I've been taking the advice of creators like yourself to take it slow with the core box, and I'm at the point where I've defeated all the villains several times, identified favorite heroes, dipped into deck building, and am looking to try expert mode. This is the perfect video for a player in my position, I think, as a wonderfully detailed retrospective into the core box before heading off into subsequent content! Always appreciate the amount of thought you put into these.
@@disorientedlion that’s great to hear! I’m glad you are enjoying the game. I mentioned it briefly in my video. But if you are looking for an interesting challenge, playing klaw with the doomsday chair and legions of hydra modular in 2 player/2 handed is an interesting and fun challenge. I defeated that scenario with aggression she hulk precon and leadership captain marvel precon. But it was brutal. Extremely difficult.
I’ve been playing since the core box came out. (On and off for the first three years, quit for a year, and become obsessed last year) The core box is such a great starting point.
Good to note for "Photonic Blast" (Capt. Marvel) is that she only has to use 1 energy resource when paying for it to trigger the card draw. The other 2 cost (of the 3) can be any type of resource (inc. more energy if desired). This will distinguish it from a certain Hulk event later. I typically look at it like a $2 for 5 damage AND a free but forced card cycle (which upgrades to a straight free draw instead when you use her triple). Makes for even more card-cycle in her kit which when combined with 3xDbls really helps empower her economy further.
@@shanepheeney9029 ya I don’t think photonic blast is a bad card, but I have just fallen short on damage multiple times while playing her. Energy channel is really crazy for damage. Thats a good point distinguishing between photonic blast and hulk smash.
@@gameplayer1980 that’s awesome! If you like the game, I have a buyers guide as well if you wanna check that out. It’s basically everything I wish I knew when I started. There are a lot of expansions and getting them in the best order will improve the experience a lot.
as someone still new to deckbuilding, that's some stellar advice at 1:35:45 about using the pre-constructed decks as a tool to figure out what play styles you do & don't enjoy. I had a very similar experience playing through some of the core box content on my own.
@@JohnCollinsIsAWizard there we go lol. What did you think of the tier lists though? I tried to be very specific with them with what i was talking about.
@@DaringLime I appreciated the caveats that they are subject to change and are tools to help guide discussion (as a tier list should be) rather than resolute decrees. ultimately all the ratings make sense to me, but I was still surprised by how differently you rate Iron Man's chances in solo vs multiplayer. also, you make a good point I'd never considered before about Peter Parker lacking those mid-range damage options, but for all his weaknesses, I'd probably still rate him better than She-Hulk in multiplayer. as you point out, his better economy can help carry him through. I believe I've only played each of them in multiplayer exactly one time though, so grain of salt.
@ I agree that later on spider man is better in multiplayer than she hulk, but with only the core box, there aren’t super crazy builds that spider man can do with his high economy yet. And also, when she hulk has 2 copies of focused rage. Her economy is comparable to spider man’s. The genius and web warrior techs don’t exist yet lol
This is a really cool idea for a video, and very helpful for someone new to the game like me. Thanks! Also interesting to see that your opinions have changed quite a bit from some of your older videos that I skimmed.
@@ybhandari yes they have! They’ve changed a lot. Coming back to the core box felt like a brand new game. But also, my opinions on this game were based solely on the cards available in the core box. regardless, still different. :) glad this was useful! I made this specifically for new players
@@DaringLime I just took her for a spin against standard Ulton in leadership. It felt like cheating using Hawkeye AND Squirrel Girl in the deck. Barely made it, but at 2 life, I did 20 damage (bringing him to -2)… so much fun.
I've never really been fond for an Aggression build for Iron Man. He has 5 cheap yet HIGH damage attack events on top of the 2 'Gauntlets'. Combine that with his large amount of permanent Support/Upgrades that you're typically prioritizing into play, means those attacks come reliably and in multiples. It was usually Ld/Ju (in any player count) as they come with well priced allies who can Thwart good in early game when paired with putting your suit together.
