I hope y’all didn’t mind me taking a bit of break after Ministravaganza this weekend. The last ~week has been quite busy covering all the goodies and announcements. But after a couple days of breather I’m BACK to bring to you the next installment of the Three Box Challenge. This time: Defenders!
What is the three box challenge, you may ask? It’s simple – what affiliated rosters can you put together with just the core set plus three boxes of your choice. I know a lot of us obsessively purchase every single box, but I think a huge part of why this game is so great is you can pick up a core box, and a couple boxes of what appeals to you and you could take that to a game night or tournament and do OK.
If you’re coming to this article without having any MCP experience whatsoever and are doubting the value of the Core box, I’m here to tell you that it is worth it. For $100 you get:
All the dice you should need
All the measuring tools you will need
~Half a tournament board’s worth of terrain
10 characters (a standard game requires a roster of 10)
20 tactics (you’ll need 8)
3 secure crises and 3 extract crises (you’ll need 3 of each to play)
Compared to other big wargames like 40k/AOS and WMH, its really impressive what you can get for ~$200. So, this is somewhat akin to a budget/beginner’s MCP guide, focusing on a different faction each time.
And of course as the title says this episode is for the Defenders. Led by Doctor Stephen Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme (but not that Sorcerer Supreme, he has no leadership qualities), alongside NYCs greatest hits like Spider-Man, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Daredevil, and Hulk (is Hulk a NYC character traditionally? I feel like at least one borough would be levelled if he only operated in the big apple for more than a month). But more than their attack type flexibility provided by Strange’s leadership, they are defined by their signature tactic card:
It says Strange OR Wong can play this but you’ll want to use Strange with a gem to play this round 1. Thankfully Strange comes with the Soul Gem to enable this. It turns out in MCP if you can move really far for little or no power and no actions it makes for MASSIVE round 1 plays. Portal up, steal extracts. Portal up, shoot into your opponent’s deployment zone. For an old (but still comprehensive and relevant) breakdown of all the wacky stuff you can do, check out here.
You also come with the Montesi Formula Found
Which allows you to portal up with Iron Fist, grab the center, and double move back ensuring that on this, Struggle for the Cube, or Spider-Infected you are guaranteed an extract advantage with prio. And when you DON’T have prio your opponent has to first activation go grab the center or let you do it anyways. And if they go for the center you just repeatedly portal people in and beat the crap out of their extract grabber until they drop it anyways. Fun times!
But thats just one box, where do we go for our second set of Defenders? I know some Heroes we can Hire…
Both defenders, both solid 3 threats, both tanky melee fighters, what’s not to love? Iron Fist is the most popular 3 threat of TTS League Season 6 for a very good reason. Excellent power economy, even better tank stats, and access to Danny and Luke’s signature tactic card, Heroes for Hire:
Blocking an attack for a buddy and throwing the attacker away is HUGE, especially in the attack heavy meta we’re in. Sure you might not take the full wrath of an All You’ve Got team in a Three Box Challenge match, but teams like Midnight Sons and Spider-Foes will still HATE dealing with this. Your core every game at this juncture should be Strange w/ Soul Gem, Iron Fist, Luke Cage for a 12 point core with Pentagrams of Farralah and Heroes for Hire. That means to cover the standard 17 threat that you’ll play with the core box crises you want a 3 threat, a 2 threat (both of which you already have in abundance from the core box and Wong) and three tactics to round things out.
