The War of Kings set is coming, and with it comes a plethora of new Crisis Cards which will shake up the competitive environment.

I had originally planned to do an article which looked at all of the crises changes and give some analysis. However, I reconsidered and decided I needed to sit and play the new crises so I could give thoughts based on actual play rather than pre-release speculation.

Luckily I was able to go to the Belgian Masters event where we played various events and got around 13 games using the new crises set.

So here are my thoughts on the new 2025 Crises, based on the games I have played.

Scientific Samples Found In Discovered Universe

Scientific Samples is a D Shape crises with 4 Asset extracts and 1 extra VP available. Holding an Extract (can hold 1 max) allows the character to gain 1 Power when they roll a failure, once per turn.

Additionally, during the Cleanup, if ALL of your Extract carriers are within Range 2 of a Secure Objective, you can gain 1VP.

With X-Men I picked this for the VPs and turn 1 strategic play. On Turn 1 I was able to safe grab the flank and move into a rear secure (we were on M’Kran) and get the bonus VP Turn 1. Going ahead T1 was really helpful, and against an opponent without too much displacement I was able to keep scoring 3 VP on many of my turns.

With my Hydra roster I chose this Extract as it allows a Large base model to deploy within R1 of the rear Objective and trigger Red Skull2’s Leadership. Getting 3 power on Abomination Turn 1 is great as it switches on the Throw or Radiation Zone.

Playing a much more attrition game, I was rolling a lot of dice and was really happy to be gaining power for the skulls. This kept Abomination and MODOK very fuelled for big activations. When I lost an early extract against Black Order, I was able to get the bonus VP a lot easier, so I only went 1 VP behind, rather than 2.

Overall this felt like a balanced Extract, with good benefits for both attrition and scenario play.

Terrigen Canisters Fuel Doomsday Device

Terrigen Canisters Fuel Doomsday Device is a brand new F Shape. It has 5 Asset extracts, and picking up a Canister results in a Physical Defence roll to try and prevent the Poison condition. Once you are holding a Canister your Speed becomes Short (note: you are NOT Slowed).

This made for a very painful game. Almost every single character to pick up a canister failed their roll and got Poisoned, eating vital power every turn.

We were also on a very wide Secure (Wedding Party) so the Short moves were bad for my opponent. I was playing Hydra and brought a few Short movers (Hulk, MODOK) to not sacrifice already bad mobility.

Lack of mobility and low power led to a very messy brawl forming in the middle, and made displacement very disruptive.

I think this is an interesting option for control based rosters and resource attrition. But it felt way too painful for me to want to bring it myself in the future.

Unexpected Guests Crash Royal Wedding

Ummm… I never got to play this. Sorry.

It looks fun and some fellow Brits at the event really enjoyed playing on it as it rewarded good positioning. I am looking forward to playing this in X-Men and Inhumans, as I think there are cool options to steal opponent’s Secures.

Inhumans Deploy Advanced Weaponry

I want to start by pointing out Inhuman Advanced Weaponry does NOT allow Inhumans to reroll attacks. Doesn’t sound very advanced to me…

This Crisis puts 4 Extracts on the midline, and they allow an Energy based Beam, similar to Montesi.

I played this a couple of times across the weekend. First of all with X-Men where I was able to set up multiple safe grab options with Storm’s leadership. This left me safe and my opponent with two models vulnerable on the midline, allowing me to follow up and attack, creating turn 1 pressure.

The second game I was running Weapon X into SHIELD. My opponent had priority and grabbed both extracts on one side with Fury Jr and his Grunts, going ahead by 2 VPs Turn 1.

This is one of the strongest plays on this scenario. With priority Fury Jr can capture an entire flank, allowing opponent to grab 1 before capturing the last extract. But the models are left on the midline, so I sent Logan into Fury to try and neutralise him and the Grunts as fast as possible.

Ultimately this extract has a great balance of the attrition (midline placement and beam attack) with scenario (rewards safe extracts and fast grabs). It will be staying in my scenario setups for sure.

Deadline To Destruction

A smaller diamond shape than D-Maps, with an Interact that can damage Extract holders makes this a very attrition focused Scenario. It’s like the Anti-Extremis.

I only got to play this scenario once and it was gruelling. I was running Weapon X, and I felt my Healing Factor models would be able to mostly ignore the Interact. My opponent played a fast and fighty Avengers lineup and I found the scenario created constant pressure on my models.

