Everybody Assemble! A New Player’s Guide to ‘Marvel Crisis Protocol’
Marvel Crisis Protocol brings the beloved characters of the Marvel Universe to the tabletop in a fun, strategic game.
Marvel Crisis Protocol is a well-beloved game for miniature and Marvel fans alike. Thanks to the comic book universe’s vast and powerful cast of characters, MCP is putting out some of the most exciting and battle-ready minifigures in gaming. Thinking about getting into it? Here’s everything you need to know.
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MCP Brings Marvel Comics to Miniature Games
Marvel Crisis Protocol sits at an interesting intersection in the gaming world. The IP is well-known and much-loved, with material stretching back decades. The game itself is well-written by designers that have a strong background in competitive miniature gaming. These two facts work together to make the “new player” pool of MCP an interesting mix. You find a lot of veteran wargamers and fans of Marvel.
For better or worse, most of the existing content is geared much more towards the veteran gamer community. Many of the websites and podcasts that put out regular MCP content started as Warmachine or Warhammer groups. Players picked up MCP and have gotten very involved.
Getting Started With Marvel Crisis Protocol
So you have no experience in playing or collecting MCP? You just need a good roadmap for someone getting into the game for the first time.
The first place to begin is the Core Set. The MCP core set is by far the best deal for a new player. It’s the best core set of any game I have been involved in. That might sound like a bold claim. But the amount of stuff you get in the core set and the quality of those items is really refreshing compared to {other games}. One core set is enough for two people to get started.
In the core set, you get 10 models, dice, templates, tokens, cards, and several terrain pieces. The models are great and are very much in line with the rest of the models from the range. Some core sets have click-together models or stuff made out of cheaper plastic, etc to keep costs down. Not so with these models!
To Core Set or Not to Core Set?
Still, there are some people who would prefer not to buy the Marvel Crisis Protocol core set—usually because they aren’t fans of the included teams. If you really don’t want a core set you can buy the templates, dice, and terrain separately. The harder part to replace is the crisis and tactics cards that come in the core set.
The crisis cards (or scenarios) that come in the core set are very useful to have. They also give a good range of game types. Several core set tactics cards are used quite regularly even at a competitive level. You could definitely make do without them or could potentially get them second-hand.
All that said, I strongly recommend the core set as your first purchase to get into the game.
Avengers, Assemble!
Once you have your first models, you have to put them together! If you’re coming from other miniature games, this won’t be any surprise for you. But if you’re coming from a board game background, you may be surprised to find the game pieces aren’t built ahead of time! Be sure to leave enough time to build your models before you schedule your first game with a friend! Or offer them pizza to help you put your minis together.
These models are pretty detailed and come in more pieces than a lot of similar games. Even the simpler models in Marvel Crisis Protocol usually have at least 6-7 pieces. I just assembled Warmachine this week and that one model had 26 pieces! Luckily the pieces are well made for the most part and fit together well. Just test fit before you start gluing, take your time and you should be fine. The core set characters took me about 2.5 hours to assemble. I’ve been building models for almost 20 years.
Once you have the characters built, you can either finish off the core set assembly with the terrain or jump right into playing!
Your First MCP Games
The core set instructions include a simplified scenario to play to get used to the rules of the game. I would definitely recommend starting there. The two squads are pre-set, and you play with a simple pair of crisis cards. Play the scenario, then if you have the time reset it and swap teams!
Take your time and be sure to look up answers to your questions as they arise. If you’re coming from other tabletop games, be sure to read the rules carefully. Some concepts and terms are used a bit differently than they are used in some other common games.
After a couple of games with the basic scenario, add in some more moving pieces. If you’re sharing a core set with your partner, it may be harder to swap models back and forth and still have functional teams. But if you’re playing against someone with their own collection, now is a good time to try building your own. Remember, you can mix and match characters from different affiliations freely. Just make sure you end up with 17 threat value.
MPC tactics cards add a lot to a game. They can be one of the more challenging parts of your roster to choose. For the first few games, it is perfectly valid to play without any tactics cards. Try to focus on getting the core mechanics of the game down first. Alternatively, you can continue to use one of the recommended tactics card sets from the starter scenario.
At this stage, it’s best to choose the crisis cards at random for each game, instead of choosing them as part of a roster as it is spelled out in the rules.
Expanding Your Collection
Core set games are fun, but most of us want to collect and play with a lot more of the characters than just the starting 10! Once you have a handle on the rules of Marvel Crisis Protocol, expanding your roster to include some other models and affiliations is the next step.
Got any tips for readers new to Crisis Protocol? Share some of your experiences as a new player below!
