Projects – Page 13

Guide: Hulk

Real Name: Bruce Banner
First Comic Book Appearance: The Incredible Hulk (May 1962)
Affiliations in Comic Books: Avengers, Heroes for Hire, New Fantastic Four, Secret Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D., Ultimates

Marvel United Appearance: Marvel United Core Set (July 2020)
Marvel United Team Decks: None

Heroics

Attack

Move

Wild

Special Effects on Cards

Hulk Smash!: Deal 1 damage to EVERYTHING else in this Location. Discard all Civilians there.

This is another very thematic ability. “Hulk Smash!” is a nuclear option of a card. When it says that Hulk deals 1 damage to EVERYTHING else in this Location, that includes other heroes. Discarding Civilians functions as Hulk dealing one damage to every civilian, too. Notice that it says discard and not rescue. You will not be able to add the civilians discarded from “Hulk Smash!” to the Rescue Civilian mission card.

Overview

As you can imagine, Hulk represents brute strength. He specializes in Attack and does best against villains who have a lot of henchmen. Red Skull (from the core set) fits this bill.

But “Hulk Smash!” is a great way to reset the board. If a villain has a nasty Overflow ability, Hulk’s ability can help empty a full or near-full Location. This can come in handy with Ultron, too. Ultron (also from the core set) wins the game if a thug/civilian token cannot be placed.

Hulk has an obvious disadvantage. He’s the core set hero who has the least amount of Heroics. He’ll need help in that regard, but there are plenty of great options to choose from.

Note: Remember to time completing the first and second missions as close together as possible to avoid the villain speeding up too soon. Hulk specializes in damage, so be careful not to defeat too many thugs before nearing another mission.

Good Teammates

Hulk desperately needs Heroics. So, Captain America makes the most logical choice. But other core set heroes like Ant-Man, Captain Marvel, and Iron Man also make sense.

Other Core Set Heroes

Ant-Man
Black Widow
Captain America
Captain Marvel
Iron Man
Wasp

Core Set Villains

Red Skull
Taskmaster
Ultron

Guide: Captain Marvel

Real Name: Carol Danvers
First Comic Book Appearance as Carol Danvers: Marvel Super-Heroes (March 1968)
First Comic Book Appearance as Ms. Marvel: Ms. Marvel (January 1977)
First Comic Book Appearance as Captain Marvel: Avenging Spider-Man (July 2012)
Affiliations in Comic Books: A-Force, Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, Lady Liberators, Light Brigade, Mighty Avengers, Realm Marvel, Starjammers, Ultimates

Marvel United Appearance: Marvel United Core Set (July 2020)
Marvel United Team Decks: Infinity Watch

Heroics

Attack

Move

Wild

Special Effects on Cards

Photon Blast: Two Attack in one adjacent Location. Carol Danvers is another core set hero who only has one ability. “Photon Blast” isn’t as strong as Captain America’s “Leadership” or as game changing as Black Widow’s “Interrogation,” but it gives her additional Attack that shores up a weakness, and her ability to chose an adjacent location and split damage (the ability doesn’t specify one target like Ant-Man’s “Grow”) grants flexibility and almost functions as an additional move because you don’t have to be on the space to deal the damage.

Overview

Captain Marvel is another balanced character. If she didn’t have “Photon Blast,” she’d lean into Heroics. But the extra Attack with her ability and its pseudo movement make up for her sporting a little less in the other two categories.

That said, I’d still prefer Captain Marvel against a villain who has a lot of henchmen like Red Skull as opposed to one with a lot of Threat cards that need Heroics. Carol may physically have more Heroics than Attack, but “Photon Blast” is the draw for her character.

Each card with “Photon Blast” also has 1 Attack. So, you could deal damage to a target at your location and dole out 2 extra damage on the locations adjacent to you. That feels good.

Note: Remember to time completing the first and second missions as close together as possible to avoid the villain speeding up too soon.

Good Teammates

Captain Marvel can always use additional Move, so Wasp and Hulk in the core set make a lot of sense. Pairing Captain Marvel with extra move means that she can reach an enemy from virtually anywhere.

Other Core Set Heroes

Ant-Man
Black Widow
Captain America
Hulk
Iron Man
Wasp

Core Set Villains

Red Skulls
Taskmaster
Ultron

Guide: Captain America

Real Name: Steven Rogers
First Comic Book Appearance: Captain America (December 1940)
Affiliations in Comic Books: Avengers, Invaders, The Resistance, S.H.I.E.L.D., Secret Avengers, Ultimates

Marvel United Appearance: Marvel United Core Set (July 2020)
Marvel United Team Decks: None

Heroics

Attack

Move

Wild

Special Effects on Cards

Leadership: Give a Wild token from the pool to another Hero. Steve only has one ability, and he only needs one. Cap is the consummate team player. He gifts other players with wild tokens that can be used for any other symbol. Again, this is very thematic for the character. Everyone likes when someone chooses to play Cap.

