Dear Readers,
This is our fourth installment of our Web Warriors Primer, and in this week’s section we will be covering what scenarios you will want to bring and at what threat you will want to play. Marvel Crisis Protocol is a game of information, and knowing what and when to play is key to your success as a player. While Web Warriors are defined by their flexible splash characters and strong core cast of characters, we definitely have scenarios that we favor. We will break this primer down into three parts: Extracts, Secures, and Threat. All statistics were taken from Longshanks on May 14th, 2024, so there may be some discrepancy of percentages after the fact.
Extracts
Alien Ship Crashes in Downtown! 17 Threat C Shape (56% win rate) - This is a slower scoring objective, but it is beneficial to us in some aspects and obviously has a good win rate. One aspect is that we love to spend power, so we generally do not have more than 3 at the end of a turn for the core to blow up on us. In addition, enemies who are holding the core take damage, which means our middling damage output is supplemented by our enemies even playing the scenario. This also means that if you are hoarding power on a unit for things like All Webbed Up or double tapping enemies with spenders, you still can stay out of the reach of your own models due to our longer than average movement ability and have a better chance of surviving incoming damage because of the defenses we boast.
Research Station Attacked! 15 Threat E Shape (52% win rate) - Research Station is gross for us right now. The only real saving grace is that we can maintain offensive potential on the point with our mid-range attacks and placement abilities, but we do not like objectives where clumping up is the name of the game. Remember, if it’s ever been called murder alley by anyone it’s not for you, and you can’t fix the scenario with Web Warriors. I would avoid this one in your 3 Extract slots at all costs if it were me. If you do have to play this scenario, displacement and defense are the name of the game. That means bring your staggers, bring your Spider-Sense, bring your throws, bring your pulls, and bring your faith in the great web of life that you will survive the teams who like this scenario.
Paranoia Pummels Populace! 16 Threat K Shape (53% win rate) - I personally really like Paranoia, but I also run Lizard. Paranoia is a map that rewards you for sticking together, and while I do not normally recommend the clumping strategy, I do think that being able to bring Miles, Cat, Spectacular Spider-Man, Lizard, and Spider-Woman to steal the tokens from people and then run away as a group to score fast points is amazing. While over 50%, this scenario is not one of higher ranked ones, but I personally enjoy it and I find that not a lot of people have a 16 threat team that automatically comes to mind, much less one that reaches 5 characters. If you are to play this map, make sure you are running and gunning as much as possible and make sure you are staying close to your buddies to maximize your points every turn.
Spider-Infected Invade Manhattan 17 Threat F Shape (53% win rate) - Spider-Infected is a fantastic scenario for us as it limits enemy unit when they have a token, making steals easier to pull off while hindering us less because we have so many units that have superpower-based movement or movement baked into our kits that bypasses the detrimental effects of the scenario. It doesn’t matter if you get pushed backwards small if you are just Web Swinging R3 back to where you want to be after all. Make sure you choose your extract holders wisely, as going too early with a Miles, Spider-Woman, or Black Cat to pick up an objective will either just leave your opponent with a fallen objective or Black Cat’s steal ability just not working since you can only hold one extract at a time in this scenario.
Struggled for the Cube Continues 17 Threat F Shape (57% win rate) - Struggle for the Cube is an amazing scenario for us as it gives us two things we love - high score rates and power. Being able to force early scenario issues by diving your opponent’s side or just stealing cubes to gain the upper hand gets out of control for your opponent very quickly. Being able to Web Swing every turn with a Cube offsets the damage you take from the power gained as well, allowing you to run up, steal their stuff, and then easily play the rotate out of danger game by reacting to your opponent’s activations properly. Bringing Wong to the table also helps as he acts as a mobile clinic. This is a tough scenario for beginning Web Warriors players because the damage does stack up over time, but with the proper play pattern and gameplan it is easily one of our best scenarios for scoring quickly and efficiently.
Fear Grips World as “Worthy” Terrorize Cities 18 Threat D Shape (56% win rate) - Hammers is a good option for Web Warriors because it forces the opponent to spread out a bit more, and models like Amazing Spider-Man can easily dive your enemy’s back point to take their hammer and then use power generated through crits or damage taken to fuel Spider-Tracker and Fall Back to get back to safety. One of the things Web Warriors lack is solid, consistent offense and giving hammers to your models is a fantastic way to up their damage output. In addition, some of our Web Warrior models love having their triggers activated (Miles’ base attack throw is a top contender for ‘I need it to happen’) and giving your units more dice just gives them more chances to hit the triggers they need. When playing this map, it is key to take as many as possible early on so that your opponent doesn’t end up with a supercharged offensive unit (I have heard legend of a Cable with 3 hammers disintegrating people from afar. Children still live in terror of the Cabba Yaga).
