Web Warriors Primer 2: Splash Characters

Dear Reader,

Today I present to you Volume 2 of our Web Warrior’s Primer wherein which we will review our potential splash characters. Splash characters in Marvel Crisis Protocol can either enhance your game plan by offering more of the same options that you were working with earlier or can start patching holes in your game plan. To review from our last primer, we do a couple of things really well: movement, enhanced defense (through Spider-Sense, Miles’ leadership, Stealth, etc.), displacement, and objective manipulation. When looking at splash characters, the most important thing to note is what you need for your play style. Marvel Crisis Protocol is an open game that allows for a near limitless set of potential combinations of characters in a roster. So who you bring really is up to you and can only really be understood and realized with experimentation and play style checks. For instance, I really like to play ASM and rely on early, bold extract play. This doesn’t work for everyone and some people do not even include Amazing Spider-Man in their rosters (the nerve…). It’s all different for each list and it really comes down to playstyle. As such, I won’t be giving the splash characters a rating. They should enhance and compliment the way you play the faction. I will do my best to keep the list condensed to what I consider to be our best splash options.

In the following section I will divide each of the splash characters based on their threat level. I find that Web Warriors do very well running multiple low threat models to out size your opponent for better reactionary play.

Characters

2 Threats

Wong - Wong does a couple of amazing things for us. First and foremost, Wong enables turn 1 Advanced Research and Development (ARD) plays. One of Web Warriors biggest issues is generating consistent power and Wong can supercharge the first turn of up to 3 characters on turn 1 with double meditate into ARD. From there, he can pass power out consistently to 1 person or heal someone for 2 a turn. I find that often times I leave Wong on a home spot and if my opponent just lets him sit then I will bring people that need healing back to him before they go back into the fight (move them first to get the heal then begin your round with Wong again to heal them further before they run back into it).

Toad - Toad does two things super well, he has always on Eyes on the Prize and he is fast. Slippery with Miles’ leadership means your opponent is going to have big issues keeping him in one place and he will just move medium to escape follow-up attacks. In addition, he can place within R2, so he is always on the go. Something that newer players may not see the value in is Finders Keepers, which allows you to move people like ASM or Black Cat up to get a riskier extract, Toad can then move up the next turn and remove it from them, and then they can go on fighting or, if you’re playing Black Cat with this play, then steal someone else’s extract. Some players will even play both Wong and Toad in a list in order to get 6 wide 16 threat missions or to maintain a wider group while rocking 2 four threats at 15 while still having 5 characters on the field.

3 Threats

Captain America (Sam Wilson) - Long movement. Check. Possible long-range push on a good chunk of the roster that can potentially bounce to push someone else. Check. Displacing your own dudes on command to act as an out of activation Glide. Check. Raise the Shields for more defense. Check. Sam does a lot in a 3 threat package and keeps up with the team very well. He has a charge to keep you moving and generating power while also having a character throw associated with his spender if you are in dire straits. Play him as a hyper mobile more defensive unit though as his 4 dice attack requires you to actually damage your enemies in order to push them and the bounce is only on a wild. However, the auto power does mean that he can charge, throw, and interact with a point on turn 2 or turn 1 if you have ARD support.

Lizard - My personal favorite of the 3 threats. He offers a lot of defense in a 3-threat frame with 4/3/3 defenses, damage reduction 1, and healing factor 1. With Miles' leadership it takes a lot of concentrated firepower, or a very lucky dice roll, to daze Lizard. For those moments when you see the dice spike hard, you can always X-Ceptional Healing through the pain. Lizard also plays very well with ASM leadership in that he is medium move on a medium base, so for 4 power you can move move leadership slow then throw someone off of a point in order to force them to waste turns getting back if they double move to stay close to the point, you can always flip them and then throw them for extra range if you have the power to do so. Overall, Lizard is amazing for Web Warriors as he just refuses to die.

Baron Zemo - Baron Zemo doesn’t bring control to the board. Instead he brings re-rolls for him and the team while also covering one of Web Warriors major lacking areas: damage. Zemo benefits from being able to re-roll his skulls under Miles, which means his offensive potential shoots up majorly. This goes even higher when you count in things like Master Swordsman and Counter Strike, which makes the Baron an invaluable piece for Webs play. Keep him close to your more key Web Warriors and he even gives them re-rolls too with his Strategic Genius super power.