@@shanepheeney9029 I’m only fond of aggression for him in multiplayer. Leadership and justice is certainly better for solo and I prefer them justice over aggression in multiplayer because of heroic intuition. His economy is so good later in the game for playing a bunch of allies in leadership
I've not finished the video (sounds good so far), but arranging 3 heroes top then 2 heroes + 3 villains bottom instead of 3 villains top then 5 heroes bottom mildly infuriates me.
@@DaringLime I've finished listening to this video (while building my shelf). It's helpful. The only thing I'll point out is there's no mention of the heroes' nemeses, which is a minor part of the game atp but will become increasingly relevant imo, or the Standard / Expert 1 encounter sets, which I believe is a big omission as anyone's who's actually new to the game will come into contact with them every single game. Of course, this can be covered on its own if you so choose.
@ ya I didn’t end up talking about the nemesis or obligation. I didn’t show every card in the mod sets either. Maybe I should have talked about them. I’m glad it was a good podcast to listen to while building the shelf :)
This was really cool. I mean it was 2 hours a lot of which was telling me how cards I've been using for 5 years work but the good stuff still made it very worthwhile ;) I was a fan of She Hulk back in the day but I do not go back to her. I certainly played her in Justice for solo, which is all I do, & I enjoyed that. A couple of recent games indicate that the ruling on Superhuman Strength is very good for her to massacre minions et al. I don't really recall core only days for any of them it's more wave 1 up to Red Skull. I always disliked Ironman. I find the early game frustrating & the late game boring. I think it's even worse MP as you rely on the rest of the team to carry you then take over, preventing them having any cathartic fun themselves. Spiderman is OK, well pretty fun really. BP was my favourite for an age but I got frustrated with the feast or famine endgame with both resource cards & Wakanda Forever. I've been playing him in a Justice good stuff build this year & it really unlocks him and he's become a favourite again. In that deck Claws is the most important upgrade while usually it's either Suit or Tactical Genius. Captain Marvel is probably my favourite hero in the game. I love how rich she is & her survivability. I see her cards slightly differently. Cosmic Flight and Crisis Interdiction are part of the energy package and usually get used as a resource. Her hat is in it's own very special category. I don't find she lacks for damage. Two energy channels make up for any shortcomings in Photonic Blast. I do use them aggressively when part full to deal with minions when I need to, I think it's a mistake always to hold them for that big push. She is the strongest hero in the core set but since her power is in economy & so essentially in aspect cards it only comes online with a better, bigger card pool. Black Panther is the opposite - he does his thing & the rest of the card pool is to help it get online which the massive card draw in contemporary Justice does. On Villains I find Ultron is comfortably harder then Klaw on expert solo. Klaw is no pushover but he is a bit less relentless. As to the cards I like First Aid still for ally support outside Green. Haymaker was good in the core but it was really replaced by more allies and eventually better allies rather than more attack cards. Tac Team is also essentially fighting with allies for slots and is usually a worse proposition. Hopefully Maria Hill will give it some life. I'm not convinced Tigra is very good either. Jessica Jones is so much better now with PSS and One Way or Another, which pleases me as I like PI stories. I do like Luke Cage & share your scepticism about Black Widow. Nick Fury and Maria Hill remain really busted. I don't think anyone who has heard of Black Lotus thinks they get the power levels right in the first release of a new card game! I am still really enjoying the modern game & played through the core in progression mode back in 2020 so I have no great inclination to do so again, but in future who knows?
