From Panel to Play: Shadow King

Turn on the lights, my friend, and gird yourself against the things that go bump in the night. In today’s From Panel to Play, we will be risking our minds to peer into the depths of an eternal being of frightening power, someone who has no compunctions about using that power for nefarious purposes. Come join us in a look at Amahl Farouk, better known as Shadow King!

A threat whose true history is hidden in shadows, a being whose telepathic powers rival the strongest of mutants, and an entity without conscience, remorse, or empathy. These are some of the nicest things that can be said about the Shadow King. Amahl Farouk is the first confirmed physical form for the Shadow King and was noted for involving himself in a plot to overthrow the English throne alongside none other than Baron Strucker. The Shadow King is not limited to existing in the physical plane, however, and can survive as an extremely powerful ethereal being that stalks the astral plane.

Shadow King comes to spread his evil across the battlefield as a Threat 5 character with 6 Stamina on both his Healthy and Injured sides. He boasts a graduating set of defenses that begins with 3 Physical and moves up to 4 Energy and 5 Mystic defense.

Shadow King is a powerful addition to any squad and can reach out to touch enemy characters from a surprising distance. His main focus on the battlefield is subduing enemy characters through his attacks, but those attacks also have a host of special rules providing a variety of utility to this character.

The first thing we’ll be reviewing on his card is the active superpower Astral Fiend. This superpower really defines the character, and understanding it is fundamental to understanding the tricks he can pull. This superpower costs him 3 power and an action to use but allows him to place a Projection token within range 3 of himself. This representation of his essence on the astral plane allows you to measure the Range for his attacks and superpowers from the token rather than the character. This means that when this superpower is in play, his attacks have a minimum range of 5! It does have some downsides, though, as enemy mystic attacks can also target the token rather than needing to target the character. Note that you can’t target the token with Physical or Energy attacks, however.

The first attack the Shadow King employs is his ability to bear down on his enemy with the overwhelming might of his telepathic capabilities, effectively placing a Mental Shackle across their minds. This Range 3, Strength 6 attack costs zero power to use and provides him power equal to the damage he deals. It also has two special rules available to it, one that applies the Root special condition when he rolls a wild and one that allows him to Advance the target character Short if his attack deals any damage.

Shadow King also loves to be able to use an opponent’s power against themselves, which is never more evident than when he unleashes an Astral Disintegration. This is a Range 2 attack that costs four power to use and starts at a base Strength of 5. As a master of fighting in the astral realm, it has a special rule that prevents the target character from rerolling or modifying their defense dice. The real strength behind this attack though is the special rule that allows him to add dice to the attack roll equal to the amount of power the target has. It is capped at a maximum of 5 additional dice, but you have to be careful if you’re lying in wait for Amahl Farouk, as he may just turn the tables on you!

As a being that exists more as a collection of power than as a physical object, he is also able to make use of his Immortal Essence. This superpower costs him 3 power to use and allows him to remove up to 3 damage from himself. You may think you have destroyed him, but this is a foe that can always come back.

As a being of dark desires and malevolent powers, even coming near the Shadow King can be a painful experience. For 4 Power, he can reactively unleash his Nightmare Visions. This superpower can be used to deal damage to enemy characters ending an Advance within range 3 of him. It also allows you to Advance the enemy character if you manage to deal them damage. It’s difficult for beings of such power to restrain their telepathic emanations when they want to, for someone who couldn’t care less about the suffering he inflicts, its not even a consideration!

His final superpower represents the fact that he is an Omega Level Multi-Versal Entity and not just any mere supervillain. This superpower means he gains an additional power during the power phase, helping ensure he always has the power to enforce his will across the battlefield.

That’s it for today’s article, be sure pre-order your copy of the Professor X and ShadowKing character pack at your local game store or through our webstore today. Also, 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!