Luke Cage - Luke Cage brings a lot to the table. He can draw attacks, he brings Heroes for Hire, he can throw with his spender or stagger (if you are lucky) with his builder, and he has damage reduction 1 built into his kit. Couple all of this with Miles’s leadership for durability or ASM leadership for funny interactions with Luke’s spender (apply slow and flip if you miss the throw for 5). Luke does, however, fall lower on my list of “you should use this guy”. He is a wonderful brick to stand on a point and contest, but his throw is inconsistent and very expensive when you could just bring Lizard who is faster, sturdier, and has a throw superpower rather than a throw on a wild trigger. If you aren't planning on bringing Heroes for Hire though, just bring Lizard instead. 

Iron Man - Tony Stark brings a lot to the table. R4 size unlimited pushes on a builder, damage reduction 1, and the ability to up damage are just some of the things he brings to the table. He also brings with him Stark Armory, which gives a bubble of additional dice for attacks for a turn. This is amazing because when you couple it with All Webbed Up you are giving 3 additional attack dice for the turn. This may be overkill to an extent though, so use your best judgment for when to partner the two up or to spread the attack power over 2 turns. Tony does come with 2 weaknesses though. The first is he needs to be generating power on a 4 dice builder while also relying on a wild trigger in the same builder to push people. You can always use Friday AI to pump the numbers, but then you are dipping into power for Stark Armory or even Helios Laser if you are feeling saucy. The second issue is mobility. Tony doesn’t have any place abilities, which means he is running everywhere. Running means less attacks, which means less ability to push people or generate power for TTC. He isn’t bad by any means, but knowing a model's weaknesses is key to understanding their play pattern.

X-23 - The second of our offensive group, X-23 brings damage to a group that lacks it. Her re-rolls for attack and defense mean she takes full advantage of Miles’ leadership for fishing for wild triggers to up her numbers with pierce. Having Spider-Sense under Miles is great and X-23 brings some much needed damage into the fold while also benefiting from X-Ceptional Healing to keep her moving on the battlefield.

Proxima Midnight - Proxima Midnight has a couple of great things going for her in Web Warriors. She has a ranged attack with a place, she has damage reduction 1, and she has a way to give herself more dice for defense that may result in damaging your opponent in turn, and is a long mover. Being able to keep pressure on your opponent via mobility is essential and before Lizard, Proxima and her Husband were my go-to splashes for Web Warriors as they could dominate a side with sheer aggression while the rest of my team went to an opposite end and controlled the board as needed. While the fine art of Murder Hoboing is a bit more difficult for the power couple, I think that they are still more than capable of creating tough spaces for your opponent to work within when played well.

4 Threats

Beta Ray Bill - There is a reason that at many top end tournaments Bill is seen in the number 1 models taken spot for 4 threats. He does it all, he has damage reduction to 0, good HP, 2 power a turn to enable Eyes plays, medium base medium move, can give shock and stun, has a ridiculous amount of immunities, he has a size 4 throw, his spender has a throw, and he has aggressive to stick to points. Did I mention he throws? Bill is a boring model, but when you really think about it, boulders are boring too. But, when they roll over a car it doesn’t matter how boring the boulder is because it did what it wanted and did it well. Bill can be so back breaking for your opponent that it doesn’t seem very fair to add in Miles’ re-roll or Peter’s slow to the mix on top of all that.

Logan the Wolverine - Logan is a side crusher, plain and simple. You want none of your other team around him. Let him fight over points to gain 2 attack re-rolls a turn that can re-roll skulls if you play it right, but keep him away from Mystic attacks as he will drop like a sack of potatoes. (I still to this day do not understand why he won’t hit the actual mystic attacker with his ability, but here we are). Logan is durable with a good HP pool and healing factor 2. He has 4/4/2 defenses, which should keep him moving against most targets when coupled with Miles’ leadership. He is also hyper mobile with an R3 attack that forces him to place within 1 of the target, which you can add to a throw through a super power. If you are looking for an aggressive splash character, Logan the Wolverine does a great job of playing lone wolf while your team cleans up an opposite end.

Rhino - Rhino is a hyper mobile tour-de-force. He doesn’t have a lot to spend his power on, but what he does have is efficiency and he makes for a great mid-game RND user. He brings consistent damage by pushing himself into a Gore or throwing terrain at people. Because he places after a Gore, it makes it easier with his large base to make sure he is within range of terrain to actually throw at people and continue the damage. Rhino also has aggressive, allowing him back onto points he has been dislodged from and damage reduction 1 to keep him moving. His biggest draw though, is This Is A Robbery, which allows him to force people to drop their extracts and then for Rhino to throw them medium. With smart plays, it is not hard to get the 2 additional power Rhino needs from Gore to turn 1 steal an objective from an enemy, and Rhino is mobile enough that it may throw someone off just how fast he is as a small mover on a large base.