First option for that third box: Blade and Moon Knight
This might seem like a bit of a strange pick at first and hear me out. First off, both these gentlemen are affiliated and lend to a lot of list building flexibility. Secondly, it gives you a backdoor into a really solid Midnight Sons team – Blade, Moon Knight, Iron Fist, Strange, Widow at 17 packs quite the punch. But the real purpose for me is Moon Knight. He’s a flexible affiliated 3 threat who does work both up close and from afar. Spamming attacks with rapid fire helps you get the most out of applying Hex with Doctor Strange’s leadership. And if you can live the dream and portal up r1 into a quad tap with some bonus dice from your leadership I KNOW you’re going to have a good defenders game. Peep the following list:
[Characters]
- Baron Zemo: 3
- Black Widow: 2
- Blade: 4
- Doctor Strange: 5
- Infinity Gem: Soul: 1
- Iron Fist: 3
- Luke Cage: 3
- Moon Knight: 3
- Spider-Man (Peter Parker): 4
- Wong: 2
[Team Tactics]
- Bats the Ghost Hound
- Brace for Impact
- Disarm
- Heroes For Hire
- K’Un-Lun Training
- Patch Up
- Pentagram of Farallah
- Siege of Darkness
[Extract Crises]
- Spider-Infected Invade Manhattan [F]: 17
- Struggle for the Cube Continues [F]: 17
- The Montesi Formula Found [E]: 17
[Secure Crises]
- Deadly Meteors Mutate Civilians [C]: 17
- Infinity Formula Goes Missing [B]: 17
- Riots Spark Over Extremis 3.0 [D]: 17
This is a bit of a strange suggestion but I still stand by it. Sure only ASM is affiliated in the box and how often are you going to play a 5 threat, but this box actually opens up a very exciting extract focused game plan. ASM’s mobility portals notwithstanding makes him great for running up and stealing an enemy side cube/spider while tanking their punishment. Black Cat can steal extracts, and her signature card The Cat and the Spider
is a nice cherry on top. Also between Strange’s defense buffs and the innately great defensive tools on ASM (in higher threat games), Black Cat, Iron Fist and Luke Cage your team will be a tough nut to crack. Also if you decide you really want/need priority you can play 4 wide on 17 with ASM.
[Characters]
- Amazing Spider-Man: 5
- Baron Zemo: 3
- Black Cat: 3
- Black Widow: 2
- Doctor Strange: 5
- Infinity Gem: Soul: 1
- Iron Fist: 3
- Luke Cage: 3
- Ultron: 4
- Wong: 2
[Team Tactics]
- Brace for Impact
- Disarm
- Heroes For Hire
- K’Un-Lun Training
- Mission Objective
- Patch Up
- Pentagram of Farallah
- The Cat and the Spider
[Extract Crises]
- Spider-Infected Invade Manhattan [F]: 17
- Struggle for the Cube Continues [F]: 17
- The Montesi Formula Found [E]: 17
[Secure Crises]
- Deadly Meteors Mutate Civilians [C]: 17
- Infinity Formula Goes Missing [B]: 17
- Riots Spark Over Extremis 3.0 [D]: 17
And for the final box we’re going off-world. Or should I say, off-realm?
You’re getting this box for two main reasons: Valkyrie and the crisis. Valkyrie is one of the best 3 threats in the game, and just so happens to be affiliated! Portalling her up onto the midline so she can strike w/ strange leadership -> strike -> throw is sublime. She’s also another innate 2 power / round character to enable extract theft through the portal. Thor ends up having similar list building problems as ASM though, unless you want to play 4 threat or your opponent brings a 19+ threat crisis he probably won’t hit the table. But he does make for a good way to branch into Asgard next alongside Valkyrie. Just Angela+Enchantress and you’re basically good to go full dual affiliation! This does bring you another unique crisis along Montesi in the form of Fear Grips World as “Worthy” Terrorize Cities, colloquially known as “Hammers”.
It plays at 18 threat which you’re excellently prepared for with the team Soul Strange, Valkyrie, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Baron Zemo. You can portal Valkyrie or Iron Fist to steal a midline hammer and run away, or even go for their home hammer if you’re feeling a bit cheeky. I leave you with the following roster
[Characters]
- Baron Zemo: 3
- Black Widow: 2
- Doctor Strange: 5
- Infinity Gem: Soul: 1
- Iron Fist: 3
- Luke Cage: 3
- Spider-Man (Peter Parker): 4
- Thor, Prince of Asgard: 5
- Valkyrie: 3
- Wong: 2
[Team Tactics]
- Brace for Impact
- Disarm
- Escort to Safety
- Heroes For Hire
- K’Un-Lun Training
- Patch Up
- Pentagram of Farallah
- Sacrifice
[Extract Crises]
- Fear Grips World as “Worthy” Terrorize Cities [D]: 18
- Struggle for the Cube Continues [F]: 17
- The Montesi Formula Found [E]: 17
[Secure Crises]
- Deadly Meteors Mutate Civilians [C]: 17
- Infinity Formula Goes Missing [B]: 17
- Riots Spark Over Extremis 3.0 [D]: 17
And FINALLY, if you’re not supporting your FLGS for MCP, I would like to bring your attention to our sponsors for your wargaming needs in both NA and the UK:
NA:
https://www.discountgamesinc.com/
UK:
That will wrap us up for this Three Box Challenge article here on acrossthebifrost.com! Also make sure to check out the Roster Doctor on Facebook, Youtube and Twitch!
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