Even with Healing Factor, getting hit with the Interact after taking a big attack was nerve wracking. I had to assess whether that model could activate again and heal damage before my opponent finished it off.

A suprising MVP was Black Widow1. With the Long move, she could activate 3 Consoles a turn if need be. Her ability to get to any Secure during her turn made her vital in allowing attacking back points, or allowing characters to advance.

The scenario felt like a meat-grinder and was very psychologically tolling. Afterwards I chatted to my opponent and he admitted he felt the exactly same the entire game. Clearly this scenario creates a lot of pressure and makes both players constantly make decisions that impact the game state.

Overall it is a scenario that rewards mobility, aggression, and good decision making. It is a double edged sword that creates pressure.

Guardians Save Shi’Ar Empress In Style

A Pay-to-Flip scenario with a similar shape as Mutant Madmen, but with the points slightly closer together. Importantly you always roll 3 dice when you interact, and get a reroll if you are holding an Extract.

The first time I played this scenario it started badly. I failed my first 3 interact attempts and it became a real struggle. This astronomical bad luck aside, this scenario tries to be fairer by always giving 3 dice.

It actually felt good interacting with Doctor Voodoo or Hydra Troopers (Grunt) and getting 3 dice instead of the usual 1 or 2. I really liked it when I had the reroll.

This feels like a better Pay-to-Flip than we have had previously and will allow characters with lower stats to reliably interact and take control.

M’Kraan Crystal Gets Heroes Home!

The same shape as SWORD Base, but it has 19 Threat and the ability to gain a power if you are contesting and holding an Extract.

I probably played this the most over the weekend. For scenario teams it has easy flips and allows mobile models like Namor to flip 3 points in a single turn. For Attrition teams it gets you easy VPs, and contesting models are very nicely placed to attack enemies on points opposite.

Unlike SWORD where you would often have to play a tight 15 threat squad, you are usually playing this scenario at 17-19 points. This makes for overall a much better experience in my opinion.

Naturally I played this in X-Men, but I found best results with Hydra. Hydra Trooper are such good value when they interact for free and don’t depend on stats for dice.

Turn 2 your back points are loaded, and your team can gain extra power and spring a huge blitz into your opponent. I would Scientific Method on Weapon X, and charge him into my opponent’s back point. With 3 power he can start with an ESP Leakage (8 dice Mystic in this instance) and then follow up with an 8 dice Berserker Rage. This dazes 1-2 characters and allows him to flip the point after.

Then on the other flank, Abomination should have 4+ power allowing him to Gamma Bomb the opposing point and cause utter havoc.

From an attrition perspective this scenario allows for high threat, additional power, and leaves everyone close enough to initiate big brawls.

I love M’Kraan and expect to see it everywhere.

Wedding Party Targeted In Terrible Attack

Two midline points a long way from each other. Each Cleanup they can be moved R2 if your opponent controls them. Then everyone within R2 of the tokens loses 1 Power.

I have been trying this in Hydra and have mixed feelings about it. First of all it enables World Domination turn 1 with priority, which is great fun, as it’s a bonus VP and a lot of power. However the points are very spread out, and it is a lot less likely to turn into a centralised brawl than it’s comparable scenario: Fisk.

The power loss is automatic regardless of whether the points moved or not, so it is very draining on resources. But with Hydra contesting the point can get you the power back (RS2 leadership). But an experienced opponent repeatedly moved the point out of R1, but kept it in R2, so I lost power and gained none.

This scenario repeatedly turns into two brawls on opposite board sides, and if you need to reposition (e.g. to support opposite side, or chase extract holder) it is incredibly difficult to cover that much board space effectively. This means a bad deployment strategy can really impact your game

I had one game where I deployed badly. I committed hard to one side which I “won”, but under-committed the other side, which allowed my opponent to steal my extract and bunker up, out scoring me each turn.

A good “brawl” scenario, and a lot more rewarding for displacement and mobility. So I really need to think hard before adding it to my roster.

Conclusion

I really enjoy the new scenarios and have had a lot of fun playing them and learning their intricacies. I really do not miss or long for E-Shape Secures or 15 Threat games.

I absolutely cannot wait for the box to land and to start trying some Inhuman setups in these scenarios!

If you have any thoughts or questions, comment below!