Marvel Champions: The Card Game

Game Overview

Marvel Champions: The Card Game is a cooperative living card game in which players take on the roles of iconic Marvel heroes working together to defeat a villain and prevent their nefarious schemes from coming to fruition. Each round is divided into a player phase, where players play cards and use their hero's powers, and a villain phase, where the villain attacks, schemes, and reveals encounter cards. Players win by defeating all stages of the villain before the villain completes the final stage of the main scheme.

Core Mechanisms: Card play with resource costs, hero/alter-ego form flipping, exhausting cards to take actions, boost cards modifying villain activations, and a shared villain phase driving the scenario's escalating threat.

1. Game Components

There is no limit to the number of threat tokens, damage tokens, acceleration tokens, status cards, or all-purpose counters that can be in the game at a given time. If players run out of provided tokens, other tokens, counters, or coins may be used.

2. Game Setup

1. Each player selects an identity and builds their player deck according to deck customization rules.
2. Each player sets aside the cards from their associated nemesis set, out of play.
3. Each identity's associated obligation card(s) are shuffled into the encounter deck during setup.
4. Each player begins the game in alter-ego form (their identity card's alter-ego side face up).
5. A first player is determined by the players at the beginning of the game; the first player token is placed accordingly.
6. The scenario's villain deck and main scheme deck are set up, with the top card of each in play.
7. Player card abilities cannot resolve during game setup, unless prefaced by a "Setup" timing trigger.

3. Game Flow

A game round proceeds as follows:

1. Player phase begins.
2. Each player takes a turn (in player order, starting with the first player).
3. Player phase ends:
   - In player order, each player may discard any number of cards from hand, and must discard down to hand size if they have more cards than hand size.
   - Each player simultaneously draws up to their hand size.
   - Each player simultaneously readies all of their cards.
4. Villain phase begins.
5. Place threat on main scheme: During step one of the villain phase, place the amount of threat indicated in the main scheme's acceleration field (bottom-right corner) on that scheme. This value is modified by all active acceleration tokens and icons.
6. Villain and minions activate: During step two of the villain phase, the villain activates once per player. If the player resolving the activation is in hero form, the villain attacks. If the player is in alter-ego form, the villain schemes. Engaged minions activate (one minion at a time) after the villain activates, attacking if the engaged player is in hero form or scheming if in alter-ego form.
7. Deal encounter cards: During step three of the villain phase, each player is dealt one facedown encounter card.
8. Reveal and resolve encounter cards.
9. Pass the first player token: At the end of the round (during step five of the villain phase), the first player token passes to the next clockwise player.
10. End the round and proceed to step one of the next game round.

4. Player Actions

Playing a Card
- Cost: The card's resource cost (numerical value paid with resources).
- Effect: The card enters play (or, for events, resolves its effects and is placed in the owner's discard pile).
- Process: Declare intent → check play restrictions → determine cost → apply modifiers → pay cost → make "choose" decisions → card commences being played → card is played/ability resolves.

Action Ability
- Cost: As specified in the ability text (may require exhausting, paying resources, etc.).
- Effect: As specified in the ability text.
- "Action" is a type of triggered ability. Players are permitted to trigger action abilities during their turn, or by request during other players' turns.

Basic Attack (Hero)
- Cost: Exhaust the hero.
- Effect: Deal damage equal to the hero's ATK value to an enemy.

Basic Attack (Ally)
- Cost: Exhaust the ally.
- Effect: Deal damage equal to the ally's ATK value to the enemy. The ally then takes consequential damage equal to the number of pips beneath its ATK field.

Basic Thwart (Hero/Ally)
- Cost: Exhaust the hero or ally.
- Effect: Remove threat (as applicable). An ally that thwarts takes consequential damage equal to the number of pips beneath its THW field.

Basic Defense (Hero)
- Cost: Exhaust the hero.
- Effect: The amount of damage dealt by the attack is reduced by the hero's DEF value; any remaining damage is dealt to the defending hero.

Defend with an Ally
- Cost: Exhaust the ally.
- Effect: All damage from the attack is dealt to the ally. If the ally is defeated, additional damage does not carry over to the hero.

Change Form
- Cost: None (once each round, during their turn).
- Effect: Flip the identity card to the other form. Only the form changes; the character retains sustained damage, status cards, lasting effects, attachments, tokens, and current state (ready or exhausted). A form change caused by a card ability does not count against the one voluntary form change permitted during the turn.

