Marvel Crisis Protocol Brings in New Players with a New Core Set

Marvel Crisis Protocol is years into development, with tons of expansions being released after the original core set was launched. In October, Atomic Mass Games re-released the original core set with new sculpts for minis, new command cards, new leadership abilities, and more. This is great for bringing new players into the game, but by changing what was included in the box (although it mimics the original) allows longtime players to get new content as well.

I think right away, that is the point we need to make here. As Atomic Mass Games has said many times, while this is a brand new core set, and while it does mimic the contents of the original core set so many years ago, this is not a replacement for that set. Those old minis, cards, and more are still valid characters and still useful in a game of Marvel Crisis Protocol. A lot of folks were initially pretty upset about this, but I’m glad to not only see Atomic Mass Games clear up that confusion, but also for them to have the foresight to make this decision early on.

What this core set does allow, however, is for necessary updates to be made to make these characters more align with what has been released over the past few years. Primarily, this is providing certain characters with more affiliations for making powerful and complimentary teams. Doc Ock for example now has the Sinister 6 affiliation, and Iron Man now has Shield affiliation. That allows Iron Man to work well into a Shield team. This just allows for new and varied ways to use these characters from the original core box in new ways. I think this is huge.

Atomic Mass Games is also providing different (and more) terrain in the box, including a gas station, crashed car, and a gas pump that were not available in other sets. The other items in the set are things available in other sets, but does give you a lot of terrain to get our game going without having to purchase an additional set. This includes cars, bulldozers, dumpsters and more. 

This core box also has the update Crisis Cards (which all cards were updated just a while ago) but these cards are even more updated, including more detail on the single card than was originally on a dual card system.

While the original core set is being retired, the characters from that original set are being released in affiliation packs to get those characters. Again, this is a great plan from Atomic Mass Games to continue to provide these sculpts and cards for future use.

Is this Core Set Worth It?

If you are brand new to Marvel Crisis Protocol, I think this is a fantastic deal. You are getting quite a few models with all the update rules and cards, plus a decent amount of terrain to make your first game feel really good. Even if you never purchase more characters in the future, there is amazing value in this. While there is a massive increase in price between the original core set and this one, this is a better package all around.

If you are jumping into the game for the first time, you can feel confident that this really is the best place to jump in, and you won’t have to worry about outdated cards, rulesets, and more.

For returning players, this might not be the best option. Longtime players have likely amassed a good amount of terrain, and so a lot of what’s in this box might not appeal to some. They might just want the miniatures and the cards – I don’t see this ever being released outside of this format, however, so if longtime players wan this content, they might need to bite the bullet and make the purchase!

We will have more on Marvel Crisis Protocol coming up soon as we get the painted miniatures down on the table, but for now, check out all the great Marvel Crisis Protocol over on Atomic Mass Games’ website!