From Panel to Play: Black Panther — Chosen of Bast

Imagine for a moment you are a mercenary, searching the Wakandan jungle for a legendary substance called Vibranium. As the nocturnal noises of the jungle reach a fever pitch, the soldier in front of you suddenly disappears into the canopy, yanked from above. Not a moment later, the man behind you vanishes into the darkness—his final cry cut short by a merciless attacker. Finally, a lightning-fast shadow engulfs your vision as you cower before a warrior clad in a suit the color of midnight. Protecting his homeland and representing the spirit of his people, today’s From Panel to Play focuses on Black Panther, Chosen of Bast!

T’Challa is imbued with superhuman powers due to the Wakandan ritual of drinking the heart-shaped herb. The Black Panther is a formidable hand-to-hand combatant, as well as a gifted scientist who has access to the wealth of his home. Advanced technology also gives him an edge against his foes. Black Panther is the Chosen of Bast, which means he’s a spiritual leader to his people as much as a symbolic one. The traditions of his nation come alive through his actions, giving him a unique insight through communication with his ancestors.

Black Panther, Chosen of Bast sprints into the fray as a 3 Threat Character. Bolstered by the spiritual might of Wakanda, T’Challa can hold his own against various external threats to his nation. He has 3 Physical, Energy, and Mystic defenses backed up by a total of 10 Stamina, spread evenly between his healthy and injured sides. Additionally, he’s an average size 2 and moves at Medium speed. While this profile might initially seem underwhelming for Bast’s chosen champion, there’s more on his character card to prove his worth in your games of Marvel: Crisis Protocol.

A legendary fighter, the Black Panther brings several new attacks to defeat the enemies of Wakanda. His first attack is a builder: Panther Strike. This attack is a Range 2 Mystic attack with 5 dice, and will cause Bleed on the roll of a Wild. You will undoubtedly rely on this attack to build power for Black Panther’s second attack, Spirit Predator. Another close-range assault, this is also a Mystic attack utilizing 7 dice, and on the roll of a Wild and a hit, will allow Black Panther to make a free Panther Strike attack. Additionally, he may reroll any number of his attack dice during that attack. Simple and to the point, these attacks are designed to deliver punishing strikes to a target and provide mystic depth to the Wakanda roster.

Join the battle with a variety of powerful superpowers. With both of his attacks being short-ranged, Pounce will help T’Challa close the gap and bring the fight to his prey. For 2 Power, this character is Thrown Short, and Black Panther does not suffer damage if he collides with another character or terrain feature. With a strong connection to his Wakandan ancestors, Black Panther can also spend 1 Power for Insight of the Ancients. When he interacts with an objective token, it may reroll any number of its dice, including Failure results. These superpowers ensure that T’Challa is where he needs to be, when he needs to be there, and will dominate a critical point.

Three innate superpowers round out Black Panther, Chosen of Bast. The first of these is Stealth, which will help infiltrate Black Panther closer to his quarry as he sneaks around the battlefield. The second of these powers is Superior Agility. This talent means that enemy characters cannot modify attack dice when targeting this character with attacks. And finally, Wallcrawler ensures that terrain won’t slow the Black Panther down as he hunts his targets down.

Naturally, Black Panther is affiliated with Wakanda and therefore is an instant addition to any Wakanda-affiliated roster, in addition to being affiliated with the Avengers, Defenders, and Midnight Sons. While his previous iteration is a force to be reckoned with, Black Panther, Chosen of Bast will undoubtedly feature in rosters that utilize M’Baku’s Blessed by Ghekre leadership. This leadership pairs well with Insight of the Ancients, which helps keep Black Panther on a key point, refusing to be pushed off while re-rolling objective interaction rolls. Because his attacks require him to be close to his enemies, Okoye’s Bodyguard superpower will also provide adequate protection to ensure Black Panther can stay right in the thick of things. Finally, with his Mystic-focused attacks, Black Panther, Chosen of Bast will balance out the Energy blasts of Shuri and M’Baku’s brutal physical assaults to provide true depth to Wakanda’s defenders.

If everything you’ve read so far was not enough to convince you to bring Black Panther to the fray, three new Team Tactics Cards help give T’Challa even more utility on the tabletop. The first of these is Wisdom of the Ancients, which can be played by T’Challa or Shuri. For 3 Power, the character that played this card
counts Failures as successes in their attack, defense, or dodge rolls. During their activation, an allied character with an active Wakanda Leadership ability may spend 4 Power to play King’s Command. Once per turn when an allied Wakanda character makes an attack, it gains 1 Power once the attack is resolved. This helps keep your characters well-supplied with power. Finally, Black Panther, Chosen of Bast and M’Baku can spend 3 Power when an enemy character picks up an objective token. M’Baku throws himself Short toward the enemy character that picked up the token and does not suffer damage if he collides with that enemy. If the enemy character suffers damage, Black Panther may Advance his speed towards M’Baku. This team tactics card aggressively shifts two of your most important characters into a key area, allowing them to team up to defeat a critical component of your opponent’s plan.

Once you’ve drank the heart-shaped herb and are ready to protect Wakanda, be sure to order the Black Panther Chosen of Bast & Namor the Sub-Mariner Character Pack at your local game store or through the webstore today. Be sure to check back later for yet another installment of From Panel to Play, the series where we give you your first look at how your favorite characters transition to the tabletop in Marvel: Crisis Protocol.

Until next time, Atomic Mass Transmissions, signing off!