@@jonathanpickles2946 thanks for the comment! As a player who wasn’t around for the beginning when everyone was talking about and playing the core set it is nice for me hear people’s opinions on it. Regarding captain marvel, I agree that energy channel isn’t necessary to save for the villain. I often used it for big minions, especially modok to avoid the retaliate 2 which was very useful. And I see what you’re saying about how photonic blast and crisis interdiction are used for her hero ability and energy channel triggers, but that still leaves me wishing they were a bit better. I wanna use the thwart event instead of throwing it out lol. I appreciate that you agreed with me about black panther at this point in the game. I was expecting some push back with how highly I rated him, but at this point in the game, he really feels like my best chance at beating those scenarios consistently with the limited card pool. Spoilers for my next video, but the first release contains lock jaw. Which I think will be great for fixing that too much money and nothing to spend it on problem that he has in the late game. I think Peter and carol will grow in strength as new cards come out due to their economy, I’m curious to see how long it takes for them to feel like they’ve reached their potential. And ya, the video was super long and for older players I could have cut the first part talking about the hefoes, but I was hoping that this video will be useful for people who are just getting started with the game and that hopefully people who have been around a long time would at least find that part mildly entertaining lol. I will go back and try she hulk. I’m excited about the shenanigans I can do with concussive blow now that that’s out to make use of her flipping strategy. I appreciate the comment! And hope to see you as my progression series progresses :)
@@DaringLime Well I have played a bunch of games with her now with a very tweaked version of my 2020 deck. Concussive Blow became Sonic Rifle :). I also added Enduring Stamina - I now remember how frustrating it was when she gets tapped or stunned as One Two Punch is a really sub par card. I do think Crisis Interdiction & Cosmic Flight should be better but she would probably need to lose something & I am very used to them how they are now. I did think Cosmic flight should cost one & prevent 2 damage, Crisis Interdiction should cost 1 and pay one if you have flight to get the extra. Then Energy Absorption could be 2 energy but 3 towards her signature cards or double for Energy Channel or something. She works fine as she is though she's just a bit flawed - she's no Hulk/Valkyrie
I've been taking the advice of creators like yourself to take it slow with the core box, and I'm at the point where I've defeated all the villains several times, identified favorite heroes, dipped into deck building, and am looking to try expert mode. This is the perfect video for a player in my position, I think, as a wonderfully detailed retrospective into the core box before heading off into subsequent content! Always appreciate the amount of thought you put into these.
@@disorientedlion that’s great to hear! I’m glad you are enjoying the game. I mentioned it briefly in my video. But if you are looking for an interesting challenge, playing klaw with the doomsday chair and legions of hydra modular in 2 player/2 handed is an interesting and fun challenge. I defeated that scenario with aggression she hulk precon and leadership captain marvel precon. But it was brutal. Extremely difficult.
@@DaringLime Curious why 2 handed - is it just too difficult in true solo? I generally have just been playing with a single hero.
@@disorientedlion I would have lost bad in solo with the precon decks. If you edit your deck a bit I think it's worth a shot!
I’ve been playing since the core box came out. (On and off for the first three years, quit for a year, and become obsessed last year) The core box is such a great starting point.
@ totally agree! Core box is amazing
Good to note for "Photonic Blast" (Capt. Marvel) is that she only has to use 1 energy resource when paying for it to trigger the card draw. The other 2 cost (of the 3) can be any type of resource (inc. more energy if desired). This will distinguish it from a certain Hulk event later. I typically look at it like a $2 for 5 damage AND a free but forced card cycle (which upgrades to a straight free draw instead when you use her triple). Makes for even more card-cycle in her kit which when combined with 3xDbls really helps empower her economy further.
@@shanepheeney9029 ya I don’t think photonic blast is a bad card, but I have just fallen short on damage multiple times while playing her. Energy channel is really crazy for damage. Thats a good point distinguishing between photonic blast and hulk smash.
Thanks for this! Just placed my order.
@@gameplayer1980 that’s awesome! If you like the game, I have a buyers guide as well if you wanna check that out. It’s basically everything I wish I knew when I started. There are a lot of expansions and getting them in the best order will improve the experience a lot.
as someone still new to deckbuilding, that's some stellar advice at 1:35:45 about using the pre-constructed decks as a tool to figure out what play styles you do & don't enjoy. I had a very similar experience playing through some of the core box content on my own.
Thanks Johnny! I will say, you aren't really fulfilling your enemy of the channel role rn though lol
@@DaringLime oh shoot. I mean... uhh... Tier List Bad
@@JohnCollinsIsAWizard there we go lol. What did you think of the tier lists though? I tried to be very specific with them with what i was talking about.