Using Allies
- During a player's turn, they may use any number of allies they control to attack or thwart. An ally must exhaust to pay the cost of being used in this way.

Interrupt / Response Abilities
- Optional triggered abilities. Interrupts resolve immediately before their triggering condition; responses resolve immediately after. Opportunities proceed in player order, with the first player having the first opportunity.

5. Scoring and Game End

Marvel Champions does not use a score; the game is won or lost:

Player Victory: Players win the game by defeating all stages of the villain. If a villain's hit point dial is reduced to zero, that stage of the villain has been defeated.

Player Defeat (Villain Victory): If the villain completes the final stage of the main scheme deck, the villain wins the game. If the amount of threat on a main scheme is equal to or greater than its target threat value, the scheme deck advances (excess threat does not carry over; acceleration tokens do carry over).

Player Elimination: If a player's hit point dial is reduced to zero, that player has been defeated and is eliminated from the game. If the first player is eliminated, the first player token immediately passes clockwise to the next player.

Empty Encounter Deck: If the encounter deck runs out of cards, the encounter discard pile is immediately shuffled to create a new encounter deck, and an acceleration token is placed next to the scheme deck. This token places an additional threat on the main scheme each round during step one of the villain phase.

Empty Player Deck: If a player deck runs out of cards, the player shuffles their discard pile to make a new deck, then immediately deals themself one card from the encounter deck.

Key Rules and Common Questions

Easy-to-miss Rules:

1. Each player begins the game in alter-ego form, not hero form.
2. A player may change form only once each round, during their turn — but a form change caused by a card ability does not count against this limit.
3. The ally limit is three allies per player in play at any given time; exceeding it requires immediate discard down to the limit.
4. A restricted card limit is two restricted cards per player in play; if a player ever controls more than two, they must immediately choose and discard until they have only two.
5. Boost cards are given to the villain only for villain activations — minions attacking or scheming do not receive boost cards.
6. Only the ability text beneath the divider line is active on a card resolving as a boost card; a star icon in the boost field is not itself a boost icon and does not contribute to ATK or SCH.
7. If no hero or ally defends an attack, the attack is undefended and all damage is dealt to the identity resolving the activation.
8. A dash (—) power value means the character cannot exhaust to use that power, and the value is treated as 0 when referenced.
9. Hand size is checked at the end of the player phase: players discard down to or draw up to their hand size, then ready all their cards.
10. Player card abilities cannot resolve during game setup unless prefaced by a "Setup" timing trigger.
11. The word "cannot" is absolute and cannot be countermanded by other abilities or effects.
12. Indirect damage must be split among all characters the specified player controls, and a character cannot be assigned more indirect damage than would cause it to be defeated.
13. When the main scheme deck advances, excess threat does not carry over, but acceleration tokens do carry over to the new stage.
14. A card with "Uses (X)" is discarded after spending its final use (and the effect resolves).
15. If a player deck empties while drawing cards, the player continues to draw up to the specified number after reshuffling; if it empties while discarding, no cards are discarded from the newly shuffled deck.

FAQ:

Q: Can I play cards or trigger abilities during another player's turn?
A: Action abilities may be triggered during your turn, or by request during other players' turns. Interrupt and Response abilities may be used at their appropriate timing points, with opportunities proceeding in player order (first player first).

Q: What happens if I have more cards in hand than my hand size at the end of the player phase?
A: In player order, you must choose and discard cards from hand until you are at your hand size. Then all players simultaneously draw up to their hand size and ready all their cards.

Q: Does damage from an attack carry over to the hero if my ally defending is defeated?
A: No. If an ally defends an attack and is defeated by it, additional damage does not carry over to the hero.

Q: What happens when the encounter deck runs out of cards?
A: The encounter discard pile is immediately shuffled to create a new encounter deck, and an acceleration token is placed next to the scheme deck. This token places an additional threat on the main scheme each round during step one of the villain phase.

Q: Can I use an ability on an exhausted card?
A: A card ability on an exhausted card is active and can interact with the game state. However, if the ability requires the card to exhaust as a cost, that ability cannot be used until the card is ready.

Q: Who decides ties or simultaneous effects?
A: The first player decides the order in which simultaneous effects resolve, selects among eligible targets when an encounter card targets a specific player or card with multiple eligible targets, and has the first opportunity to use interrupts and responses at each appropriate game moment.