The Secret Wars Volume 2 expansion for the Legendary® Deck Building Game releases on December 9. Here’s a sneak preview of some of the cards and new mechanics you’ll find in Secret Wars Volume 2! Enjoy this compilation of preview articles for Secret Wars Volume 2!
First, we have an addition to the Illuminati team: Beast – Doctor of Beatdown. As you can see, in addition to being dual class himself, Beast’s ability takes advantage of using other cards of either (or both) of those classes. This guy can get really large really quickly depending on how good you are at constructing your deck around him!
Second, here’s one of the new Masterminds! King Hyperion here has a few things going on. Right off the bat, you’ll notice he “Always Leads: Utopolis” so that might give you a hint as to the identity of one of the new Villain groups in Secret Wars Volume 2.
Also, King Hyperion shows off one of the new Keywords in Volume 2: Charge. Charge works pretty much like how it sounds, and yes, it’s that evil. When King Hyperion enters the city…
Actually, hold on. Let me stop there for a second. Yes, you read that correctly. King Hyperion enters the city. King Hyperion is the first Mastermind in Legendary to get his lazy butt off his cushy Mastermind throne, get into the city and get his delicate hands dirty. I guess the Masterminds finally figured out (at their monthly teleconference?) that if you want something done right, do it yourself!
So anyway, when King Hyperion enters the city, he starts off in the Sewers just as a normal Villain would. Then he charges. Any card with Charge will always tell you how many spaces to charge, and then you move that card up that many spaces, pushing all the Villains in the city up with him or her. So if you’ve got a full city, there’s going to be a few Villains escaping and Heroes that need to be KO’d. If any of them happen to have Bystanders… wave goodbye to some of the awesome cards in your hand you were planning to use next turn! And then on top of all that, if you let King Hyperion escape, you gain a Wound to add insult to injury.
And you can bet that the Utopolis Villains aren’t just going to stand around and watch the boss man have all the fun. Better act fast to catch them!
Next up, is the old Halloween staple…
SPIDERS!!! Well, maybe not actual spiders, but two new additions to the Spider-Friends team: Silk and Agent Venom!
Cascading Maneuver – Silk and Multi-Gun – Agent Venom show off another of the new Keywords in Secret Wars Volume 2: Spectrum.
You get the effect of a card with Spectrum if you have at least three classes of Hero, such as Strength, Covert and Instinct. This means a few things:
1) Grey S.H.I.E.L.D. Heroes, Hydra Allies, New Recruits and Sidekicks don’t have classes, so they don’t help.
2) It says “have” so you can count not only the cards you’ve already played this turn, but cards in your hand as well. Cards in your discard pile do not count.
3) Multiclass cards are especially good to trigger Spectrum abilities since you get more than one class on one card.
So, knowing that, let’s take a look at Cascading Maneuver – Silk first. The first thing you’ll notice is she is a 2 Cost card, which works really well to trigger all those Spider-Friends “2 or less” abilities. She gives you 1 attack, which is respectable for a 2 Cost card. But if you have 3 different classes, she’ll replace herself by drawing a card. Also, notice that she is a Multiclass card. She gives you Strength and Instinct right off the bat. So all you need to get the Spectrum ability is to have only one more class out of all the rest of the cards you have that turn. Plus, let’s not forget her Wall-Crawl ability. She’ll go straight to the top of your deck when you recruit her, letting you start triggering your Spider-Friends combo quickly. If you’re building a good Spider-Friends deck, you can use her card cycle to build up quite the drawing engine to lead to really powerful turns.
Which brings us to Multi-Gun – Agent Venom. He’s not a Multiclass card, being only Tech, but he does give you both 1 attack and 1 recruit, which is pretty good for a 2 Cost card. Plus, if you can trigger the Spectrum ability, you’ll get 2 attack and 2 recruit, which is bonkers for a 2 Cost card! Get a few of these in your deck and you can build up a lot of attack and recruit pretty early in games. With Spectrum, Multi-Gun – Agent Venom plays like a card double his cost. You might even be able to get two of him in less time than it could take you to get one 4 Cost card.