Doctor Voodoo - While Doctor Voodoo has kind of fallen out of favor due to some pretty heft nerfs, he still does some nice things for Web Warriors. He brings mystic attacks to deal with enemy Daredevils in Defenders and can even attack from outside of Daredevil’s basic attack and Devil’s Deliverance range. He has a throw built-in to his gainer, which isn’t very consistent if we are being honest, but is there to toss people when you get lucky. His biggest draw is a long range forced drop for the opponent's extracts, which makes him a very dangerous person to have on the board still alive and kicking. I like to play my group as steal happy as possible, and I have used Dr. Voodoo in the past to force longer range steals than normal in order to keep my lead and force the opponent to chase me more.

Invincible Iron Man - See Tony 1 from the 3-threat list to see a lot of what this guy does. He also brings offensive re-rolls and a potential throw with his spender. The problem with this Tony is power. He has so much he can do from throwing to re-rolling, to reducing damage to 0 that he ends up spending a lot of power on himself and not on things like Stark Armory or Helios Laser. I am not saying it can’t be done, and D5 Repulsor Laser is amazing with a minimum of 1 power gained, I am just saying that you won’t generally be able to get the most out of his kit unless you focus on the things you really want to do with him.

Medusa - R3 pushes with potential flurry are very good. Being able to reroll 1 attack and defense roll every attack or save is amazing. Being able to move people around in an already mobile force is cracked. R3 throw is part of what makes Spectacular Spider-Man so good. Medusa does a lot in the 4 slot, and we haven’t even touched on Living Strands yet, which makes it more annoying for your opponent to move past her and prevents dice modification when attacking her. Medusa is a powerhouse in Web Warriors that frankly, I need to be utilizing more in the near future in conjunction with Scarlet Spider for a fantastic displacement game alongside Spectacular Spider-Man and Ghost Spider.

Elektra - Elektra has the ability to throw Mystic Sai and teleport and she murders Daredevil good. Best part is that she comes stock standard with grunts that you are pretty incentivised to run up, take an extract and then kill to pass it back onto someone so that she can bring them in again to make an attack when she throws the Sai. She isn’t my cup of tea, but I have heard great things about her lethality and ability to move across the map while assassinating people and having her ninjas hold objectives.

Black Panther - The OG splash option for Web Warriors. Front side gains blanks from any range against Physical and Energy attacks, auto push on size 3 or less enemies, long mover with the ability to pounce to add more distance, and Mantle of the Black Panther when models need to take damage. Black Panther is kind of a jack of all trades model and he still holds up fantastically in modern Web Warriors. He brings the whole package to what we need while also supplementing our already existing gameplan. He fights fantastically while having power to do Mantle into a potential pounce into another strike and your opponent may not understand how so much damage was just dealt from a defensive control character in such a short amount of time. Put him with Miles and laugh.

Crimson Dynamo - Crimson Dynamo was my go-to 4 threat for a long time because he and ASM gave pseudo Spider-Sense to targets who had been given Marked for Death. Forcing enemy re-rolls is great for not only keep your guys alive, but also causing frustration with your opponent which can lead to mistakes (no, I am not condoning being a jerk, but keeping a cool head is difficult when every attack you tell your opponent you’re going to be making them re-roll up to three of their successful attack dice a turn). Dynamo is a bit slow, but he has an R4 beam that hands out shock to make up for it. He has no displacement to speak of, but his ability to help keep your team alive is fantastic and he partners exceptionally well with ASM.

5+ Threats

Dr. Strange, Sorcerer Supreme - Nacho Supreme Strange brings a few things to the table for us. A great mystic and energy tank, fantastic offensive options, and an out of activation Web Swing for characters. He can also poison enemies, cleanse and heal his allies, and is a general nuisance for your opponent. Eye of Agamoto is a fantastic option for when your defense or offensive dice fail you in order to keep you moving and his in-built 2 additional power a turn makes Eyes play possible and Scalpel easier to pull off. For an offensive option, Strange Supreme is fantastic with Mystic piercing attacks and R5 choose your attack type assaults for 1 power.

