Oh Snap!: The Thanos Thesis – Chapter 4: Example Rosters

Coming to you in a joint effort of Ulysses, Fingerguns and UtilityCookie, we will try to shine a light on how to play the ultimate badasses of MCP, Black Order. If you like to win by absolutely dominating the opponent and showing them who’s boss, Black Order is the right affiliation for you. Black Order does not care how many points your opponents’ models cost or which models they are. Are you tired of facing Angela and her running away? Are you sick of Enchantress stealing your stuff? Do you just hate M.O.D.O.K? Come join the Order and watch them fall.

Example Mono-affiliation Black Order Rosters
Right now, you are probably asking yourself what does a roster that takes all of this information into account look like? To help answer this question, we have the Black Order rosters of the three authors below. As expected, we are all running the pieces we’ve laid out as mainstays for the affiliation.

Our Black Order Baseline
[Extract Crises]

– Alien Ship Crashes in Downtown! [C]: 20
– Skrulls Infiltrate World Leadership [C]: 17

[Secure Crises]

– Demons Downtown! Has Our Comeuppance Come Due? [E]: 19
– Riots Spark Over Extremis 3.0 [D]: 17

[Characters]

– Thanos, the Mad Titan: 6
– Corvus Glaive: 4
– Proxima Midnight: 3
– Infinity Gem: Mind: 1
– Infinity Gem: Power: 1
– Infinity Gem: Reality: 1
– Infinity Gem: Time: 2
– Baron Zemo: 3

[Team Tactics]

– All You’ve Got
– Bitter Rivals
– Execute
– Grievous Wounds
– Medpack
– Mothership

Each of us have added slightly different options to the above baseline, as detailed below.

Ulysses

[Characters]

– Ebony Maw: 5
– Okoye: 2

[Team Tactics]

– Advanced R&D
– Shhh…

[Extract Crises]

– The Montesi Formula Found [E]: 17

[Secure Crises]

– Gamma Wave Sweeps Across Midwest [E]: 15

After adding the Black Order core, the Time Gem, and the Power Gem, I needed to add a 2-threat and a 3-threat to make squads at each threat level. As with the other authors, I have ended up choosing Baron Zemo as my 3-threat, mainly for his ability to allow my Black Order characters to reroll dice. Although I ended up not including Valkyrie, I would be more than fine running her instead of Zemo. For my 2-threat, I ended up going with Okoye, due to her all around effectiveness. While the addition of these two characters to the core does allow me to play at every threat level, I found that I did not like the squads that I could play at 14, particularly against strong three character 14-threat squads. The rosters that I was facing that ran Senators and wanted to force 14 threat often had access to this type of setup, for example Asgard, A-Force, and Brotherhood. These setups often include key pieces that are hard for Corvus to take care of by himself, such as Thor with Odin’s Blessing, She-Hulk, and Magneto. With Proxima helping him out, however, it becomes much easier to take care of these threats, especially if using Execute. To have access to Corvus with the Reality Gem and Proxima at 14 threat, you cannot play Thanos with a gem. As a result, I have played Ebony Maw with the Mind Gem instead. While Maw is almost universally maligned, in this setup he can be extremely helpful. With the Mind Gem, Maw can set up plays for Corvus and Proxima, albeit not quite as well as Thanos. Since I was taking Maw, I also took Shhh…, his character-specific tactics card. When going all-in on your opponent’s key character, Shhh… can turn off key defensive superpowers, such as bodyguard and Magneto’s Force Projection. This makes dazing or KOing those enemy characters much more consistent. As a player, I like to go for “big plays”, so I took Advanced R&D. This card allows me to make things like Mothership and Execute plays happen when they otherwise would be impossible. When playing Zemo and Maw, I like to make fights happen in a way that I can have all of my characters close enough together to utilize all of their synergies, so I opted to take Gamma Wave as my third secure, to try and make these situations happen. I chose Montessi as my third secure, because I wanted a slow, centerline extract that did not have just one objective for when I faced things that are strong on single extracts, such as Enchantress.

Fingerguns

[Characters]

– Loki, God of Mischief: 4
– Toad: 2

[Team Tactics]

– Disarm
– Climbing Gear

[Extract Crises]

– The Montesi Formula Found [E]: 17

[Secure Crises]

– Terrigen Clouds Sweep Over City [C]: 20

Until something better comes along, I’m on Montessi. I flirt with Herbs, but I love the Time gem on Thanos too much, and, with priority, my extract spread gives me the option to force an RNG crisis (Skrulls/Kree Core), or a 17. I run Terrigen because 20 is too good to ignore for our squads and poison isn’t so bad, so long as we’re fighting. Also, the awkwardness some rosters have playing at 20 can be material.