Plus, because he is Tech, he works really well with Cascading Maneuver – Silk in order to get you the three classes you need. Have both of these Spider-Friends on the same turn and you get 3 attack, 2 recruit and 1 free draw, all for playing just 2 cards! You’ll have at least 5 other cards to play that turn in addition to these two, so there is a lot of potential for you to burst for high damage or recruit! Get ready for some fun Spider Shenanigans in Secret Wars Volume 2, plus a whole lot more!
Let’s talk about one of the cool new mechanics that you’ll see in Secret Wars – Volume 2. Have you ever been playing Legendary and recruit a really powerful hero to join your side? While it’s great to know that your deck has just been boosted in power, you also have to wait to draw that new, awesome card because when you recruit cards, they go to your discard pile. The Wall-Crawl keyword helps with this somewhat, but not all heroes have that ability. What if you had a way to get that hero you just recruited into your deck immediately? What about if you just had a super-powerful turn, but now all your best cards are sitting in your discard pile waiting to be reshuffled into your deck? Wouldn’t you like to speed that up a little bit?
Enter Shang-Chi.
Shang-Chi is one of the most skilled martial artists in the Marvel universe. People who are adept in the martial arts know it’s crucial to have great footwork. Many martial arts styles are described as having “shuffling” footwork, because they move so fast. In addition to giving you a standard 2 Recruit Points for his 3 Cost, Shuffling Footwork’s ability makes him very good at moving your deck along at a lightning pace.
What does this mean? For starters, you can get those powerful cards back in your hand faster so you can put together your amazing combo turns more often! That’s the most obvious use. However, one of the cooler things you can do is protect the cards in your discard pile from enemy effects that might force you to KO them. You can’t KO a card in your discard pile if you have no discard pile! There’s certainly other uses as well, and we’ll leave those to you to figure out. And since this Shang-Chi is only a common, you’ll get plenty of opportunities to experiment with exactly what he can do.
One use that you won’t need to look very far to figure out is the synergy with Shang-Chi’s own heavy hitter rare card: Muscle Memory.
There’s a lot going on with this card, so let’s break it down. First, like Shuffling Footwork, Muscle Memory is an Instinct card, so it will help you trigger Shuffling Footwork’s effect if there’s anything in your discard pile you want to get back into your deck. Muscle Memory also gives you 5 Attack Points, which is definitely something that will help you out. Plus, this card has Wall-Crawl, so you’ll be able to put him on top of your deck as soon as you recruit it. Start setting up your power turns immediately. All that for 7 Recruit Points, and we haven’t even looked at his ability yet!
On top of all that, Muscle Memory says any time it would be shuffled into your deck, you can put it on top of your deck instead. So when your deck runs out of cards, and Muscle Memory is in your discard pile, instead of getting mixed back in and possibly being on the bottom of your deck, it’s guaranteed to be the next card you draw.
Every. Single. Time.
If you build your deck well, you can play off the great symmetry between Muscle Memory and Shuffling Footwork. Use Muscle Memory, then next turn, use Shuffling Footwork to put Muscle Memory on top of your deck, then next turn, use Muscle Memory again. Then after that, use Shuffling Footwork again. Rinse, repeat, and watch the Victory Points pile in! You’ll be generating a ton of Attack Points every other turn!
But that’s not all. Use Muscle Memory to take advantage of cards that let you Reveal, Guess, or Draw the top card of your deck when your discard pile is empty. How are you going to empty your discard pile in the first place? With your Shuffling Footwork of course!
Now, let’s take a look at a couple of the Villain cards your team of heroes will need to defeat. The first of the two is Angela, representing the Guardians of Knowhere group. In a nutshell, Angela is the long-lost sister of Thor, kidnapped and thought to have been killed as an infant. However, unbeknownst to Odin, she survived and has now returned.
This leads us to the first of two new Keywords we’ll be taking a look at today: Fateful Resurrection. When you attack a Villain with “Fight: Fateful Resurrection” you must reveal the top card of the Villain deck. If that card is either a Master Strike or a Scheme Twist, the Villain not only survives, but also reenters the city. Did you want to clear out the city a bit? Better hope fate is on your side! Because if it isn’t, not only will that villain reenter the city, but you also are probably in for some bad times at the start of the next turn with that Scheme Twist or Master Strike on the way!