@@DaringLime I appreciated the caveats that they are subject to change and are tools to help guide discussion (as a tier list should be) rather than resolute decrees. ultimately all the ratings make sense to me, but I was still surprised by how differently you rate Iron Man's chances in solo vs multiplayer. also, you make a good point I'd never considered before about Peter Parker lacking those mid-range damage options, but for all his weaknesses, I'd probably still rate him better than She-Hulk in multiplayer. as you point out, his better economy can help carry him through. I believe I've only played each of them in multiplayer exactly one time though, so grain of salt.
@ I agree that later on spider man is better in multiplayer than she hulk, but with only the core box, there aren’t super crazy builds that spider man can do with his high economy yet. And also, when she hulk has 2 copies of focused rage. Her economy is comparable to spider man’s. The genius and web warrior techs don’t exist yet lol
This is a really cool idea for a video, and very helpful for someone new to the game like me. Thanks! Also interesting to see that your opinions have changed quite a bit from some of your older videos that I skimmed.
@@ybhandari yes they have! They’ve changed a lot. Coming back to the core box felt like a brand new game. But also, my opinions on this game were based solely on the cards available in the core box. regardless, still different. :) glad this was useful! I made this specifically for new players
Great video. You’ve produced this very nicely. I’m sure it took a lot of effort and it show. Thanks for the hard work!
Wait! Ground Stomp against Ultron is at LEAST A-tier. #justiceforshehulk
@@prufrock1977 thank you :)
@@prufrock1977 ya that’s a great card against ultron!
@@DaringLime I just took her for a spin against standard Ulton in leadership. It felt like cheating using Hawkeye AND Squirrel Girl in the deck. Barely made it, but at 2 life, I did 20 damage (bringing him to -2)… so much fun.
@ once squirrel girl comes out the ultron matchup gets a lot easier. I’m gonna rematch ultron for my progression series using the new leadership cards
I've never really been fond for an Aggression build for Iron Man. He has 5 cheap yet HIGH damage attack events on top of the 2 'Gauntlets'. Combine that with his large amount of permanent Support/Upgrades that you're typically prioritizing into play, means those attacks come reliably and in multiples. It was usually Ld/Ju (in any player count) as they come with well priced allies who can Thwart good in early game when paired with putting your suit together.
@@shanepheeney9029 I’m only fond of aggression for him in multiplayer. Leadership and justice is certainly better for solo and I prefer them justice over aggression in multiplayer because of heroic intuition. His economy is so good later in the game for playing a bunch of allies in leadership
I've not finished the video (sounds good so far), but arranging 3 heroes top then 2 heroes + 3 villains bottom instead of 3 villains top then 5 heroes bottom mildly infuriates me.
@@cynthiacrescent good point!
@@DaringLime I've finished listening to this video (while building my shelf). It's helpful. The only thing I'll point out is there's no mention of the heroes' nemeses, which is a minor part of the game atp but will become increasingly relevant imo, or the Standard / Expert 1 encounter sets, which I believe is a big omission as anyone's who's actually new to the game will come into contact with them every single game. Of course, this can be covered on its own if you so choose.
@ ya I didn’t end up talking about the nemesis or obligation. I didn’t show every card in the mod sets either. Maybe I should have talked about them. I’m glad it was a good podcast to listen to while building the shelf :)
This was really cool. I mean it was 2 hours a lot of which was telling me how cards I've been using for 5 years work but the good stuff still made it very worthwhile ;)
I was a fan of She Hulk back in the day but I do not go back to her. I certainly played her in Justice for solo, which is all I do, & I enjoyed that. A couple of recent games indicate that the ruling on Superhuman Strength is very good for her to massacre minions et al. I don't really recall core only days for any of them it's more wave 1 up to Red Skull.
I always disliked Ironman. I find the early game frustrating & the late game boring. I think it's even worse MP as you rely on the rest of the team to carry you then take over, preventing them having any cathartic fun themselves.
