Marvel: Crisis Protocol Nova Rules Preview – The Human Rocket Arrives
Richard Rider, aka Nova, is coming in hot to Marvel: Crisis Protocol. Let’s see how this space cop stacks up on the tabletop!
Alright, full disclosure: I’m a fan of Nova. He’s not my most favorite character in Marvel, but he’s definitely up there (for sure top 5). That’s mostly due to the events of the Annihilation story line. I’m not going to cover that here as we’re focusing on Nova’s rules for MCP. That said, I really recommend that if you’ve ever been curious about the more “cosmic” adventures in Marvel. Grab the trade paperback if you can and give it a read.
ANYHOW, Nova is coming to the tabletop and I’m thrilled about it. But, if I’m being honest, at first glance I wasn’t sure he was worth the 5 Threat Level he’s clocked in at. But if you stick with me I think it will make more sense.
“As he matured and grew in his own strength, Nova began taking on as much responsibility as his awesome powers demanded. Initially focusing on superheroics on Earth, he eventually transitioned to serving as a sort of interstellar police officer, working with other Nova Corps officers against the criminals of the galaxy. He returned to Earth with regularity, and found allies and romance, but space called him back to adventure. Eventually he would lead cosmic armies against destructive cosmic evil, fight powerful enemies one on one, and form new teams and alliances to protect life and free will across the cosmos. Among the stars, Richard Rider is considered one of the most valiant and fearsome protectors of good.”
Nova In Marvel: Crisis Protocol
As mentioned he’s Threat 5. He’s got good defenses across the board with 4/4/4 and 7 stamina on both sides of his card. He’s also size 2 on a 35mm base and move of Long — so he’s gonna be plenty fast. And you’ll be taking advantage of that speed…
Now, his attacks might seem a little lack luster, but again, stick with me here. He’s got two “builder” attacks with Nova Burst and Gravimetric Cannon. Both classic Nova attacks. Nova Burst is the 2 range, 5 die attack. If you get a wild it also causes a Short Throw for targets of size 4 or less. It also only generates 1 power regardless of how much damage you did.
Gravimetric Cannon is range 4 and 6 dice. It’s also a Short Push if it does any damage. It also only generates 1 energy regardless of damage. Additionally, if you get a wild and shield, then you also hit the target with the Judgement Condition which is one we don’t see often.
It’s actually pretty mean. Following those builders we get to the big spender attack. This is Lightspeed Lance and it’s a Beam 5 attack for 7 dice. It costs a whopping 5 energy, too. If you roll wilds on those attacks, they also cause Short Pushes to the targets. Furthermore, after all the attacks are resolved, you Place Nova within range 1 of the last character targeted by this attack. That could be some SERIOUS movement shenanigans.
Now we get into his super powers. He’s got Flight and is immune to Incinerate (so his defense of 4 never drops). Faster Than Light is an Action: Attack/Place combo for 2 energy. That’s not amazing by itself but I think there’s some serious potential which I’ll get to later. Xandarian Worldmind is a defensive booster for Nova and his allies within range 3. You can spend up to 3 energy to get defense/dodge re-rolls. Not too bad for some emergency support.
Okay, so by this point you might be thinking “Okay, I’m not really impressed so far. Sure, he’s tough and has a lot of health…but he doesn’t scream Threat 5. What’s up?” Believe me, I was with you. Until I read Nova Force:
Nova gets 2 energy just for moving. AND he may remove ALL special conditions after the move! If that wasn’t enough, he ALSO gets to add 3 dice to his next Nova Burst or Lightspeed Lance attack! That is crazy.
With Nova’s amount of Pushes/Throws, Long Movement, self-placing, built in power generation, and basically condition Immunity, he’s earning that TL 5. He could easily move up to an enemy, nail them with an 8 die Nova Burst (for free mind you), possibly throw them off an objective (or into another target for more damage), and then place himself another range 2 away. I’m going to be roster building with him in mind for sure.
Nova Team Tactics Cards
I want to start with Call For Backup because I think this one is fun. You can use this card to corral enemy characters contesting an objective in a line so you can follow up with a Lightspeed Lance attack. Now, that’s 8 energy to pull off. So that’s not exactly cheap. But when it works… Alternatively, you can use the other option to slap them all with a Slow Condition and that seems pretty potent, too.
Veterans of the Annihilation War really leans more into the team work aspect of Nova. He and Gamora basically gain slightly modified versions of each other’s powers. Star-Crossed Strike is pretty potent for Nova as he can change those hits into a wild to trigger other effects.
Nova is available with the Yondu & Nova Character Pack which is up for pre-order now. The only downside to this one is…we’re going to have to wait until January 31, 2025 to get him on the tabletop.