The Montesi Formula Found 18 Threat E Shape (53% win rate) - In all fairness, I was surprised at the win rate on Montesi. We have some solid strategies like running ASM to the middle and back or just to the opponent’s back point, but giving your opponent a mystic beam attack on a low scoring secure just doesn’t seem like a great idea since most Spider-Sense doesn’t work on mystic attacks. But, numbers don’t lie and neither do I, so some things you will probably want to do in this scenario are to steal the objectives early and then spread out. It is a slower scoring objective, so more strategically placed models will probably be best to score more on our Secures. I do not recommend taking this as one of your Extract scenarios, but you do need to have a plan for it.
Deadly Legacy Virus Cured? 19 Threat C Shape (58% win rate) - Legacy Virus is a very good scenario for us in that it allows us to “cash out” quickly and more reliably than other factions. When a character is holding all three viruses during cleanup they are KO’d and instead of calculating the number of extracts held, you just gain 6 VP. Generally, by the time you are able to acquire all 3 on a single character, you are already running into a 9-10 VP scenario anyway, which allows you to close the game quickly. Why this works better for us than most is that we have access to multiple steal or drop options for tokens, which allows Black Cat to truly shine. She is difficult to kill in that your opponent’s show dice are what they get and she is able to re-roll a defense dice under Miles. Her steal ability by-passes the need to increase power to pick up the enemy token, and if she is near a Peter Parker model and he dazes an enemy holding a token then a quick Cat and Spider will allow her to pick one up as well. Normally slow scoring scenarios do not work for Web Warriors, but the sudden jolt of VP is a winner.
Mutant Extremists Target U.S. Senators! 19 Threat L Shape (55% win rate) - A scenario where we can score up to 6 points a turn? A scenario that actively rewards our ability to swing through the map unimpeded while having some great long movers? It’s a dream! Make sure you aren’t giving Cat or the other stealers early Senators if possible so that they can steal them on turn 2. Much like with Spider-Infected where you can push them back to you, having only 1 move for a lot of models means you can easily catch up to them with some planning starting round 1 and then force a drop and pick it up later in the round to swing the game in your favor. This is also a map where I fully endorse the use of All Webbed Up on turns where you do not plan to actually hurt a lot of people, as a slow moving model who only gets to move once is a lot easier to harass than one who moves their full length or it makes those models who might be able to get close enough to you to strike you when you have a long move get left behind.
Skrulls Infiltrate World Leadership 20 Threat J Shape (54% win rate) - This scenario works well for us in that we generally have decent physical defense, and later in the game the move that happens from failing your check when picking up the Skrull is easier to mitigate for us than other factions. Plus, it gives Amazing Spider-Man power when he rolls Crits, so you may get a refund for simply picking the Skrull up. The only downside for this mission in my eyes is that it doesn’t score especially fast as it is capped at 4 VP a turn. However, it is not a bad one for us to roll into when other factions pick it.
Secures
Gamma Waves Sweeps Across Midwest 15 Threat E Shape (46% win rate) - So, earlier we saw that Researcher has a 53%-win rate for Web Warriors. You would think that Gamma would be similar as they are both E shapes that are intended for you to kill each other. You could not be more wrong. While researcher allows you to move the researcher and play a sort of “soccer” for the game, which then allows us to still get movement in and forces our opponents to move too if they want to stay attached to the extract, Gamma is static. We hate static E scenarios. They are the worst. Gamma doesn’t just stop at being a static E scenario, it goes beyond plus ultra to let you know it hates you, the US government, and puppies by actively discouraging you from playing keep away with Extracts. If you run outside of R2 of a point you just get damaged. Welcome to the Thunder Dome, where we all hate it here. For my sanity and yours, don’t include this in your 3 Secures. It will be a bad time for everyone.