Dr. Strange - The OG Strange is a little used character that I have, in the past, found great success with. He plays our game quite well in that he is able to displace people and even outright activate them under the right conditions. He is able to hand out more defense dice and even heal people. He is a great option if you don’t want to run Strange Supreme. He has some massive shortfalls though in that he has no place of his own and his heal is R2, but if you are consistently displacing people with the team, you will find some success with his game plan as a immobile displacement machine.

Ultron, Metal Tyrant - The new grunt kid on the black is a powerhouse of an option for Web Warriors. He has a fantastic terrain throw, R4 attacks that bleed and poison, grunts, and an offensive output that is hard to match. He has a bow ability and his spender not only throws people but pushes models away while dealing damage. What’s better is that he also works with Age of Ultron. Having Miles as the leader already makes him hard to kill, but adding Age of Ultron into the mix means he is one of, if not the hardest, models in the game to remove. He beats ASM due to his need to be removed twice, and you can even run both of them together if you want to make a team of annoying to kill models (At 19 you can run Miles, Gwen, Black Cat, ASM, and Ultron 2 for 6 models on the table and 2 models that just won’t die).

Corvus Glaive (Reality) - The second part of the Proxima and Corvus equation. Corvus Glaive with Reality Stone is already a menace, but give him Miles’ re-rolls for defense and he is downright horrible to try to kill. Corvus’ defensive tech is a damage reduction 1 ability coupled with 1 Skull turning into a crit. That is insane when you think about it considering it is already hard to push damage onto, but if you have two skulls you can possibly just convert them both to a success. In addition, it doesn’t matter if you do a back-to-back assault with the couple as killing someone who has already activated may keep you in the position of losing priority. On the other hand, playing them together actually means you can also take priority by limiting your turns if you want to get off a massive All Webbed Up turn and you need to kill something big and close to death already. Corvus has been nerfed pretty harshly, but unrestricting Reality Gem does make him a prime target for being tried out again.

Hulk - He is a boring meatball, but he is effective. Hulk most games is either going to be leaping, punching then throwing, or move move throw. He is hard to take down due to his massive HP pool and always healthy side and he generates three power a turn. Hulk comes with his own defensive tech in Puny Banner, which is expensive, but can really come in clutch to keep him alive. Hulk is a lot of points to put into one basket though for my taste, as I like to cap any character to 5 threat for Web Warriors at the moment, but he is an effective tool for clearing the field and can still allow 5 wide at 18.

Thanos (Mind Space) - Thanos is a menace even to this day and even though he has been nerfed, his ability to move himself and create action economy with size unlimited throws on his punches is great. He has damage reduction 1 to 0 in his kit and with Mind stone he has two displacements for your opponent (a common opening gambit is Space Stone Cosmic Portal an enemy Mind Stone and enemy double punch them). He blends offense and defense wonderfully and is even able to move your own models around to keep them out of harm's way with Cosmic Portal. He also adds some much needed oomph to Web Warrior attacks on Death’s Decree turns (ASM doing 12 dice spenders on All Webbed Up Turns or 11 dice Gainers is ridiculous). He is a character that takes up a massive amount of your threat to put on the field though, so make sure you really master his play patterns before getting frustrated with him on the field. I would say that Thanos only should be a splash for you once you have mastered a good chunk of the game’s mechanics, since your 15 threat list would literally be Miles, Gwenom (or other 4, I don’t judge) and then Thanos. But if you can turn that to your advantage, out of no where Gwenom is attacking someone with 7 dice re-roll any including skulls on her second attack, and that’s a world I am ready to live in.

Conclusion

This list is nowhere near comprehensive and leaves some units out like Iceman, Shadow Cat, and even Nightcrawler, but it is a good starting point for your splashes. For newer players, I recommend sticking to the 2 - 4 threat category. Web Warriors is a faction that is defined by its ability to react and survive to enemy encounters, and playing a 5 or more threat limits who is on the field for you. This isn’t to say that it’s not possible to be successful with a 5+ threat unit, but it is going to be more difficult to get around the map and score out as quickly as you would like. Less bodies on the field means less points you can potentially score, it is as simple as that. When you are adding in a splash character, don’t immediately discount anyone. New play patterns are how we grow as players and learn the nuances of the game. I can say with confidence that I have used some questionable characters in Web Warriors that I was told were not viable for the group (my favorite was Magneto), but finding out for yourself if something works or not is key to the game. Who knows, you may find the next hidden gem that everyone has been discounting.

Did I miss anyone? Let me know who you use below!

Till next time Web Slingers.