Simply put, Adam Warlock rules. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Adam appeared in 1967, and in some ways represented a Christ-like figure in the Marvel roster. He had multiple appearances in those early days of his existence, including being a member of "Counter-Earth"(which by some accounts was a way to feature such a character in the Marvel universe without having him interact with the X-Men), but the character that we know is thanks to Jim Starlin and The Infinity Gauntlet.
If you haven't read it, The Infinity Gauntlet is one of the best and weirdest/wildest Marvel stories, involving Thanos collecting the Infinity Gems, trying to woo the embodiment of Death, and fighting just about everyone in the Marvel universe. Yes, Infinity War covered some of this, but the full story is much richer and more interesting in my opinion. In that story, Warlock is seen as a cosmic protector, a guardian of the Gems, which control all aspects of reality.
So, like Phoenix before, we have another MCP model that is effectively a god, so how does AMG get him on the table?
Asmodee North America
The models for Warlock, Moondragon, and Quasar are so easy to build
The box also comes with two other amazing models, Quasar (Phyla-Vell) and Moondragon, both of whom also have rich and progressive cosmic Marvel backstories, and it puts a big smile on my face to have them as well.
As usual, this character set includes the usual team tactics cards and character cards.
Threat levels vary. Warlock is a 7, Quasar is a 4, and Moondragon is a 3. All three models can be affiliated with the Guardians of the Galaxy (who have an upcoming Affiliation Box) and Warlock can bear any Infinity Gem, though the one you'll use is Bonded Soul.
Unlike other Gems, this card doesn't increase the threat value, and it allows you to power up Adam every time an enemy or ally is taken out of the fight, along with healing himself, removing a condition, and if that wasn't enough, all allies within 4 spaces of Adam cannot lose Power due to enemy tactics. That is a powerful card, and I think it will be on every table with Adam.
His movement is a medium, so he can get around the field nicely; and because of the Gem core rules, he gains 2 power during the power phase.
Once again, a 7 threat, but well worth it. His builder, Karmic Blast, is a basic energy attack, but it also saps power from the defender and gives it to Adam. This is for his big spender, Quantum Bolt, which costs a whopping 5 but does 9 dice of damage, allows him to throw the defender, and causes a mass heal for allies. That rules. His super powers only include some movement, rerolls, and damage reduction, but that's just fine when compared to that big spender attack.
Quasar is similar to Adam, focusing on energy attacks and movement, but she'll be played in close combat. Quantum Sword messes with the defender's dice, letting you change a positive dice result to a blank; Blast Wave does the same, along with setting the defender on fire. Her superpowers focus on moving her into 1-on-1 combat, and she uses Quantum Bands in order to move in close, steal up to 4 power, and potentially do damage. This interplay of "move in, steal, hit" pairs up well with Moondragon, her partner!
Moondragon is a sturdy 3-threat character, with 6 stamina per side. She can take a hit! Since Moondragon is a mystical monk, she is also best used in the middle of combat. Psionic Barrage is quick and can utilize a special rule to pop twice in combat. This is fun, weak, but is meant to build for Dragon of the Moon, which does up to 7 dice of damage along with a Hex condition. Like Quasar, she also comes packed with movement powers, dice rerolls, and protection powers. And for an additional threat, she can use the Mind Gem, which allows her to move enemies into range for attack or move them off of a goal.
The Character Pack includes a full set of Infinity Gems, some tokens, and the Character Cards
So let's dive into the Tactics cards since I mentioned Gems. This box comes with a fresh set of Infinity Gems, which allow certain characters to use the Gems for an additional price while granting great powers like teleportation, enemy movement, dice rerolls, and additional power gains. Four character specific cards also come with the set, including two for Warlock and two for Moondragon, such as the awesome Power Couple card, which allows her and Quasar to protect each other from movement attacks. Warlcock comes with a Guardians of the Galaxy card, which gives him a leadership ability to help fix bad dice rolls and allow an ally to use an Infinity Gem power for free.
Model-wise, these are beautiful pieces,and I want to take a second to call out the engineering of this kit. Moondragon is such a wonderful looking piece that you would assume would be hard to build, but Atomic Mass Games was able to engineer the undercuts and connection points to almost look entirely seamless. Adam, despite a complicated looking pose, was effortless to build. And I didn't even need instructions to build Quasar. It was very intuitive.
As you can see, the pieces look awesome, and I can't wait to dig into painting them soon.
Are you adding this cosmic team to your roster? Let us know!
Marvel: Crisis Protocol -Adam Warlock, Moondragon, and Quasar
Excellent
Adam Warlock is worth the cost of admission alone, but the additional characters are like sprinkles on this fantastic expansion to Marvel Crisis Protocol.
Pros
- Warlock and the Gems are powerful
- Models are a breeze to build
- Exceptionally fun powers for all three
Cons
- Use some sprue goo for Moondragon's head... trust me!
This review is based on a retail copy provided by the publisher.