Loki doesn’t see the table much, but people start playing around him from the time they see him on the roster and he’s money in the BO mirror. Toad is not better than Okoye, but he does a few things better. He can pull the skrull or the core off of Corvus, and his range 2 grab off the center-line means coming for him puts the opponent’s characters dangerously close to range 4 of Thanos.
Climbing Gear and Disarm are a ton of utility and anyone can use them. When used correctly, Climbing Gear lets you buy an action for three power and Disarm isn’t just good for gaining a damage advantage, it can also starve a key-piece for power. Since adding Terrigen, I’ve gotten more interested in Power of the Cosmos to clear a Secure with Thanos, but Climbing Gear is a sure thing and I don’t like to pay to roll dice I can’t fix.

UtilityCookie

[Characters]

– Loki, God of Mischief: 4
– Okoye: 2

[Team Tactics]

– Power of the Cosmos
– Disarm

[Extract Crises]

– Research Station Attacked! [E]: 16

[Secure Crises]

– Cosmic Invasion! Black Order Descends on Earth [D]: 16

After the core characters, which I will probably be playing 90% of the time, the two character spots that I have left are needed to help with some problematic threat levels, mainly 14 and 16, and with my most hated matchup, the mirror. Okoye is a 2-threat that can be helpful at 14 and 16. At 14, she enables me to play Thanos with the Mind Gem, Corvus with the Reality Gem and her. At 16, she enables me to put the Time Gem on Thanos. My gameplan usually revolves around Thanos and Corvus clearing/controlling the board. Proxima is there as an extract holder and secure sitter, while paying for some tactics cards. Okoye can easily fulfill that same role. The only downside to this is that I lack priority control through the husband and wife combo, but I do find that, at these point levels, the extra gem is more impactful for setting up key plays.

The mirror is something I really hate to play against. At 16 and up, I replace Proxima with Loki in the mirror, adding gems as the point values go up. (Power Gem at 17, Time Gem at 18, the core characters plus Loki at 19, and, again, the Power Gem added at 20) Loki brings his Root aura and on the injured side the No-Crit aura as well, he, like Corvus, is able to count blanks, so also greatly benefits from Death’s Decree.

Since I like to run two gems on Thanos, Power of the Cosmos really helps with attrition on the more narrow scenarios. A Time Gem Thanos can easily get three enemy characters within range 3, so three attacks from the tactics card, plus potentially two more from his remaining actions, can really rack up a lot of damage.

Disarm is there to close out two consecutive rounds combined with Bitter Rivals. I like to start a round with Bitter Rivals, combining it with All You’ve Got to daze two to three models between Corvus and Proxima. I then KO these models the following round and use Disarm on a remaining character in range. On the Bitter Rivals round, surviving characters have their damage reduced, and, the following round, their damage is reduced by Disarm. This can be really brutal if set up right.

Research Station is there as a third extract that is not really an extract but plays more like a secure. So it will not cost me more than a 2 point loss on extracts if I do not commit to the centre. If that situation happens it will mean the enemy team is right in the centre for your team to beat up. It stops the popular Angela and enchantress play since they can’t run away with this extract which is a nice bonus.
Cosmic Invasion is there because I really like to play Black Order on D scenarios. Between Cosmic Invasion and Extremis Consoles, I can always put that plan in play, when I do not have priority.

Even after seeing the full rosters, you may be asking how to choose between all of the different options at each threat level and for different matchups. Well, your wish is our command. First, we enumerate the different characters that we take at different threat levels. Second, we will go over which tactics cards we choose depending on the matchup.

Choosing Tactics Cards Based on Matchup
Eight tactics cards is not very many. In our case, we’re bringing All You’ve Got, Medpack and Mothership to nearly every game. Common sense suggests that Bitter Rivals value decreases on wider scenarios, but Black Order tends to win one on one battles. This means that your opponent’s forces are often clumped up for strength in numbers, waiting for you to approach. Bitter Rivals can be brutal to these clumped up swarms, or, should they choose to play around it, we’re served their minis one model at a time. Taking this base leaves but a single tactics slot in any hand of five. This final card is chosen based on the matchup.