Overview

Cap is a well-balanced character, but he does favor Heroics more than attack. He can clear Threat cards that require Heroics and rescue civilians, while still contributing some toward battling thugs and henchmen.

He’s certainly a character folks should consider as they play Marvel United for the first time. He only has one ability that’s easy to follow. “Leadership” is a team favorite. No one will say no to extra Wild tokens.

Cap also fares well against all the core set villains, but the one he may struggle with the most (because Cap doesn’t have the most damage) may be Red Skull. It’s almost like they’re nemeses or something.

Note: Remember to time completing the first and second missions as close together as possible to avoid the villain speeding up too soon. Cap’s extra Wild tokens can help avoid this.

Good Teammates

Most characters will work with Captain America. He can make up for a lot of shortcomings with other characters because he’s a balanced character who grants Wild tokens to his teammates. That said, I’d lean more with characters who favor Attack and Move. Hulk, Wasp, Iron Man, and Black Widow from the core set are good choices.

Other Core Set Heroes

Ant-Man
Black Widow
Captain Marvel
Hulk
Iron Man
Wasp

Core Set Villains

Red Skull
Taskmaster
Ultron

Guide: Black Widow

Real Name: Natasha Romanova
First Comic Book Appearance: Tales of Suspense (April 1964)
Affiliations in Comic Books: A-Force, Assassin’s Guild Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D., Champions, Heroes for Hire, Marvel Knights, Secret Avengers, Ultimates

Marvel United Appearance: Marvel United Core Set (July 2020)
Marvel United Team Decks: Infinity Watch, Marvel Knights, Savage Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D.

Heroics

Attack

Move

Wild

Special Effects on Cards

Interrogate: Look at the top card of the Master Plan deck. You may place it on the bottom. Natasha only has one special effect, but she only needs one. “Interrogate” is the first card of its type (only one in the core set) that allows players to manipulate the villain’s deck (Master Plan). And the fact that she has three copies of this card allows the players a small amount of control over what the villain will do during a turn. You MAY place the card on the bottom. If the card doesn’t seem too bad, you can leave it on the top. Or you can dictate what will be the final villain card. Your choice.

Overview

Black Widow deals a surprising amount of damage, but her real value comes from her “Interrogate” special effect. It’s very thematic and useful.

As a result of her good damage output, Natasha works best when she’s dealing with a boss with a lot of henchmen or one that brings in a bunch of thugs. Red Skull from the core set fits this bill. She also has decent movement but doesn’t have too many heroics.

Note: Remember to time completing the first and second missions as close together as possible to avoid the villain speeding up too soon.

Good Teammates

Anyone who can make up for Natasha’s smaller heroics would work. Captain America, Ant-Man, and Captain Marvel from the core set are good choices. You know, they should make a movie with Captain America and Black Widow.

Other Core Set Heroes

Ant-Man
Captain America
Captain Marvel
Hulk
Iron Man
Wasp

Core Set Villains

Red Skull
Taskmaster
Ultron

Guide: Ant-Man

Real Name: Scott Lang

First Comic Book Appearance as Scott Lang: The Avengers (March 1979)
First Comic Book Appearance as Ant-Man: Marvel Premiere (April 1979)
Affiliations in Comic Books: Avengers, Defenders, Fantastic Four, Light Brigade, The Resistance, Ultimates

Marvel United Appearance: Marvel United Core Set (July 2020)
Marvel United Team Decks: None

Heroics

Attack

Move

Wild

Special Effects on Cards

1) Quantum Leap: Swap this card with any of your faceup cards in the Storyline. That card becomes the one you played this turn.

“Quantum Leap” comes in handy, and the obvious choice is to reuse an ability (yes, you can reuse an ability you’ve already used in the Storyline) or give yourself and the person playing after you a double wild symbol.

2) Shrink: You cannot take any damage until the beginning of your next turn.

“Shrink” will show up again with Wasp. Not taking any damage until the beginning of your next turn becomes a trend, but Ant-Man (and Wasp) is the first character to have this ability. Damage can come from a lot of different sources in between turns and it’s a nice ability to have.

3) Grow: One Move; Then Three Attack against a single target.

Ant-Man is the slowest hero in the core set, and “Grow” gives him a little extra movement and attack. Hey, he’s not good at attack either. “Grow” isn’t a bad card. You may even find yourself holding onto it for just the right moment.

Overview

Ant-Man specializes in heroic actions, so he can rescue a lot of civilians. Scott works best when he goes up against an enemy who adds an abundance of civilians or an enemy with a lot of threat cards that require heroics. And there are quite a few of them. In the core set, Ultron adds several civilians each round.

