The wait is finally over for Marvel Champions players as the highly anticipated Iceman Hero Pack hits stores this week on May 17th. Introducing Bobby Drake, the iconic X-Men member with the power to generate cold and manipulate ice, as a new playable hero, this expansion promises to bring a refreshing, frosty twist to the tabletop scene.
Check out our review of Marvel Champions: The Card Game Here
“Here comes the coolest hero on the team!” A founding member of the X-Men and the team’s prankster, Bobby discovered his mutant ability to control ice as a young teen. He joined Xavier’s school to escape persecution in his hometown, and now fights to protect others as the hotheaded Iceman, bringing his frosty powers to the fight in Marvel Champions.
– Fantasy Flight Games
Freeze! Iceman’s Chilling Abilities
At the core of Iceman’s gameplay is his innate “Freeze!” ability, which allows him to attach Frostbite upgrades to enemies he attacks or defends against, lowering their SCH (scheme) and ATK (attack) stats. The Iceman Hero Pack includes 6 Frostbite upgrades that are set aside at the beginning of the game.
The “Frozen Solid” upgrade, for example, completely immobilizes the enemy, preventing them from attacking or scheming on their next turn. By combining “Freeze!” with cards like Ice Wall and Arctic Attack, Iceman can lock down even the toughest of foes, allowing his allies to focus on more pressing threats while the frozen enemies are stopped cold.
But Iceman’s abilities go beyond just freezing. His Cryokinetic Perception card turns his “Freeze!” ability into a source of momentum, generating Snow Clone allies to fight alongside him. The Ice Slide event grants him a powerful buff to all of his stats, while his trusty Power Belt upgrade helps him pay for his costly Ice cards, ensuring a steady stream of frosty abilities.
And when the situation calls for it, Iceman can unleash an Ice Blast to freeze and damage multiple enemies simultaneously, making him a versatile hero capable of adapting to any situation.
Iceman’s Pre-Built Aggression Deck
The Iceman Hero Pack includes a full 40-card pre-built Aggression deck tailored to Iceman’s icy theme, allowing players to start battling villains right out of the box. This deck packs serious firepower, with cards that synergize perfectly with Iceman’s freezing abilities.
Shark-Girl, for example, can increase her ATK when attacking an enemy with upgrades attached – such as Frostbite or Suppressing Fire. Iceman himself can utilize a Surprise Move to wallop an enemy and ready himself for more attacks.
Players can use the Looking for Trouble event to remove a bit of threat from the main scheme, then thwart the player side scheme Keep Up the Pressure to find hard-hitting Attack events like Take That! to bring the villain to their knees.
The Terrifying Sauron Encounter
As if Iceman’s chilling powers weren’t enough, the Hero Pack also includes a bonus modular encounter set featuring Sauron, a terrifying member of the Brotherhood of Mutants who can drain life from his victims.
Sauron’s abilities revolve around his Life Drain, which allows him to grow stronger by draining the heroes’ hit points. The “Eye of Sauron” and “Sauron Lives” encounter cards further ramp up the difficulty, making this encounter set a formidable challenge that can be added to any scenario for those seeking an extra layer of difficulty.
With his cool powers, adaptive playstyle, pre-built deck, and the extra Sauron challenge, the Iceman Hero Pack promises to bring a refreshing, chilling twist to the Marvel Champions experience when it releases this week on May 17th. Fans of control-oriented strategies and managing the battlefield will find Iceman’s freezing abilities to be a perfect fit, allowing them to dictate the pace of the game and keep their opponents on the defensive. So get ready to embrace the cold and conquer your foes with a frosty touch!
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