One of the first things to check is whether your opponent has at least one key model that you want to KO quickly and has Field Dressing. If this is the case, Grevious Wounds can be a great piece of tech. Is you opponent spamming tanking models that generate extra dice on defenses, count blanks, or grant cover? Then, Execute can be a great pick. This can be the case against models like Captain America, Black Panther, Dr. Strange, and Magneto. If you are facing another attrition focused list, Disarm can be a great choice. Disarm can particularly be maddening if used as a follow-up to Bitter Rivals, neutering a key model for multiple turns or ensuring your own safety by stacking them on a key turn. If your opponent has models with powerful superpowers, such as Enchantress ability to steal an extract, Bodyguard, or Magneto’s Force Projection, and you have Ebony Maw on in your roster, Shh is great. It can completely unwind an opponent’s best laid plans and, while it may not hit the five often, 14 threat is popular and is at its most effective at lower model counts. Are you facing a control list that has pushes for days? This makes Climbing Gear a prime pick, since it allows you to spend power to negate a lot of pushes and forced advances using out of turn movement.This can be amazing for moving onto secures for VPs, leveraging position into priority, and ensuring a husband and wife activation. Are you in a matchup where you will need to Mothership round 1 or in a matchup where you will need Proxima to interact with an objective and use Mothership on round 2? What if you think that you will be able to pull a prime target in walk-strike range of Corvus and want to Glaive’s Edge round 1? If you foresee these situations occurring, Advanced R&D can enable these types of plays.

Choosing Characters & Tactics for Different Threat Levels
In this section, we show the different squads that we take at different threat levels, as discussed above and in Chapter 3.

14 threat
Evaluate how much priority matters, and bring as much beef as you can without giving up the game plan. This means that your opponent’s squad is often more important than the crisis when choosing what to run. You will be playing on Senators or SWORD. You could be playing one of your extracts or secures, with or without priority.

15 threat
At 15 threat, you’re playing on Gamma Waves or Wakandan Herbs. Again, depending on how you’ve decided to build, you may or may not have picked secures, you may or may not have priority.

Wakandan Herbs is a lot like Futbol or Hockey, in which players can be a goalie or a forward. Black Order is better at playing goalie. Keep them from scoring, enjoy the slow game, and grab your herb if you want extra dice and don’t mind the single move.

Gamma, on the other hand, is a very dynamic, fast scoring secure, which favors a few squads. If you’re running Gamma, beware Wakanda, Web Warriors and any list capable of pushing into five wide territory and packing control options. It is an E shaped crisis, so bring the core and with any luck, fight and profit.

16 threat
You can consider flexing in your four threat option over Proxima and Power, but more often than not for sixteen threat games we’re bringing the core and adding power to Thanos. If you do not think that you will need the husband and wife combo to deal with you opponents key models or get priority, Proxima and the Power Gem can be replaced with a 2-threat and the Time Gem. You’re playing on Fisk Witnesses, Black Order Descends or the Research Station extract. Regardless, you probably don’t have priority but considering these options present a split C, a D or an E, respectively, just stick to the game plan and you’re well within your wheelhouse on all of these.

17 threat
At 17 threat, we’re hitting our stride. We’re running three or four wide, with a potential activation count as low as two. Crisis options here are vast, but our optimal options are somewhat limited. Thanos with the Time and Mind Gems may be the most dynamic piece in the game, and, if you’re not facing down a strong control list, he should be your go to. In other cases, you’re flexing your 2-threat character over the Time Gem to get another body on crises spreads that include multiple extracts that a character can only hold one of. If you bring three bodies to Spider Infected, you can’t score more than three points a turn, and you’re subjecting your action economy to the whims of the dice.

18 threat
Two flip secures (a B & a D) & Hammers are the crises that have this threat. You probably don’t have priority, or you wouldn’t have picked 18. Adding Zemo to the core for flip secures gets you another body for running & gunning. Evaluate priority needs and consider the same approach, playing a point down at 17 or flexing in your non-core four threat for Hammers.

19 threat
Adding your 2-threat to Thanos with the Time and Mind Gems, you get 17 threat. 19 threat is a prime Black Order Mirror threat value, so, if you’re considering Loki for the flex four slot, he can shine here as well with the mind gem. You’re playing on Demons Downtown, Panic!, or Legacy Virus. You have reasonable plays on all of these, regardless of which squad you’re bringing, and should have a good chance at claiming priority after round one.