But Ant-Man doesn’t have much in the way of movement or attack. His “Grow” ability adds some much-needed extra movement and attack, but you’ll have to time it right. A nasty henchman or the boss themselves are who you’ll want to target with “Grow.”

Note: Remember to time completing the first and second missions as close together as possible to avoid the villain speeding up too soon. Ant-Man has the tendency to rescue so many civilians that he could trigger the villain playing every two turns instead of every three.

Good Teammates

Anyone who can make up for Scott’s lack of movement and attack. Hulk, Iron Man, and Wasp are good options. Who would’ve guessed that Ant-Man and Wasp would work well together?

Other Core Set Heroes

Black Widow
Captain America
Captain Marvel
Hulk
Iron Man
Wasp

Core Set Villains

Red Skull
Taskmaster
Ultron

Guide: Winter Soldier

Real Name: James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes
First Comic Book Appearance as Bucky: Captain America Comics (March 1941)
First Comic Book Appearance as Winter Soldier: Captain America (May 2005)
Affiliations in Comic Books: Avengers, Captain America Corps, Invaders, Secret Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D., Strike Force, Thunderbolts

Marvel United Appearance: Marvel United: Rise of the Black Panther (July 2020)
Marvel United Team Decks: None

Heroics

Attack

Move

Wild

Special Effects on Cards

Expert Assassin: Gain 2 Attack tokens.

Note: The two Attack tokens must go to Winter Soldier. He cannot share them with anyone else. Tokens are great because you may save them to use later. And “Expert Assassin” gives Winter Soldier three Attack in a single turn. A few other characters have damage output like this but (in the early versions of Marvel United) most of their damage must occur in the same turn as when one plays the card. Attack tokens give Winter Soldier some flexibility.

Overview

Winter Soldier doubles down on Attack at the expense of most else. He has slightly below average Wild and Move, but horrendous Heroics. Bucky will need to be paired with heroes who can provide Heroics. But when it’s time to attack henchmen and the boss themselves, Winter Soldier can unless a barrage of Attack. You may not even need to save the 6—that’s right 6—Attack tokens you can receive from “Expert Assassin.”

Good Teammate

Winter Soldier wants teammates with a lot of Heroics and perhaps some additional movement. Shuri from the same expansion is great. Black Panther works well, too; he provides plenty of Move. Captain America, Ant-Man, and Captain Marvel from the core set are strong choices.

Other Rise of the Black Panther Heroes

Black Panther
Shuri

Rise of the Black Panther Villain

Killmonger

Guide: Shuri

Real Name: Shuri
First Comic Book Appearance: Black Panther (May 2005)
Affiliations in Comic Books: Illuminati, Wakanda Army

Marvel United Appearance: Marvel United: Rise of the Black Panther (July 2020)
Marvel United Team Decks: None

Heroics

Attack

Move

Wild

Special Effects on Cards

Young Genius: Give 1 Wild token from the pool to any Hero. They may draw cards until they have 3 in their hand. Wow! “Young Genius” does a lot of work with single effect. It allows Shuri to give any Hero, including herself a Wild token, and that same Hero can effectively heal 1 damage. (Heroes discard cards whenever they receive damage.)

Shuri has three cards with “Young Genius” and each one of those cards also has a Wild symbol on the bottom, meaning that she can essentially generate three Wilds (1 for herself, 1 token, and 1 for the player after her) with a single card.

Overview

I gushed about Shuri’s “Young Genius,” but she kind of needs that ability. She has abysmal Attack and Move and will most likely use her Wild symbols for those two actions if she doesn’t receive enough Attack and Move from the player before her. Bus she also sports a good amount of Heroics.

She’ll be the one healing her teammates, rescuing civilians, and clearing Threats. And “Young Genius” synergizes with the Great Mound Location’s End of Turn ability. It reads, You may discard 1 card from your hand to the bottom of your deck to remove 1 Crisis Token from anywhere. With the combination of these two abilities, players can basically discard a Crisis Token for free.

Good Teammates

Again, the two characters in the expansion with her (Black Panther and Winter Soldier) work great. Wasp, Black Widow, and Iron Man also work well from the core set. But I especially like pairing Shuri with Hulk.

Other Rise of the Black Panther

Black Panther
Winter Soldier

Rise of the Black Panther

Killmonger

Guide: Black Panther

Real Name: T’Challa
First Comic Book Appearance: Fantastic Four (July 1966)
Affiliations in Comic Books: Agents of Wakanda, Avengers, Defenders, Fantastic Force, Heroes for Hire, Illuminati, S.H.I.E.L.D., The Resistance, Ultimates

Marvel United Appearance: Marvel United: Rise of the Black Panther (July 2020)
Marvel United Team Decks: Illuminati

Heroics

Attack

Move

Wild

Special Effects on Cards

Panther Habit: An additional two symbols. Black Panther has three cards with the effect “Panther Habit.” Each one of these cards has one symbol (Heroics, Attack, or Move) on the bottom and the other two symbols in the effect text, meaning that Black Panther shares the symbol on the bottom of the card and the can use the other two symbols for himself.

