Marvel Royale

You don't save the universe by thinking small...

Having reached a natural break point in Marvel Crisis Protocol (i.e. before I get drawn into the X-Men), I thought it would be an excellent idea to make them all fight each other. And then I roped in everyone else.

So this is the caper: a knockout tournament of superheroes, all leading to a grand finale. Played out across the autumn months, and reported for your pleasure, in the best WoffBoot tradition.

With some creative accounting, I can just about squeeze out 16 teams, all grouped by affiliation rather than optimal tactics. This is, of course, not the proper way to play Marvel Crisis Protocol, which involves selecting a team, tactics and crisis cards from a much bigger roster - so this is going to be as narrative as it gets.

The teams will all be pre-set, and so will the tactics cards (picked for their suitability to the team, rather than advantage). We'll be playing with fairly small teams - crisis level 15-17 - and there are ways to tweak them and try to ensure parity when teams face each other. No character will be switching teams, but there are three flavours of Spider-Man, for example, that can change a team's rating.

We're all novices at this game, so the emphasis is on fun (plus I'm genuinely interested in how all these characters will perform). And with the brutality of a knockout game, it's going to get dramatic.

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A-Force

A-Force were my first affiliation, and I still have a lot of time for them. As always, She-Hulk will be taking the brunt of the aggro, although smaller teams might suit her style, as there will be fewer enemies to gang up on her. Some decent speed and objective-grabbing from Wasp and Black Cat, so this is quite an all-rounded team.

Asgard

The Asgardians generate a lot of power, but being gods will do that for you. Thor is clearly their big hitter, but Loki and Enchantress are going to bring more subtle plays, plus the less-seen Mystic attacks. Captain Mar-Vell is a proxy for Heimdall here (his cosmic awareness matches with the all-seeing eyes), but I think he's making up the numbers here. Kraken has claimed this team, so their chances are already good.

Avengers

The original team has a similar composition to A-Force here, with some fast movers backing the play of a big, green hitter. Sam Wilson is taking on shield-tossing duties here, which may help to give Hulk some extra endurance. Monkey is in command of this team, so brace for maximum violence.

 

Avengers, West Coast

I know this isn't the true West Coast team, but we have to differentiate somewhere. Scarlet Witch is the star of this team, so it's success may hinge on whether she is permitted to do her thing. Vision is also not to be sniffed at, and Cap can keep them both well-defended. Quicksilver should be free to go anywhere he likes. Very quickly.

Cabal

Only three guys fit into this villain's roster, but who could want more? Characteristically, I don't think they will play well with each other, but power generation shouldn't be a problem, nor damage output. With the Mind and Space stones in his mitt, Thanos should be a dab hand at board control too. Their limited numbers and speed might play against them, so they might be vulnerable to a team that moves fast and avoids trouble. Rapid has control of these bad guys, so winning should be a snap.

Convocation

I freely admit I have no idea how this team will play. They're rocking an inordinate amount of Mystic attacks, which sets them apart from most teams, and should be able to really mess with other teams by loading them up with special conditions. Wong is a superb support character, I know that much,

Criminal Syndicate

Another set of bad guys, this time led by Kingpin. Having the numbers on their side should help their objective game, especially considering his leadership ability, and his crew give him a good roster of damage output, speed and inflicting special conditions. Abomination (a proxy Ulik) should be a useful as a Hulk-like character who won't have to carry the whole team plan. These will be led by a newcomer to WoffBoot campaigns: Rogue-2.

Defenders

I've always liked the Defenders for their vibe of being Avengers-with-worse-PR. Still, Luke Cage is a strong hitter, Moon Knight and Daredevil will be tough close-quarter combatants. The real treat is going to be Ghost Rider, who not only brought his own ride, but has a tactics card that allows him to possess a team-mate and return from death! He's going to be popular.

Guardians of the Galaxy

Everyone's favourite band of plucky misfits just about squeezed into a team, and they actually synchronise well. Rocket and Groot are going to be very annoying on the backline objectives, while Gamora and Drax rush forward to engage and Nebula picks off strays. If they can avoid taking too many early KOs, this is a team to watch. They will be controlled by Pootle, so settle in for the director's cut.

Hydra

At first glance, these look like a team of makeweights: Viper is pretty poor all-round and Sin & Crossbones make a mediocre double act at best. On the flipside, Baron Zemo is still one of the deadliest and most useful characters at his threat level and, once you can wrap your head around Mysterio's fishbowl, he's a fantastic asset. These guys could surprise.

The Invaders

Representing the Greatest Generation is Captain Carter (proxying Steve Rogers) and pals. A couple of strong hitters in the form of Hydra-Stomper (proxy Crimson Dynamo) and Namor. This crew could put an early hurt on an opposing team, allowing some sneaking support from the infiltrating Howling Commandos.

S.H.I.E.L.D.

Another team with numbers, and Nick Fury jnr's leadership ability had the potential to turn that into VPs, so keep an eye (just the one) on them in case they steal a victory. War Machine, Hawkeye and Winter Soldier make this very much a gunline team, with only Black Widow getting up close, and the S.H.I.E.L.D. grunts adding more bodies to the play.

Spider-Foes

The first of our Spider-Foe teams, this is the one with corporate sponsorship. A very formidable crew - Green Goblin is just insane (figuratively and literally), Lizard is incredibly difficult to shift and Rhino is both fast and powerful (with a cheeky objective-stealing tactic). Rounding out is Venom, who'd be an asset in any team, and you have a very fearsome quartet. Stranger-Come-Knockin will be taking this team, and they should suit his playstyle nicely.

Sinister Six

The other Spider-Foe team is more of a unknown quantity, but they are all narratively part of the Sinister Six (or, in this case, Four), which brings a tactics card benefit too. Doc Ock is never bad, Electro looks formidable and I think Kraven the Hunter is underrated (although easy to see why, given everyone else gets an animal costume). I'm interested to see how Sandman performs, with his two Sand Constructs and his ability to create/absorb them. Kraken is also commanding this lot, and will need to get through the learning curve fast enough to reach the quarter finals.

Wakanda

Another one of the bigger teams, and probably the most evenly balanced: Killmonger and M'Baku can bring the pain, Okoye and Storm (a proxy Shuri) are great support characters, which leave Black Panther himself free to go where's he's needed. Lack of speed or flight may be a problem here, but they should be able to mix it with the best of them.

Web Warriors

By no means least, the Web Warriors. Led by Miles Morales, this team will do best when it uses speed and webs to avoid trouble and drag opponents off key objectives. The exception will be Spider-Man Noir (a proxy Agent Venom) who has the muscle to mix it up with the biscuit-boxers. This team will be led by jhnlk, who surely wouldn't let Marvel's poster-boy fall in the first round?

And that's all the teams, folks. We kick off this week!