Marvel: Crisis Protocol - Asgardians Affiliation Pack Review

Who likes Thor? How about the other Thor? Loki? How about my real Asgardian freaks out there who are Lady Sif fans? That's right, we've got new Marvel: Crisis Protocol minis to check out (plus some bonus terrain worth peeping)! Recent past coverage of mine includes my review of Black Panther, Namor and more, and we've also covered some great X-Men recent releases. 

Now Atomic Mass Games has sent along a Marvel: Crisis Protocol - Asgardians Affiliation Pack for me to check out, so let's grab Mjolnir and throw ourselves into it!

Thor, Hero Of Midgard

This version of Thor is absolutely a beast at 6 threat. While both of his standard attacks are relatively close range (with a range 3), they absolutely smash. First up, his builder attack Odinson's Ire has a Strength 7, and with a lucky roll you can end up zapping nearby enemies with some sparking energy. But his real whammy of an attack is I Would Have Words With Thee! which costs 4 power but is Strength 10! Plus, you then throw any character under size 4.

He also comes with a full toolkit for dishing out damage, from the ability to throw size 4 or smaller objects, a reactive ability that dishes out revenge damage after attack, and the ability to fling himself Medium.

So, how do you run Thor, Hero of Midgard? You get him stuck in the action, acting as a high-damage dealing zone controller. You can get into it with an enemy on an objective, unleash hell on them, throw them out of range, gain control, and then continue moving on.

In our playtests, Thor, Hero Of Midgard kind of acting like a prowling, lashing out shark (shout out to Jeff!) who would patrol the middle of the board, striking hard any time someone got too close!

Loki, Prince of Lies

These days it seems like everyone loves Loki (except the mini painters among us who have to try to replicate those tiny, crisp yellow lines on his green jumpsuit)! And Loki, Prince of Lies might be just what your fighting force is missing, as he's a very slippery, very fun character to field.

His attacks don't deal a ton of damage, but as you'd expect they truly manipulate others on the board. From giving them the Root special condition, to an area attack that moves every enemy who's hit by it, Loki's here to mix it up. Along with moving allies around the board and having the ability to potentially dish out some retaliatory damage, there's one ability that truly stands out.

This Isn't Mischief, This Is Mayhem is an always-on ability that reads "When attacking or defending, this character adds [Skull] results in the enemy character's roll to its total successes." What!? That's totally wild, and I love the way they're willing to break the rules of the game for a character who's constantly breaking the rules of the Marvel universe.

In our playtests, Loki does exactly what you'd expect him to do - he messes with the board and scoots enemy players around. I will say, I was surprised at his damage output potential. Though a lot of his damage will be pinging for small amounts, it stacks up more. I imagined he'd play more of a control/support role, but he can really shave off some HP.

The Mighty Thor

Now it's Jane Foster's turn to throw around Mjolnir with The Mighty Thor! Along with an incredible model sculpt, The Mighty Thor is meant to serve as an agile attacker. Her builder can throw enemy units a short distance away, and her heavier attack has the chance to electrocute any other enemies that happen to be nearby the initial target.

She also has a 3 power ability that let's her take a move action followed by an attack action, can throw terrain around, and can re-roll defense dice against certain attacks.

This makes her a slightly more defensive version of the other Thor in this box, even if she can't quite dish out the same beat-down as he does. What I really like about her is her Team Tactics Card (which I don't usually cover too deply in these top-down reviews), but let's her remove her activated token, activate again, and then she's K.O.'ed. It's a great last ditch effort to remove a major threat or retake control of an objective before the clock runs out!

In our playtests, she didn't make as noticeable an impact on the board as some of the other characters in this box, but a very lucky roll from her powered up attack made for a very memorable moment where she ended up electrocuting a big batch of enemies clustered around an objective. If She Be Worthy, Indeed!

Lady Sif

Lady Sif, Asgardian, master swordswoman, friend to Thor... she's one of the coolest looking Asgardians with her red and white motif and killer sword, but how does she play? Straightforwardly, that's how! Her two main attacks are really all about putting damage and pressure on an opposing character, and then sticking close to them.

This is a fun mechanic, supported by her Charge ability, where with proper dice rolls she's constantly pushing enemy characters away and then following them, essentially locking them into battle with her or blocking them from getting back to objectives.

Add to that her ability to reroll attacks and defense if she's up close to an enemy, and the fact that she's always reducing incoming damage by 1, and you've got a sturdy melee-ish fighter who can take a bit of punishment and keep fighting back. Not complicated, but super-useful!

Bonus! Asgardian Terrain Spotlight!

Along with this really fun Asgardian Affiliation pack, Atomic Mass Games also released two different terrain sets to go along with them!

And what I'm most excited about in regards to these terrain options is not how they can evolve the board beyond sci-fi and city street wargaming (as previous terrain sets did), but how now each terrain kit comes with something that adds to the game (should you choose to play with it). Both of these sets come with One-Shot cards!

As you can see with this set, along with creating beautiful pieces of terrain perfect for an Asgardian battle, if you choose to use this one-shot these Beacons (anything with fire coming out of it) remove the Stealth superpower from any units! How fun!

This also modifies the threat of the scenario you're playing this with by 3, which could give you that little extra oomph of power you need to sneak in a stronger character.

Now this piece of terrain is truly a centerpiece for the table. This is the Asgardian Shrine terrain pack, and the one-shot included with this is so fun. By turning all [SHIELD] rolls into additional power, you'll ensure everyone on the field is launching their most powerful attacks.

If you like the idea of these One-Shots as much as I do, you'll love the fact that Atomic Mass Games has released downloadable One-Shots for all of the terrain sets they've produced for Marvel: Crisis Protocol.

Marvel: Crisis Protocol - Asgardians Affiliation Pack - Final Thoughts

In our playtests, my only real note of concern is that The Mighty Thor feels slightly underpowered for her cost, and doesn't do quite as much flashy stuff as the rest of the figures in the box. That's an extreme shame, because Jane Foster as The Mighty Thor is one of the coolest, most innovative character decisions Marvel's ever done with the Asgardian storyline, and she deserves a wildly cool miniature.

But other than that, the design is perfect for these minis, they're potent and powerful, and those terrain sets (sold separately, I should mention though I think that's obvi) are absolutely gorgeous. This is a pack that truly can't be missed.

The products used in the creation of this review were provided by Atomic Mass Games. Photos of painted miniatures courtesy the author, photos of terrain courtesy Atomic Mass Games.