From Panel to Play: Maximus & Black Bolt

The Boltagon brothers couldn’t be more different. Black Bolt, the stoic and powerful king of the Inhumans, is the embodiment of order and is completely dedicated to protecting his people. Maximus, on the other hand, is an unpredictable whirlwind of chaos due to his electric charisma and unstable psyche. Despite their conflicts, a deep, unspoken loyalty runs between them. In times of crisis, they can unite against external threats, combining their complementary strengths and realizing their full potential as siblings. Black Bolt often acts as a grounding force for Maximus, while Maximus, in turn, can challenge Black Bolt to think outside the box. In today’s From Panel to Play we take a look at Maximus the Mad and King Black Bolt.

Maximus Boltagon joins the fray as a 4-Threat character. A powerful mind and dislike for hand-to-hand combat gives him a 2 Physical, 3 Energy, and respectable 5 Mystic defense. He moves Medium and has 12 Stamina spread evenly on his Healthy and Injured side. Royalty in his own right, Maximus brings a menagerie of mental shenanigans to your games of Marvel: Crisis Protocol.

Maximus the Mad is the second leader of the Inhumans Affiliation. He brings a unique Leadership, Call Me Maximus the Magnificent! The first time each Turn an allied character attacks or defends, it must use this Leadership: Reroll 1 attack or defense dice. If the rerolled result is Skull, after the attack is resolved, your opponent Places the allied character within Range 1 of its current position, and this character gains 1 Power. Maximus’s leadership truly reflects his chaotic nature, providing benefits to his allies at the occasional cost of unwanted movement.

With a focus on cerebral domination, Maximus is naturally equipped with two Mystic attacks. The first of these is Brain Freeze. A Range-4 attack with a Strength of 5, Maximus will gain Power equal to the damage dealt. Additionally, a roll of a Wild will trigger Suppressive. This allows Maximus to debilitate his target’s ability to respond after he’s dealt damage. When Maximus is tired of playing with his food, his second attack will undoubtedly end anyone unlucky enough to be hit by it. Neuro-Annihilation is a Range 3 Mystic attack with a Strength of 9. With a cost of 5 Power, you expect a wallop—and you’d be right to do so! The defending character cannot add additional dice to its defense roll or modify its defense dice, and a Wild in the attack roll will trigger Stagger on the targeted character. While these attacks are respectable, four additional superpowers bring extra danger to Maximus the Mad!

Always focused on his plan, Maximus is a competent manipulator of the battlefield. Did You Forget Why You’re Here?, his first superpower, allows Maximus the Mad to choose a character within Range 3 with an Activated token and Advance that character Short. At the lower cost of 2 Power, this superpower will be one that Maximus will want to use often. On the other side of the coin, Maximus can utilize It’s Madness, My Favorite Kind to reroll 2 of the attacking character’s dice. This strong option gives Maximus the ability to react to an unexpected attack by an aggressive opponent. Rounding out his superpowers are two innate abilities. Finally, Maximus Boltagon is an Inhuman and immune to Poison.

Ready to bring the might of the Inhumans to the battlefield, King Black Bolt is ready to lead his allies to a decisive victory. As a 6-Threat character, Blackagar brings all the tools expected of a regal juggernaut. His defenses are 4s across the board, and he has 15 health spread across his Healthy and Injured sides.

Two solid attacks are featured on his character card. Sonic Blast is a Beam attack with a Strength of 5 and will trigger Push on a Wild. This torrent of energy is sure to whittle down anyone foolish enough to stand in its way! His second attack is Wrath of the Midnight King. A Range-3 attack with a Strength of 8, this physical assault will automatically trigger Throw on a Wild. Finally, he may Advance Medium after the attack is resolved.

A whopping 7 superpowers round out King Black Bolt’s arsenal. The first of these is Increase the Volume. For 3 Power, Black Bolt can add 2 dice to his next attack action. The next is a familiar one: Hit and Run. This helps Black Bolt stay mobile and always help where he is needed most. His next superpower is Telepathic Command. If Black Bolt spends two Power, he can choose another allied character with Range 4, and Advance it Short. This ensures his allies are always where they need to be, even after getting thrown out of position.

Once unleashed, Black Bolt is an unstoppable force that enhances survivability in Anti-Graviton Control. When this character suffers damage, reduce the amount of damage suffered by 1 to a minimum of 1. Additionally, Black Bolt gains one additional power during the Power Phase. As the King of the Inhumans, Black Bolt is always guiding his people to victory, and Inhuman King aptly represents this. At the start of the Activation Phase, you may choose 1 allied character with the Inhuman superpower. The chosen character removes 1 special condition. Finally, Black Bolt is an Inhuman and will reroll 1 die in its attack or defense rolls and has Flight and Immunity to Poison.

A bundle of new Team Tactic Cards arrives to bolster the options of an Inhumans team. The first of these is Inhuman Queen. This card adds a third leadership to the Inhumans, allowing Medusa to play this Tactic Card and gain the following Leadership: Once per Turn, when an allied character Dazes or KOs an enemy character, it may gain 1 Power, may remove up to 1 damage, and may Advance Short. The next Tactic Card is Plots Within Plots. For 4 Power, when an enemy character ends a movement within Range 2 of an allied character, an allied character not within Range 2 of the enemy character may Advance Short. Finally, an allied Blackagar Boltagon may play Genetic Prophecy during the Power Phase. If you have at least 2 fewer VPs than your opponent, you gain 2 VPs. The character that played this card cannot make attack actions.

When you’re ready to spark a little sibling rivalry, be sure to pre-order your copy of the Black Bolt, Maximus, Karnak & Gorgon 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 Games, signing off!