January 18, 2022 – From Upper Deck, the next evolution in one of the best deck builders is coming. Messiah Complex Marvel Legendary 27th expansion will be released tomorrow on January 19th.
Originally released in 2012, Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game still holds up as one of the best deck building board games, as well as, one of the best superhero board games. Over that time, the world has been expanded dramatically.
With this new expansion, the decimation of mutants has come to pass and the enemies of the remaining X-Men never rest! Based on the popular Marvel crossover story arc, you will join the ranks of the surviving mutant heroes in a race against new Masterminds and Villains to find a very special child who represents hope for mutants.
Play with new schemes and a wealth of content with this 200-card deluxe expansion, which includes the return of sidekicks, back by popular demand. On the verge of extinction and battered by villains, it is up to you to save mutantkind!
Check out a breakdown below of the different mechanics that have been previewed and how they will work into the new Marvel Legendary expansion:
CLONES, CLONES, AND MORE CLONES
Now on to the new stuff! Legendary: Messiah Complex has some really interesting new keywords. Some are tailor-made for certain Super Heroes. After all, how could we possibly hope to do any justice to a hero like Multiple Man without a keyword like Clone! That’s right, now some of your favorite Super Heroes can copy themselves!
CLONE HEROES
Multiple Man and the Stepford Cuckoos are literal clones. M and her sisters can transform into copies of each other. All of these use the new Clone keyword, saying things like “ : Clone”.
- Clone means: You may gain another copy of this card from the HQ. If there are none in the HQ, you may gain a copy from the Hero Deck and shuffle it.
- “Gain” means “put it into your discard pile.”
“When Recruited” Clones
Some Heroes say: “When Recruited: Clone”. This means Use the Clone ability immediately when you recruit this Hero. Do this right after you put the recruited Hero in your discard pile, after you refill its HQ space.
- Use a “When Recruited” ability only when you recruit a Hero, not when an ability causes you to “gain” a Hero or “put it in your hand.” So the copy you gain from “When Recruited: Clone” won’t make you gain more copies.
- Some Heroes say things like “When Recruited — : Clone.” Use this ability only if you have played a Hero this turn before recruiting this card.
And what works for the “good guys” must work for the “bad guys”…right? What could be more frightening than swarms of villains that just keep multiplying! Relentlessly marching forward, seemingly unstoppable!
CLONE VILLAINS
On a Villain, “Ambush: Clone” means: Search the Villain Deck for a copy of this Villain, and it enters the city, ignoring any further Clone effects. Shuffle that deck.
If you can’t find a Clone copy of a Villain (or Hero), just move on.
SHATTER THE OPPOSITION WITH A TACTICAL FORMATION
Ready for more Legendary: Messiah Complex? Well, let’s show off the rest of the new keywords!
Here’s a question for you: How would you like the sheer power to blast something into smithereens? Well then, our next keyword just might be for you. Say hello to Shatter!
SHATTER
Seismic shock waves or sonic shrieks can Shatter even the strongest defenses. Some Heroes say things like “Shatter a Villain in the Sewers” or even “Shatter the Mastermind.”
Likewise, some Villains say things like “You may pay 2 to Shatter”, making them easier to defeat.
- This means “Halve that enemy’s current . (round up to the nearest whole number.)” This effect lasts until the end of this turn.
- You can Shatter the same Villain multiple times, halving their (rounding up) each time.
- “Shatter a Villain” can’t be used on a Mastermind.
- “Shatter the Mastermind” lasts for one fight against that Mastermind.
- A few cards even let you Shatter a Hero in the HQ, halving their current cost (rounding up) the same way.
History has shown us time and again that a well-trained and well-organized force can often overcome the odds and defeat a much stronger force. Look no further that the Greek Phalanx, the Roman Legions, or today’s modern Special Forces. Now this kind of precision comes to Legendary with the introduction of Tactical Formation!
TACTICAL FORMATION
X-Force is known for precise strike force tactics. X-Factor Investigations likewise plans their missions to the finest detail. With this new keyword, some Heroes say things like “Tactical Formation 445: You get +3 .”
- You can use this ability only if you have two Heroes that cost 4, and one Hero that costs 5.
- You can count the “Tactical Formation” card itself.
- “Heroes you have” includes Heroes in your hand and Heroes you already played this turn.
Ever wonder what’s lurking the dark? Do you sometimes get the eerie sensation you’re being followed? That you’re being stalked? Of course you do. We all feel that way sometimes. Now when you play Legendary it’s not just a feeling any more. You’re being hunted! And whatever is out there is hungry and you’re its prey!
PREY
Some Villains say things like “Ambush: Prey on the fewest .” After this Villain enters the Sewers, each player reveals their hand, and you check which player has the fewest cards. You then put this Villain in front of that player, “Preying” on them.
- Any player may still fight that Villain as normal. However, if no player defeats that Villain by the end of the preyed-on player’s turn, use that Villain’s “Finish the Prey” ability against that player. Then, that Villain enters the Sewers, ignoring its Ambush effects.
- Important: Do the “Finish the Prey” ability after that player draws their new hand at end of turn.
- After Lady Deathstrike Finishes the Prey, or if you fight her while she’s Preying on a player, return her to the Mastermind space. You still take one of her Tactics if you fight her while she’s Preying.
- Multiple enemies can prey on a player at once.
SPECIAL SIDEKICKS AND UNVEILING SOMETHING NEW FOR SCHEMES
Longtime players love sidekicks and the publisher has finally found a way to bring them back! That’s right you heard correctly: a whole new group of Special Sidekicks are making their triumphant return to Legendary in the new Messiah Complex Deluxe Expansion!
SPECIAL SIDEKICKS: X-STUDENTS
This set comes with new “Special Sidekicks”: X-Men students, X-Force recruits, and members of X-Factor. When you set up, shuffle them face down into a Sidekick Stack.
Once per turn, a player can pay 2 recruit a Sidekick from the top of the Sidekick Stack. When you play any Sidekick, return it to the bottom of the Sidekick Stack.
- You still “played” that Sidekick and can use Superpower abilities based on its Hero Class. However, since it’s gone, it’s not one of “your Heroes” or “Heroes you have” anymore.
- When a card says “gain a Sidekick,” put the top card of the Sidekick Stack into your discard pile. That doesn’t count against the recruit-one-Sidekick-per-turn limit.
- If you have Sidekicks from other sets, like Legendary®: Secret Wars Volume 1 or Legendary®: Civil War, shuffle them all into a single face-down Sidekick Stack.
Designer Devin Low never ceases to amaze with what he continues to come up with to add to Legendary to keep it fresh, fun and engaging. Please welcome to Legendary, Mr. Low’s newest twist to this wonderful game – double-sided Schemes! And you thought Legendary had massive replayability before! Now we have schemes that make it so we won’t know how a game may end till during the mid-game. How’s that for some added suspense?
VEILED AND UNVEILED SCHEMES
The enemies of mutantkind often hide their true goals until it’s too late. All four Schemes in this set are “Veiled Schemes,” and will say “Unveiled Scheme” on the reverse side. When you use any of these Scheme cards, start with the “Veiled Scheme” side face up. At a certain point, it will say “This Scheme Transforms into a random Unveiled Scheme.” This means you remove the Veiled Scheme from the game, and replace it with a randomly selected “Unveiled Scheme” from all the ones you own. You might randomly select the reverse side of the Veiled Scheme you started with, or you could randomly select the Unveiled Scheme side of a different card.
