Marvel Champions: Synthezoid Smackdown Scenario Pack Review

DEAL WITH A DESTRUCTIVE BLOW

 Synthezoid Smackdown is the latest scenario pack to expand on the hero-versus-hero gameplay introduced in the major Civil War expansion for the larger Marvel Champions: The Card Game system. Aside from a title that could easily be a fitting title for a wrestling-style pay-per-view show, the pack advances the conflict surrounding the Superhuman Registration Act, pitting players against two "villains": She-Hulk and Vision.

 Set on opposite sides of the Civil War divide, each has a customizable scenario, as well as eight new modular encounters that can be integrated into the broader Civil War ecosystem. In addition, new maps are added for the PvP (player versus player) mode that was introduced in Civil War.

ENT

 During the Civil War storyline, She-Hulk (Jennifer Walters) and Vision (Jonas) weren't central characters in the conflict, but both held interesting positions alongside it.

 As a lawyer, Jennifer's support for the Superhuman Registration Act was a natural extension of her belief in due process and the judicial system, even if that system often exists in a "gray area." Most notably, she represented Speedball in court after the Stamford Disaster, the event that led to the creation of the Registration Act. She was also hired by her father-in-law, J. Jonah Jameson, to file a fraud lawsuit against Peter Parker after he revealed his identity.

 Due to the Act's actions, she was mobilized into SHIELD to train new heroes, and she also served with the Hulkbusters squad.

 The original Vision was destroyed during Avengers Disassembled, and the Vision in this case is a version from the Young Avengers team, created from the original Vision's programming and Iron Lad's armor.

 The Young Avengers joined Captain America and became an important part of his underground resistance, with Vision mostly serving in a technical support role, assisting with surveillance and intelligence gathering.

 During the final battle in New York City, he played a key role, using his ability to pass through objects to disable Iron Man's armor and give Captain America the advantage.

WHAT'S NEW?

She-Hulk

 In this scenario, players face off against She-Hulk, aided by SHIELD Ops, Thunderbolts, Deadly Duo, and Taskmaster. This battle is a real tough fight.

 Her skill set deals powerful instant damage to players, and also has a passive ability that deals 1 damage each time the player transforms into her alter ego. It may seem insignificant at first, but these hits add up quickly, and the added overkill makes defending with allies risky.

 Her other abilities grant additional activations, Tough and Stalwart statuses, making her a difficult target to contain. Her Enforce the Law side scheme can also break the strategy, forcing heroes to switch into alter egos to take her down.

 The key to defeating her is to accumulate statuses to keep her in check, but it's not always easy. If the main plot progresses and the Mighty Avengers appear, she gains a dangerous attack boost.

 The encounters in her set are no less dangerous. Some, like Thunderbolts, immediately apply confusion or stun effects upon spawning, while others simply add extra damage.

 The biggest threat, however, is Taskmaster. His abilities quickly burn through the encounter deck and add additional buffs thanks to the Villainous trait. When combined with Taskmaster's Academy, these bonuses can turn She-Hulk into a one-hit killing machine.

Vision

 Vision's scenario is more focused on disrupting players' plans and strengthening combos. It starts the game with an attachment card that flips over each turn, and both sides are dangerous in their own way - either through damage reduction or attack enhancement.

 As he accumulates new attached cards, he gains the Stalwart, Retaliate, and additional buffs to schemes or attacks. These cards are difficult to control, as heroes have to spend specific resources after their basic attack to remove them. His other abilities also remove buffs or block damage entirely.

 When you factor in the main scheme, which discards 3 cards during the villain phase, the heroes quickly lose their decks. As the main scheme progresses, all allies become fatigued, which slows down the ability to react to Vision's constantly changing configuration.

 Encounters with the Young Avengers and Moon Knight are some of the most dangerous threats I've seen in Marvel Champions lately. These minions remove buffs and limit damage, forcing heroes to sometimes "stomp in place." Every time Moon Knight appears, bad things happen. Some of his cards repeat reset effects, others automatically wear down and deal damage. Moon Knight himself has Retaliate 2 and Toughness, making him almost as dangerous as Vision.

PVP

 The expansion includes additional reward cards for both characters that can be used during competitive play. She-Hulk's rewards focus on direct attacks and resource generation, which is useful in difficult situations. Vision's rewards disrupt the opponent's plans by adding additional encounter cards or removing attachments.

BIG GREENS

 Overall, it's a solid addition. It continues the thematic gameplay of Civil War, pitting heroes against each other in challenging one-on-one duels. The current version of Marvel Champions is less focused on theatrics or trickery and more on the direct combat and situational shifts in strategy that have always been at the heart of the game.

 Some may find this uninteresting, as there's no campaign to tie everything together. The main plots also don't really tie in with the villains as much as they did in previous expansions, and feel more like general conditions than extensions of each character's abilities. This makes these encounters, like the larger Civil War box itself, feel a bit monotonous. This is probably done in favor of the PvP mode, so that the mechanics are simple enough to ensure a level playing field for opposing teams.

 Still, it has the feel of a classic beat-'em-up street fight that's easy to organize as a one-shot scenario thanks to the simpler villain mechanics. These fights are also great for testing out new decks. Both villains offer unique puzzles to solve, and the modular encounters further enhance this. I'd happily throw Moon Knight or Taskmaster into other scenarios if I wanted to get punched in the face.

 If you like single battles against familiar heroes and are looking for a new challenge, Synthazoid Smackdown is worth playing by gathering your strongest team.