S.W.O.R.D. Establishes Base on Moon’s Blue Area 15 Threat G Shape (47% win rate) - You would think a map that gives us another push just for winning would be great? Right? Wrong. Oh, so wrong. We, as a faction, do not like pay to flip (P2F) scenarios as it inhibits our ability to use key superpowers and attacks. While you can get people off of points easily, it is then difficult to have enough power to take the point back and if they are still there it is a 50/50 toss up as to whether or not you have stolen the point. To give you context, 50/50 isn’t always a 50% chance to succeed. The last time I played Sword Base I lost every flip. That was a total of 7 flips over the game, while my opponent made all of his. If it was based on model count that would be different, but as it stands, I am glad the base is on the Moon so I don’t have to think about it in my roster.
Cosmic Invasion! Black Order Descends on Earth 16 Threat D Shape (56% win rate) - Cosmic Invasion is my favorite Secure outside of Portals. I don’t have to spend power to get points, it’s a D shape, and if you are pushed you get enough power to just Web Swing you back. If you are ASM it actually may give you 3 power instead. Awesome. Play it, love it, live the Web Warrior Dream.
Mayor Fisk Vows to Find Missing Witnesses 16 Threat H Shape (45% win rate) - Everything we hate in life is found here. Scenarios that damage us. Scenarios that give us stun. Wilson Fisk. It’s all here and if we are winning the point, we will probably lose it next turn because we are now damaged and stunned. The only real way to approach this scenario is to keep a group of models, like Venom and Ghost Spider, who are on permanent pull duty and not on points. Even then, this is an uphill battle where you turned the gravity up to maximum that just isn’t worth the secure slot in our rosters.
Deadly Meteors Mutate Civilians 17 Threat I Shape (55% win rate) - I shapes are kind of weird, just weird enough to give us the space we need to function. I personally do not run Deadly Meteors because I am not a big fan of P2F scenarios in Web Warriors, but with so many of the secures turning into P2F scenarios you are going to eventually have to either run them or against them. At least you have a fairly low chance of actually getting smacked by the scenario, unlike Madman where if you don’t have it you know you are getting smacked. Remember, every point of damage you take is deadly. 1 point of damage for Miles is literally 20% of his HP pool on either his healthy or injured side.
Infinity Formula Goes Missing! 17 Threat B Shape (53% win rate) - We like power. It gives us the opportunity to swing, steal, throw, and push people around. The problem is our opponent ALSO gets power if they are standing on our point. It is by no means a bad scenario for us, but it is a bit closer which allows for more fighting and creates problems when we have to go against factions who also enjoy power and utilize it a bit better than we do.
Riots Spark Over Extremis 3.0 17 Threat D Shape (59% win rate) - Now we are talking. Wide open spaces to minimize how many hits we are taking, ability to heal ourselves, and a good amount of VP per turn. I love Riots as a scenario as it also allows us to run 6 wide at 17 and keeps us healthy as I run around the map like a mad man. I highly recommend this scenario as one of your 3 secures.
Mutant Madman Turns City Into Lethal Amusement Park 18 Threat B Shape (49% win rate) - B shapes are tricky for us as they are juuuust spread out enough to give us a false sense of security, but not far enough to make it stick. Mutant Madman falls into the P2F problem for us along with the intimate nature of the map and makes us sad. Not to mention if you fail to take the point back it just deals damage to you, which for many of our Web Warriors is a huge detriment to be honest. Remember 1 damage is 1/10 of Miles' overall HP pool. If it has a sub 50%-win rate on this list, I would just avoid it like the plague.
Portals Overrun City With Spider-People! 18 Threat D Shape (60% win rate) - Normally, we hate P2F Secures. They are the absolute worst. But Portals gives us a D shape, and we love D shapes. In addition, this will allow us to use ASM to potentially flip a point, get a power back from it, and then run to another point to take that one too. It’s a great scenario for us, especially since we can isolate and remove models from the point to make it a bit easier to take back. In addition, the place R2 downside doesn’t affect us as much as other factions since we simply just swoop back into the action. Overall, Spider Portals is very nice.
Demons Downtown! Has Our Comeuppance Come Due? 19 Threat E Shape (43% win rate) - This scenario is the absolute WoOoOrRrSsSTtT. It’s the worst. Minimal scoring on a murder alley which then gives you incinerate as a status condition if you want to play the game? I sometimes wonder what they are thinking up at AMG since this is a scenario that only benefits murder. Long range enemies dominate this map and just blow-up people who are foolish enough to play objective based games. I recommend on this map focusing more on the extracts since getting incinerated is a bad proposition except for our most durable of models, like Amazing Spider-Man. Again, just hope you don’t run into this scenario and that AMG comes to their senses and shoots it back to hell where it belongs.