Also, the “ascends to become a new Mastermind” effect was so much fun in Secret Wars – Volume 1 that we brought it back for Volume 2! Be warned, for if you cannot defeat Angela (who is a handful already at 7 Attack even without Fateful Resurrection), she will escape and ascend to become a Mastermind with a pretty filthy Master Strike ability, potentially KOing your best cards! If she comes up in the early game, it may spell trouble for our heroes!
There’s a few things to keep in mind about Fateful Resurrection:
1) If the Villain resurrects this way, you still rescue its captured Bystanders and do any other Fight effects the Villain might have.
2) When the Villain reenters the city, as normal it starts in the Sewers, pushing other Villains down, and you do any Ambush effects.
3) If a Villain that has ascended to become a Mastermind (such as Angela) resurrects this way, it stays a Mastermind and does not reenter the city.
How about a look at another Villain? Here’s Deadpool! This Deadpool is a Villain in a group bearing his own name: Deadpool’s Secret Secret Wars.
As you can see, Deadpool also will ascend to become a new Mastermind if he escapes (because a Deadpool Mastermind is just pure awesome, right?). Deadpool’s Master Strike ability is a throwback to his Hero card from the Legendary core set, and like Angela, he’s also pretty good at slowing down your progress once the Wounds start flowing. Similar to Angela, he also sports Fateful Resurrection so Deadpool could also come back repeatedly.
However, you’ll notice Deadpool only has 5 Attack. That means he’s easier to defeat, right? Oh, if only it were so easy. See that plus sign after the 5? It’s there because Deadpool also has a new Keyword called Circle of Kung-Fu. Whenever you see an enemy with Circle of Kung-Fu, there will always be a number before it telling you what Circle that Villain is. Deadpool is a 5th Circle of Kung-Fu Villain. That means on your turn, Deadpool has +5 Attack (for a total of 10 Attack), unless you reveal a Hero that costs 5 or more. Similarly, a Villain of the 3rd Circle of Kung-Fu would get +3 Attack on your turn unless you reveal a Hero with a cost 3 or more. 7th Circle of Kung-Fu? You guessed it: +7 Attack unless you reveal a Hero that costs 7 or more! (As a reminder, “reveal” means a card from your hand or that you have in play. Cards in your discard pile, victory pile and cards that were KO’d earlier in your turn do not count.)
So let’s sum up what Deadpool brings to the table, just in case you are underestimating him. If you don’t have a Hero that costs 5 or more, Deadpool gets buffed up to 10 Attack. If you let him escape, Deadpool ascends to become a new Mastermind, and can start dishing out Wounds left and right. And if you do manage to fight him, there’s a chance that it will all be for naught and you’ll have to do it all over again. Nasty!!!
The first card in our next group of previews is called Fateful Bridge and features Spider-Gwen, a very popular character making her first appearance in Legendary! Briefly, Spider-Gwen is Gwen Stacy from an alternate Earth – one where she was bitten by the infamous radioactive spider instead of Peter Parker. She goes on to become that world’s Spider-Woman.
As you can see, the new Keyword is called “Patrol.” Patrol will always be followed by the name of a place in the game, such as “Patrol the Bridge.” When heroes go out on Patrol, they’re looking to keep the city clear of dangers, right? In this case, keep the Bridge clear and Fateful Bridge will give you a bonus for a job well done, hero! Fateful Bridge already gives you a pretty solid 2 Attack points for only 2 Recruit, and because she only costs 2 to pick up, Spider-Gwen works great with other Spider-Friends characters. But clear out that Bridge and when Spider-Gwen goes out on Patrol she’ll also get you a glance at the top card of your deck. If it costs 2 or less (as most Spider-Friends characters do), you get to draw it. Fateful Bridge is also a multiclass card, so it will help you trigger not just hero combo abilities, but do a lot of the legwork to trigger Spectrum abilities!