Spiderman is OK, well pretty fun really. BP was my favourite for an age but I got frustrated with the feast or famine endgame with both resource cards & Wakanda Forever. I've been playing him in a Justice good stuff build this year & it really unlocks him and he's become a favourite again. In that deck Claws is the most important upgrade while usually it's either Suit or Tactical Genius.
Captain Marvel is probably my favourite hero in the game. I love how rich she is & her survivability. I see her cards slightly differently. Cosmic Flight and Crisis Interdiction are part of the energy package and usually get used as a resource. Her hat is in it's own very special category. I don't find she lacks for damage. Two energy channels make up for any shortcomings in Photonic Blast. I do use them aggressively when part full to deal with minions when I need to, I think it's a mistake always to hold them for that big push. She is the strongest hero in the core set but since her power is in economy & so essentially in aspect cards it only comes online with a better, bigger card pool. Black Panther is the opposite - he does his thing & the rest of the card pool is to help it get online which the massive card draw in contemporary Justice does.
On Villains I find Ultron is comfortably harder then Klaw on expert solo. Klaw is no pushover but he is a bit less relentless.
As to the cards I like First Aid still for ally support outside Green. Haymaker was good in the core but it was really replaced by more allies and eventually better allies rather than more attack cards. Tac Team is also essentially fighting with allies for slots and is usually a worse proposition. Hopefully Maria Hill will give it some life. I'm not convinced Tigra is very good either. Jessica Jones is so much better now with PSS and One Way or Another, which pleases me as I like PI stories. I do like Luke Cage & share your scepticism about Black Widow. Nick Fury and Maria Hill remain really busted. I don't think anyone who has heard of Black Lotus thinks they get the power levels right in the first release of a new card game!
I am still really enjoying the modern game & played through the core in progression mode back in 2020 so I have no great inclination to do so again, but in future who knows?
@@jonathanpickles2946 thanks for the comment! As a player who wasn’t around for the beginning when everyone was talking about and playing the core set it is nice for me hear people’s opinions on it. Regarding captain marvel, I agree that energy channel isn’t necessary to save for the villain. I often used it for big minions, especially modok to avoid the retaliate 2 which was very useful. And I see what you’re saying about how photonic blast and crisis interdiction are used for her hero ability and energy channel triggers, but that still leaves me wishing they were a bit better. I wanna use the thwart event instead of throwing it out lol. I appreciate that you agreed with me about black panther at this point in the game. I was expecting some push back with how highly I rated him, but at this point in the game, he really feels like my best chance at beating those scenarios consistently with the limited card pool. Spoilers for my next video, but the first release contains lock jaw. Which I think will be great for fixing that too much money and nothing to spend it on problem that he has in the late game. I think Peter and carol will grow in strength as new cards come out due to their economy, I’m curious to see how long it takes for them to feel like they’ve reached their potential. And ya, the video was super long and for older players I could have cut the first part talking about the hefoes, but I was hoping that this video will be useful for people who are just getting started with the game and that hopefully people who have been around a long time would at least find that part mildly entertaining lol. I will go back and try she hulk. I’m excited about the shenanigans I can do with concussive blow now that that’s out to make use of her flipping strategy. I appreciate the comment! And hope to see you as my progression series progresses
:)
@@DaringLime Well I have played a bunch of games with her now with a very tweaked version of my 2020 deck. Concussive Blow became Sonic Rifle :). I also added Enduring Stamina - I now remember how frustrating it was when she gets tapped or stunned as One Two Punch is a really sub par card. I do think Crisis Interdiction & Cosmic Flight should be better but she would probably need to lose something & I am very used to them how they are now. I did think Cosmic flight should cost one & prevent 2 damage, Crisis Interdiction should cost 1 and pay one if you have flight to get the extra. Then Energy Absorption could be 2 energy but 3 towards her signature cards or double for Energy Channel or something. She works fine as she is though she's just a bit flawed - she's no Hulk/Valkyrie
@ ya the design of the newer champions is more polished than the older ones. Still love all the old ones though :)