Intrusions Open Across City as Seals Collapse 19 Threat C Shape (56% win rate) - C Maps are a bit better than E maps but are still areas that can rock our skulls if we are not careful. Luckily, intrusions allow us to teleport around the map to create plays and reinforce units. It does come at the cost of dropping objective tokens but being able to teleport Gwen within 4 of a team to push them all off of a point is worth the teleport.
Super-Powered Scoundrels Form Sinister Syndicate 20 Threat F Shape (57% win rate) - F shapes allow us to get 5 points per turn if we are feeling froggy and Scoundrels gives us the added benefit of checks notes Cover. So, a faction that already has good defenses gets better defenses. Oh yeah, this is a winner. Go after your opponent to make sure you are just chucking people off of points and winning quickly. Beware Crime Syndicate here; they love this scenario and are, to an extent, way better at it than we are.
Threat
- 15 - 50% - 15 threat is a tossup for us, but luckily, we can go either moderately sized or wide for the scenario. Depending on what I am playing, I like to go with Miles, ASM, Black Cat, 4 of choice or Miles, Gwen, Black Cat, Spectacular Spider-Man, and Lizard for my 15s. But, again, always tailor your squad to the scenario and what you see across from you in the opponent’s list. You will need to plan out your plays a bit though, since at this threat level you may find yourself across from Skull3, Thanos, Mystique or some other Kaiju list that, frankly, we do not have the tools to take down the kaiju at this threat level.
- 16 - 54% - 16 Threat starts to give us some wiggle room to play around with. My go to 16 is generally play on Paranoia and is Miles, Spectacular Spider-Man, Gwen/Black Cat, Lizard, and Spider-Woman. This gives me a good number of displacement or steal models depending on what the scenario calls for with plenty of mobility to get away when needed. You can also play Miles, Cat, Gwen, SSM, Wong, and Toad to really mess with your opponent’s head as you are playing 6 models into them.
- 17 - 56% - Here we go. 17 threat is one of our best threat levels and for good reason. You can play 5 models with Miles, Gwen, Black Cat, 3 splash, ASM or Miles, Cat, 3 of choice, and two 4s. The possibilities really open up for us here and your opponent still has to guess how many spiders you are bringing to the field, which is difficult when it can be anywhere between 4 and 6.
- 18 - 53% - 18 is an awkward threat level for us. I think going 6 wide with 4 3 threats (Miles, Black Cat, Spectacular Spider-Man, Lizard/Gwen, 4 of choice, and Wong works well). However, 18 is kinda rare for us in my experience as I can’t remember the last time I had that threat level in a Web Warriors game. Not saying it doesn’t happen; I’m just saying it hasn’t happened often.
- 19 - 52% - 19 is another weird one for us. More boys, more toys doesn’t always equate to proper threat values in this game and this is our second worst threat level for a reason. You won’t be flooding the board any more than you already are generally, though if you bring 5 3s and the 2 2s you can suddenly play 7 wide to confuse and terrify your opponents. I mean, some of them are going to die to a stiff breeze, but when you confidently slammed down 70% of your roster, who is going to try to stop you?
- 20 - 57% - All jokes aside, this is a place where you can viably get a meaningful 7 wide in that you can run our 4 3 threats, 1 4 threat, and 2 2 threats. You will outnumber your enemy with a list that should be tailored to survive your opponent. Or you can run 1 4 threat, 1 5 threat, 3 3 threats and a 2 threat for a solid 6 wide strategy. Make sure you practice this threat level a lot, it is one of our most powerful scenario points according to the percentages but is also a point where your opponent’s bigger threats will emerge, and you have to play around them with more models.
Conclusion
Some games are decided before they even begin through your choices in scenarios. If you are bringing sub-par scenarios or choosing threat levels that we are not as good at then you may have some issues with winning in your MCP games. Make sure you tailor your list to your scenarios and not the other way around. Paranoia works much, much better with Lizard in your list than say Baron Zemo. It still works with the good Baron, but he doesn’t heal back like Lizard does. Conversely, Baron Zemo makes the Web Warrior team much better on things like Research station, where his charge and aura keep him and the rest of the group on the point and scoring VP. Scenario selection is one of the hardest aspects of MCP and can make or break your squad, but with enough focused practice and mindfulness of what you are bringing, then you are sure to have a winning combination.
Till next time Web Slingers
Comments
Post a Comment