In Secret Wars Volume 2, you’ll see many heroes with Patrol. Sometimes they will be patrolling the Bridge, like Spider-Gwen, or maybe the Bank or the Sewers. However, with the right card, you might be able to Patrol any of them you want for big rewards! How can you do that? You just need to recruit the services of an old (or should I say “young”) friend, Jean Grey!
Time-Traveling Jean Grey’s rare card, Change History, expands on the power of Patrol. With Change History, you get to choose which empty city space you’re going to Patrol instead of the card locking you into one. Jean comes packing 5 Attack right out of the gate. Plus, if you’ve played an X-Men hero earlier in the turn, you can trigger her ability, which is where she really shines. Is that 8-cost rare card below the Bank something you really want but you can’t afford 8 Recruit Points? No worries! Just clear out the Bank (if it isn’t already), then combo Change History with another X-Men hero and that rare card is yours for free, straight to the top of your deck!
So, how else can we use Patrol? Is it only about picking one city space and trying to keep it empty? Not at all! You’ll find in Secret Wars Volume 2 that you’ll be patrolling a lot of different areas. For example, you may end up patrolling ALL of the city spaces simultaneously. King Hyperion’s Master Strike might work in your favor for this one! Plus, Patrol isn’t only about the city spaces. You’ll Patrol places like your Discard Pile, the Escaped Villains Pile and more! Patrol is pretty versatile and you’ll see it used in a lot of different ways! For example, Patrol can also be used against you, as you’ll see in our next preview!
We previously showed you a preview of a new Keyword in Secret Wars Volume 2 called “Patrol.” When your hero goes out on Patrol, you’ll get a bonus for keeping the city safe. For example, if you play a hero with “Patrol the Bank” and there are no Villains in the Bank, you’ll get an extra ability that can help you play a more powerful turn. The bonus may help you to take down a strong Villain or even to recruit a hero you otherwise might not have been able to acquire.
However, Patrol isn’t always going to help you out. There are potentially three outcomes that can happen when you Patrol. The first two we discussed last week. First, if you Patrol a location and it is empty, then you will get a bonus. Second, you might Patrol a location but it is not empty. You won’t get a bonus, but at least you don’t lose anything, either.
That brings us to today’s preview card, which is an example of the third possible scenario: you might end up patrolling a location and if it is not empty, then something negative will happen to you. To illustrate this, here’s a look at today’s preview card: Warrior Woman, one of the Villains of Utopolis.
Warrior Woman is an exciting card because she impacts the game in many different ways (because that’s what happens when you wield a giant sword!). She comes at you with 8 Attack, so she’s no slouch to defeat by any means. Plus, as soon as she enters the city, she’s going to Charge one space (because that’s what happens when you wield a giant sword?). Hopefully you and your team have done a good job keeping the city clear. If not, there’s a chance she’ll trigger multiple escape effects just for entering the city.
You’re also going to need to defeat her rather quickly, because if she escapes she will ascend to become a new Mastermind. Her Master Strike ability is the third Patrol scenario we mentioned above. While she is a Mastermind, if there is a Villain in the Bank when a Master Strike is revealed, every player will need to discard a card that can generate Recruit points (in addition to whatever evilness the original Mastermind has in store for you, of course). Losing a card out of your hand in addition to the original Mastermind’s Master Strike will hurt for sure!
There is one silver lining, though… sort of. If you’re using King Hyperion as the original Mastermind, his Master Strike will have him enter the city and then Charge three spaces. That may clear out the Bank before Warrior Woman’s Master Strike, so you may not need to discard a card. Of course, King Hyperion himself might have just caused multiple Villains to Escape, who all possibly have their own Escape effects or captured Bystanders, so don’t thank him just yet.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this look at Secret Wars Volume 2. We’re getting closer and closer to the December 9 release, and we will have one last preview for you soon!
Here is one final preview as December 9 draws closer. We’ve already given you a peek at some of the new Heroes, Villains and mechanics you’ll be seeing in Secret Wars Volume 2. For this last preview, we’re going to shift gears a little bit and instead of showing off a specific character, we want to give you a taste of what you’ll be using all these new cards and keywords to accomplish.
