Yep. We’re doing this.
You know him, you love him. He’s wacky, he’s wonderful, and he’s inevitable. We can’t have a Marvel game without the Merc with the Mouth showing up, right? It’s time for some fourth-wall-breaking fun!
Fantasy Flight Games is finally ready to announce the Deadpool Hero Pack for Marvel Champions: The Card Game!
This is the part where we’d use the same cookie-cutter intro text talking about how Deadpool chimichangas his way into battle in this expansion pack or whatever, but we’re gonna do things a little differently this time. And that’s because we did Deadpool’s hero pack differently; instead of 60 cards, his pack has 78, and instead of him coming with a pre-built Aggression, Justice, Leadership, or Protection deck, he introduces a whole new aspect to the game: the ‘Pool aspect.
Seriously. We’re not joking. So sit back, relax, and enjoy this whirlwind tour of one of Marvel Champions’ most anticipated heroes!
That’s a whole lotta Deadpool.
The Merc with the Mouth
Right off the bat, you can see that Deadpool (Deadpool, 1A) isn’t an ordinary hero. As Wade Wilson (Deadpool, 1B), he can search for any of his signature events by breaking the fourth wall, and he can recover from any injury with his massive REC value of 8.
Just looking at these cards, you can see Deadpool’s beside himself.
He’ll get a lot of use out of that big REC value, since his hero ability, The Regeneratin’ Degenerate, prevents him from being defeated, leaving him at just 1 hit point whenever he’d be taken out. That’s right, even if you want to get rid of him, you can’t. It does come at the cost of adding an acceleration token to the main scheme, but Deadpool doesn’t care about that; cards like Exhausting Personality (Deadpool, 3) and Montage (Deadpool, 7) have scaling effects depending on the number of acceleration tokens on the main scheme, and his best buddy Cable (Deadpool, 2) also gets stronger for each token on the scheme. If you’re worried about all the threat, you just have to tell the villain that It Ain’t Over (Deadpool, 11) ‘til it’s over.
Since Deadpool doesn’t need to worry about being defeated, much of his kit lets him be reckless (or “strategic”) with his hit points. Maximum Effort (Deadpool, 4) and “Yoo-Hoo!” (Deadpool, 6) let him damage himself to deal damage or remove threat respectively, while This Card is Fire (Deadpool, 12) gets stronger when his hit points are lower. He’s also Armed to the Teeth (Deadpool, 9), so he can go find any weapon he needs at any time and swap it with one of his trusty Katanas (Deadpool, 10).
Okay, let’s talk about the ‘Pool aspect now. We mentioned it earlier, but the Deadpool Hero Pack actually introduces a fifth aspect to Marvel Champions!
Look at the cute little doggo!
Themed around the Deadpool Corps., this aspect is all about high-risk, high-reward gameplay. ‘Pool allies like Dogpool (Deadpool, 13) and Headpool (Deadpool, 14) don’t take any consequential damage when they attack or thwart (because they don’t care about consequences), but they also come in with acceleration or amplify icons. But that’s okay! Because other ‘Pool cards like Barely a Scratch (Deadpool, 17) and “I Got This” (Deadpool, 21) get bonuses while those icons are in play, so it works out just fine.
Not every ‘Pool card has you Living Dangerously (Deadpool, 24), though. Some of them are “improved” versions of existing cards, such as Cutupper (Deadpool, 18), Get Rage-y (Deadpool, 20), and Not My Responsibility (Deadpool, 22). With the ‘Pool aspect, you can even copy a certain other hero’s Healing Factor (Deadpool, 29), because why not? And if you aren’t able to use the ‘Pool aspect to secure victory in your first attempt, well…you just gotta Git Gud (Deadpool, 28)!
There are lots more ‘Pool cards in this pack, including a whole bunch of extra cards outside Deadpool’s pre-built deck, giving you loads of customization options to try out. And of course, you can always build a Deadpool deck with one of the other four aspects, but why would you ever want to do that?
Crisis of Infinite Deadpools
As ridiculous as it may seem, the ‘Pool aspect really is the game’s fifth aspect. This means that any hero can make use of it, including those who can use cards from multiple aspects in their decks. However, there’s a catch: when you play a game of Marvel Champions, if at least one player is using the ‘Pool aspect, then a copy of Crisis of Infinite Deadpools (Deadpool, 37) is shuffled into the encounter deck during setup.
How dreadful.
If that card is revealed, then Dreadpool (Deadpool, 38) and his Dreadful Deeds (Deadpool, 39) come into play. Dreadpool has some nasty tricks up his sleeve, such as an Anti-Regeneration Ray (Deadpool, 40) or the ability to ‘Pool-ize (Deadpool, 41) your allies. Not to mention, he’s really hard to get rid of, which kind of reminds us of someone else. We’re sure it’s just a coincidence.
The Actual Best Hero Pack
So, there you have it! Deadpool is officially in the game. Whether you want to take the Merc with the Mouth’s wacky cards for a spin or try out the new ‘Pool aspect, this hero pack is a must-have for any fan of Marvel Champions: The Card Game! And there’s a ton of stuff in this pack that we didn’t even show off, like all those extra ‘Pool cards, because some of us didn’t want to spoil it all.
Look forward to Deadpool joining your team (or replacing it) when the Deadpool Hero Pack arrives in November!
You can pre-order your own copy of the Deadpool Hero Pack (MC44en) at 401 Games today! …does anyone ever actually read this part?