20 threat
20 threat is another upgrade spot, where we’re taking one of our strongest builds, the 17 threat squad that has Thanos with the Time and Mind Gems and Zemo. We’re playing on Terrigen or Alien Ship for this one, both lend themselves to our gameplan. While 20 threat is one of our strongest, it allows most rosters to field five-wide squads, and many can threaten six-wide. A few lists, including Wakanda, Guardians and Avengers, can pretty easily flirt with seven-wide squads at 20. With that many bodies on the ground, Black Order has a great chance at extra VPs from Thanos’s leadership, but with that many guns on target, any mistake on our end most likely results in a dazed or KO’d model on our team. Playing into some of the widest opponents, there are also times to consider going five-wide here, bringing in your 2-threat over the Time Gem. However, remember, at five-wide, you should still only have four activations when you want or need it.

Example Dual-affiliation Black Order Rosters
The rosters above are all mono-affiliation Black Order, but that is not the only way to set up a roster. Below, we have a two dual-affiliation roster, one for Brotherhood and one for Wakanda. Again, each roster is followed by one or more setups for each threat level.

LoS_Jaden’s Black Order + Brotherhood

[Characters]

– Corvus Glaive: 4
– Infinity Gem: Mind: 1
– Infinity Gem: Reality: 1
– Infinity Gem: Time: 2
– Magneto: 6
– Scarlet Witch: 5
– Mystique: 3
– Proxima Midnight: 3
– Thanos, the Mad Titan: 6
– Toad: 2

[Team Tactics]

– Asteroid M
– Bitter Rivals
– Brace for Impact
– Climbing Gear
– Deception
– Grievous Wounds
– Medpack
– Mothership

[Extract Crises]

– Alien Ship Crashes in Downtown! [C]: 20
– Fear Grips World as “Worthy” Terrorize Cities [D]: 18
– Mutant Extremists Target U.S. Senators! [C]: 14

[Secure Crises]

– Deadly Meteors Mutate Civilians [C]: 17
– Demons Downtown! Has Our Comeuppance Come Due? [E]: 19
– Gamma Wave Sweeps Across Midwest [E]: 15

Below are the different squads suggested by LoS_Jaden for the different threat levels.
At 14, you are playing Brotherhood.
At 15, you are playing Black Order.
At 16, you are playing Brotherhood.
At 17, you are playing Black Order.
At 18, you are playing Brotherhood.
At 19 and 20, you are playing Black Order.

14 threat

15 threat

16 threat

17 threat

18 threat

19 threat

20 threat

Black Order + Wakanda

[Characters]

– Black Panther: 4
– Corvus Glaive: 4
– Infinity Gem: Mind: 1
– Infinity Gem: Reality: 1
– Infinity Gem: Time: 2
– Okoye: 2
– Proxima Midnight: 3
– Shuri: 3
– Thanos, the Mad Titan: 6
– Valkyrie: 3

[Team Tactics]

– All You’ve Got
– Bitter Rivals
– Blood to Spare
– Climbing Gear
– Disarm
– Medpack
– Mothership
– Wakanda Forever

[Extract Crises]

– Alien Ship Crashes in Downtown! [C]: 20
– Skrulls Infiltrate World Leadership [C]: 17
– The Montesi Formula Found [E]: 17

[Secure Crises]

– Demons Downtown! Has Our Comeuppance Come Due? [E]: 19
– Gamma Wave Sweeps Across Midwest [E]: 15
– Riots Spark Over Extremis 3.0 [D]: 17

The combination of these affiliations is something you would run when you want to be able to switch from KO focus to control focus and want to play a bit more flexible on the lower point values. At 14, you will either be picking a secure if your opponent is playing Senators or an extract if your opponent is playing SWORD. If you get to pick Gamma, playing the 9-threat Wakanda base of Panther, Okoye, and Shuri and Corvus with the Reality Gem can be great. If you are playing another secure or picking extracts, a 14-threat Black Order squad may be better. At 15 on Gamma,the traditional Wakandan 5-wide on Gamma can also be played, Gwen or Ock is replaced by Proxima, then. At 16 threat, you could run the 9-threat and add Proxima and Corvus to the mix, adding the Reality Gem at 17. Another strong team is the same 9-threat Wakandan core with Thanos with the Mind Gem, which brings some serious control. At 17 threat, you could upgrade Thanos with the Reality Gem.There is an argument for running Vibranium Shielding here if you like that team, -2 damage on Thanos for a round is pretty solid. At 18 and up, you just play the Black Order squads discussed above, possibly replacing Loki with Black Panther.

14 threat