroes withstand blow after blow in a way that does feel different from a single scenario.
The Concept and Theme of Wrecking Crew
The core concept of Wrecking Crew is battling four villains simultaneously, which creates an intriguing and thematic experience, and was a very exciting notion when it was released. However, in practice, the scenario can feel clunky, messy, and lacking in replayability compared to other scenarios.
Since its release we’ve seen Fantasy Flight Games improve on the ideas from this pack with Tower Defense, The Sinister Six, Mansion Attack, and The Mauraders – each better than the last. It’s a tricky thing to pull off because it pushes the game design outside of its comfort zone.
When these scenarios are at their worst, it feels like you are battling one villain at a time, which is definitely how it feels here. You’d do better to just pick up one of the boxes that includes a better multi-villain scenario (which everything other than Red Skull and Galaxy’s Most Wanted contains). When this mechanic is executed well, as with Mansion Attack, you really will feel like you are being ganged up on by a hoard of villains and that they gain strength from being a team.
Other more minor issues include the fact that you need multiple villain dials (which you don’t have in the core box) and this thing takes up a huge amount of table space – which, depending on your access to counters and the size of your table may not be an issue. It’s also a lot more bookkeeping than other scenarios since you have to manage each villain’s board state, which can become a bit more clunky and slow.
Encounter cards also have the ability to move the active villain counter, adding an element of unpredictability and interaction between villains. While thematically fitting, this can be confusing and challenging to manage, especially when the table is crowded. And worst of all, even though they pass things off, somewhat unpredictably, it still feels like you are just fighting one brute at a time.
Ultimately, the mechanics of the scenario are not satisfying. Villains place threats on their side schemes rather than the main scheme, resulting in less pressure and reduced risk of losing. Even if players need to switch to alter ego form and heal, the worst outcome is triggering a side scheme.
Although the side scheme effects may not be ideal, none of them result in an immediate loss. This makes the scenario relatively easy since players only occasionally need to remove threats from the main scheme to avoid losing. The accumulation of acceleration counters due to prolonged gameplay is largely inconsequential.
Furthermore, the hard mode in Wrecking Crew differs from other scenarios. It simply involves using the backside of villains with increased stats, providing a somewhat underwhelming increase in challenge. Still not very difficult, as you can very effectively game this scenario.
In terms of replay value, Wrecking Crew falls short compared to other scenarios. It does not utilize modular sets or the standard and expert cards found in every villain deck. Moreover, the heroes’ nemesis cards and obligations are not utilized, limiting the overall experience and variety.
As a result, Wrecking Crew may lose its appeal quickly due to the hassle of playing the scenario and its lack of modularity.
Conclusion: For Completionists Only
Marvel Champions has great potential for innovative ideas. However, Fantasy Flight Games fell short with the Wrecking Crew scenario. Despite its unique villains, this scenario is overshadowed by numerous issues. The setup process is laborious, gameplay is frustrating, and winning doesn’t bring much satisfaction. Moreover, the scenario lacks flexibility, and removing modular sets from Marvel Champions mechanics only makes things worse.
I tend to recommend everything for Marvel Champions, but Wrecking Crew truly falls short. It adds nothing to the overall game experience if you buy it, and you miss out on nothing if you don’t. I will say that I knew about some of these problems and still picked it up and got a few interesting plays out of it, back when there wasn’t much content for this game. In that case, it was worth it to me, but because Wrecking Crew lacks modular encounters that can be used in other scenarios, after those initial plays, it’s just been collecting dust.
I do believe that this was an important learning experience for Fantasy Flight Games and that it ultimately benefitted Marvel Champions the Card Game in the long run. The designers have improved on this idea now, many times and, as a result, I’d recommend skipping this pack, in favor of one of the campaign boxes that contain a multi-villain scenario – like Mutant Genesis or Sinister Motives.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: How many villains do I face at once in the Wrecking Crew scenario?
A: You’ll face Wrecker, Piledriver, Bulldozer, and Thunderball together in a single scenario. All four members of the Wrecking Crew decided to join forces, at the same time, each with their own side scheme and hit points.
Q: Do I need any additional components beyond what’s provided in the Wrecking Crew pack to play the scenario?
A: Yes, you’ll need multiple villain dials to track the hit points of each villain. These are not included in the core set of Marvel Champions or the Wrecking Crew expansion.
Q: Can the encounter cards from the Wrecking Crew be used in other scenarios?
A: No, the Wrecking Crew scenario does not come with modular encounter sets, which makes it less flexible compared to other scenarios where such sets can be mixed and matched to add variability.
Q: Is it possible to lose the game by the accumulation of threats on the main scheme?
A: In the Wrecking Crew scenario, villains place threats on their individual side schemes rather than the main scheme, which generally reduces the pressure on the main scheme and the risk of losing the game due to threat accumulation.
Q: What makes the hard mode different in the Wrecking Crew scenario?
A: The hard mode in Wrecking Crew only changes by using the backside of villain cards, which have increased stats. It does not change the mechanics of the game or add any additional challenge cards.
Q: Are the heroes’ nemesis cards and obligations used in this scenario?
A: No, the Wrecking Crew scenario does not utilize the nemesis cards and obligations, which can limit the variety and depth of gameplay.
If you have additional questions about the Wrecking Crew scenario pack for Marvel Champions: The Card Game, feel free to ask other players or check the official rules and forums for more information.