It’s nice to be able to do one of everything (Heroics, Attack, and Move), and that’s what “Panther Habit” lets Black Panther do. Unfortunately, he can only give his teammates the card’s bottom symbol.

Overview

Black Panther is surprisingly fast, and the rest of his kit is balanced between Heroics and Attack, like Captain America if Cap focused on Move instead of Heroics. But Black Panther lacks the team-friendly abilities of Cap. He’s more of a lone wolf who needs backup.

And since he has good mobility, Black Panther’s teammates can focus on Heroics and Attack. I would avoid another movement Hero or even a Hero with a high movement score.

Good Teammates

Shockingly, the two characters in the expansion with him (Shuri and Winter Soldier) pair well with Black Panther. Captain America, Ant-Man, Iron Man, and Black Widow from the core set are also strong choices.

Other Rise of the Black Panther Heroes

Shuri
Winter Soldier

Rise of the Black Panther Villain

Killmonger

Guide: Beta Ray Bill

Real Name: Beta Ray Bill
First Comic Book Appearance: The Mighty Thor (November 1983)
Affiliations in Comic Books: The Annihilators, Asgardian Gods, Guardians of the Galaxy, Omega Flight, Star Masters, Thor Corps.

Marvel United Appearance: Marvel United: Tales of Asgard (July 2020)
Marvel United Team Decks: None

Heroics

Attack

Move

Wild

Special Effects on Cards

Stormbreaker: 2 Attack and Draw 1 card.

Unlike Thor’s “Mjolnir,” the Attack from Beta Ray Bill’s “Stormbreaker” can be divided between multiple targets. Like “Mjolnir,” a Move accompanies each of the three copies of “Stormbreaker.” Beta Ray Bill can Attack 2 and Draw a card and then Move or Move and then Attack 2 and Draw a card.

I like the flexibility of “Stormbreaker.” It can make sense to use this effect against thugs, while “Mjolnir’s” effect only makes sense for a larger enemy. Beta Ray Bill can also draw a card even if he has full health, which means that “Stormbreaker” can increase Bill’s starting hand size. A larger hand means more options. I like options.

Overview

Like Thor, Beta Ray Bill can zing around the board and deal copious amounts of damage and his “Stormbreaker” effect doesn’t have the same restriction of targeting a single target as Thor’s “Mjolnir.” But Bill sports a little less in the Heroics department and needs a little support from a Hero with a good Heroics rating.

Good Teammates

The Heroes who accompany Beta Ray Bill in the Tales of Asgard expansion (Thor, Korg, and Valkyrie) tend to focus on the same areas of the game as him. They aren’t horrible options, but you may be best served pairing Beta Ray Bill with someone from the core set like Cap, Ant-Man, Captain Marvel, or Iron Man.

Other Tales of Asgard Heroes

Korg
Thor
Valkyrie

Tales of Asgard Villain

Loki

Guide: Korg

Real Name: Korg
First Comic Book Appearance: Journey into Mystery (November 1962)
Affiliations in Comic Books: Revengers

Marvel United Appearance: Marvel United: Tales of Asgard (July 2020)
Marvel United Team Decks: None

Heroics

Attack

Move

Wild

Special Effects on Cards

Kronan Fighter: 1 Attack in both adjacent Locations, OR 2 Attack in your Location.

You can choose to use the 1 Attack action against a target in both adjacent Locations or 2 Attack in your Location, which can be used against a single target or divided between multiple targets. I like flexibility, and “Kronan Fighter” has that.

Keep in mind that all three copies of “Kronan Fighter” accompany another Fight (symbol at the bottom of the card). The first option is best used to clear thugs, 1 Attack in your Location (from the symbol at the bottom) and 1 Attack in both adjacent Locations. The second option is great for a bigger target like a henchman or the main villain. 3 Attack against a single target is nice.

Overview

Korg generates a ton of Attack, but he doesn’t have nearly as much Heroics or Move. He’s best against a villain who places a lot of thugs (Ultron), has a bunch of henchmen (Red Skull), or a lot of health (Killmonger). He’ll need help from his teammates, who should have good Heroics or Move scores.

Good Teammates

The Heroes who accompany Korg in the Tales of Asgard expansion (Thor, Beta Ray Bill, and Valkyrie) also tend to have a lot of Attack. They aren’t horrible options, but you may be best served pairing Korg with someone from the core set like Captain America, Ant-Man, Captain Marvel, or Iron Man.

Other Tales of Asgard Heroes

Beta Ray Bill
Thor
Valkyrie

Tales of Asgard Villain

Loki