Secret Wars Volume 1 introduced a new way to play Legendary. One player may now take on the role of the Mastermind and try to defeat all the Heroes. In order to do this, Secret Wars Volume 1 included 30 “Ambition” cards. The Ambition cards are placed in a separate deck for the Mastermind player, who can then use their effects to torment the Hero players. The Ambition cards empower the Mastermind player to do different things like KO Heroes, hand out Wounds, make Villains harder to defeat and make Heroes more difficult to recruit, for example. If you’re looking for some new evilness to use against your friends, Secret Wars Volume 2 includes 10 more Ambition cards to add to your Ambition Deck! After all, the Mastermind can never have too many ways to plague the Heroes! Here is a look at one of them, called Rack and Ruin:
Rack and Ruin is similar to a couple of previous Ambition cards. One is called Ruthless Strike, which allowed a Mastermind to trigger an additional Master Strike for 4 Attack points. Another is Insane Twist – pay 9 Attack points in order to trigger an additional Scheme Twist. So what makes Rack and Ruin so significant and worthy of singling out in a preview? It only does both of those things. And that is exactly what makes the card so brutal. Rack and Ruin gives no opportunity for the Heroes to gather themselves and fight back in-between the two effects. Often in Legendary, it’s not difficult to recover from either a Master Strike or a Scheme Twist. Even an extra triggered by either Ruthless Strike or Insane Twist can be no more a bother than a mosquito, depending on the situation. However, because Rack and Ruin triggers both effects one right after another, there is no time to gather yourselves and no time to clean up the first mess before the second calamity hits. This is a potentially devastating combination for the Heroes to overcome. Even if the game is under control at the time, Rack and Ruin can trigger the snowball that easily turns into an avalanche. On the bright side for the Heroes, this card costs 10 Attack points for the Mastermind player to use, and it will likely take a decent amount of time to build up that much Attack power. But when it does happen, look out below!
Right now, many of you are probably reading this and thinking, “That all sounds awesome, but my playgroup doesn’t use the Player-as-Mastermind option or the Ambition cards. We only like to play Legendary as a co-op game, because we love working together! Don’t you have anything cool for us today?” Absolutely! Not only do we have something sweet for you, but how would you like a way to use all of these super-powerful Ambition cards in your co-op games without requiring a player to be the Mastermind? Want to ratchet up the difficulty even more? Are you and your friends the best hero team around? You’ll definitely need to work together in order to take down a Mastermind who has Sinister Ambitions!
Sinister Ambitions is one of the new Schemes in Secret Wars Volume 2. If you’ve ever thought that the Ambition cards seemed pretty cool in concept, but you’ve never actually used them because you don’t utilize the “Player-as-Mastermind” option in your playgroup, then this is the Scheme for you! It treats Ambition cards as Villains, and you’ll have to prevent them from escaping in order to prevent an ugly, painful loss. This won’t be easy, because some of them (such as Rack and Ruin) have a pretty large Attack value. Plus, Sinister Ambitions makes them bigger and bigger as the game goes on, so it will become more likely that one or more Ambitions could escape as you get more Scheme Twists. When they do, you’ll have to resolve the potentially crushing effect. The Ambition “Villains” do give four Victory Points each, though, so you’ll definitely be rewarded for taking them out.
Also, it’s worth noting that Sinister Ambitions can be utilized as an additional way for you to vary the difficulty of your game. While Sinister Ambitions says to use 10 random Ambitions, don’t be afraid to pick and choose some easier ones if you want to start out slow or dive right into the deep end and use the 10 nastiest Ambition cards you can find! The choice is yours!
So ends the final official preview of Secret Wars Volume 2. We’ve enjoyed giving you an inside look into this expansion, and we hope you’re as pumped about it as we are. We also want to hear what you think about Secret Wars Volume 2, especially after you’ve played it a few times! You can always reach us via Social Media at /UpperDeckEnt on Facebook or @UpperDeckEnt on Twitter.
