Beschrijving
Marvel Champions: Hercules
“As Hercules has said countless times: have at thee!” – Hercules
He is a man known by many names. Born Alcaeus, renamed Herakles, then—to distance himself from Hera—he was renamed again to Hercules. Now, his friends just call him Herc. This son of Zeus has had a tumultuous relationship with Olympus throughout the entirety of his long life. Sometimes he is their glory, other times their disgrace. But no matter what, there are few problems that he doesn’t first try to solve with his immense, godlike strength.
Hercules Panhellenios—the demigod son of Zeus—smashes into the scene with this expansion pack, which introduces him as a new playable hero alongside his fifteen signature cards. Paired with a pre-built Leadership deck to aid him in leading the charge against his foes, you’ll be able to wield Hercules’ incredible strength from the moment you open the box. With the ability to take on herculean tasks in exchange for mighty rewards, Hercules is a unique and powerful hero worthy of the fame his name brings.
This pack also features a bonus modular encounter set, All Versus All!
The Lion of Olympus
As a demigod whose strength can match—and sometimes even exceed—that of Thor, our first Olympian hero packs a real wallop.
In fact, his might is so great that Hercules (Hercules, 1B) actually must begin the game with his power relatively restrained. During setup, you shuffle and set aside a pair of unique, three-card decks: the Gift deck and the Labor deck. In order to unlock his full power, you must complete the Labors of Hercules and earn his divine gifts, which take the form of permanent upgrades with various benefits. Get all three Gift upgrades into play, and Hercules (Hercules, 1A) will become truly unstoppable.
So, what are these gifts and labors? For starters, each labor takes the form of a challenge that only Hercules himself can complete. For example, the Defeat the Hydra (Hercules, 2) labor pits Herc against a boosted minion that only he can attack. When this labor enters play, Hercules must find a suitable non-Elite minion of at least 6 printed hit points—and that minion can come from anywhere, including Herc’s own set-aside nemesis set, if necessary. Dueling a hydra is a grueling task, but the reward is worth it: thanks to Hercules’ Atonement ability, once Defeat the Hydra enters the victory display, he gets to ready his identity and gain the top card of the Gift deck. This could be the Nemean Lion Skin (Hercules, 5), which boosts his durability, grants him steady, and lets you draw 4 cards when it first enters play. A worthy reward for a herculean endeavor!
The other two labors are similarly challenging to overcome, and the other two gifts are similarly rewarding. Embody Pathos (Hercules, 3) sees Hercules taking on a side scheme by himself, while Protect Humanity (Hercules, 4) puts a target on the back of his friend Amadeus Cho (Hercules, 8). After completing these labors, in addition to the Nemean Lion Skin, Herc can find himself wielding the Sword of Peleus (Hercules, 7) or the Shield of Perseus (Hercules, 6), fully equipping him for anything the villain has to offer.
As you might expect by now, much of the rest of Hercules’ signature kit builds off the number of Gift cards he’s earned. Take The Gift of Battle (Hercules, 9), for example, which reduces its cost for every gift in Herc’s arsenal. Similarly, his Son of Zeus (Hercules, 10) event gains additional effects for each gift earned, potentially allowing for a huge momentum swing in the late game. The Gauntlets of Hercules (Hercules, 13) can grant Herc a whopping retaliate 3 when he has all of his gifts in play (which stacks with the retaliate from the Shield of Perseus), and it pairs well with Herc’s Helm (Hercules, 15), which can let him defend without exhausting and soften an incoming blow. Finally, when you combine all the power of Herc’s gifts with his two copies of Lion of Olympus (Hercules, 16), you’re left with an absolute unit of a hero who can fell even the mightiest of foes.
Of course, the villains won’t just sit idly by while Hercules is completing his labors, and that’s where the rest of his pre-built Leadership deck comes in! Fellow Avenger Deathcry (Hercules, 18) hits as hard as Herc does himself (at first, at least), and she can stick around a long time if you’re willing to let Herc take a bit of chip damage. If you can’t afford the extra damage on your identity, you can attach the “Avenge Me!” (Hercules, 24) upgrade onto Deathcry so that she gives you some extra cards on the way out. Those extra cards can certainly come in handy thanks to Herc’s low hand size, but his deck also comes with a few other ways of helping you pay for his allies. For example, the Avengers Compound (Hercules, 32) can let you store an expensive ally until you have the resources to pay for them, while the player side scheme Call for Backup (Hercules, 22) can let you skip paying for them altogether. Both of these tools and more can help you get a heavy-hitter like Thor (Hercules, 20) into play, allowing you to take advantage of his and Herc’s Ancient Rivalry (Hercules, 26) sooner rather than later!
All Versus All
As we mentioned earlier, the Hercules Hero Pack also comes with a bonus modular encounter set!
This set centers around a massive free-for-all, All Versus All (Hercules, 41). This sprawling brawl is hard to get rid of, since every time a character (friend or foe) is defeated, it gains some additional threat. It also doesn’t help that All Versus All is repeatedly instigated by the god of witches, Hecate (Hercules, 42), and both she and the brutish Kyknos (Hercules, 43) are constantly adding even more threat to it. With the side scheme bringing a flood of extra encounter cards, you’ll have to manage your resources carefully—and figure out the best plan of attack—if you want to quell the fighting frenzy and refocus your efforts on the villain!
As with all other modular encounter sets, the All Versus All set can be added to any scenario for some added challenge. Can you survive this free-for-all brawl?
Son of Zeus
With his unbelievable godlike strength and his labors granting him powerful gifts, Hercules is a mighty hero that can be a powerful addition to any team.
