Starter Sets

So what exactly is a starter set?

On the surface it might seem like just another affiliation pack but with some extra toys. But it’s actually, in my opinion, one of the best things Atomic Mass Games have introduced for Marvel Crisis Protocol since release. And I don’t say that lightly!

Up until now if you wanted to introduce someone to the game, you had to jump through a few hoops. If it wasn’t already hard enough to line up schedules, bring enough models, tokens and dice for you to both share, design the perfect ‘my-first-game’ scenario and walk them through it all while trying to control your own dice spikes so as not to put them off immediately…you then had to convince them to fork out ~$130 for a Core Set.

Not only that, but you then have to explain that “it’s really good value for money…so long as you intend to play Avengers or Cabal!” Now while the Avengers are clearly the most mainstream and recognisable affiliation we have right in the game…and playing the baddies is cool “once you explain that Baron Zemo, a character most people barely know exists is usually a must-take in this game” - they don’t scratch the itch of every Marvel fan.

One of my favourite ways to sell people on this game is to ask them “Who is your favourite superhero?” Then, 99% of the time they’ll name someone that is in the game and you get to say, “Oh great! They’re in MCP and they’re awesome.” However, if their answer is a character that’s not one of the two Core Sets available right now, then you now have to convince them to jump over that expensive hurdle before they can get playing. But with the introduction of Starter Sets…this is no longer an issue!

Affiliation Packs have offered a great way for players to pick up a new team for the past couple of years. But Starter Sets now come with everything you need to start playing MCP. Rulers, a scoreboard, dice, tokens, a generous selection of the affiliation’s Team Tactics Cards and even Crisis Cards - all for the much more reasonable price of ~£70/$90.

Image courtesy of Atomic Mass Games

Not only does this give you everything you need to start playing, but it also gives you a much more specific selection of characters based on the Marvel IP you’re most into. At the time of writing there are two Starter Sets available; X-Men and Spider-Foes. Two teams that I would argue are the next two most popular teams in mainstream media (not including Spider-man and friends) after the Avengers.

I can confidently say that these Starter Sets are now the best way to get into Marvel Crisis Protocol if you’re interested in the teams that are covered - and AMG have said that there will be more like this in the future.

They’re also a great purchase for existing players who want to expand their collection - as this is the best value for money on a per model level we’ve seen to date.

Image courtesy of Atomic Mass Games

Now, let’s take a deep dive into the characters that make up the X-Men Starter Set specifically, and what kind of roster options they give you.

Note that at the time of writing; the Starter Sets are yet to hit shelves, meaning we don’t have access to all the new card art that they come with (which is also worth mentioning…there are lots of new and nice alternate art cards in these boxes). So some of the cards pictured in this article may appear different to what you get in the box, but fear not - everything in the box is the most up to date version of the characters (which when it comes to Uncanny X-Men…means they’ve been buffed since their first release).