Marvel: Crisis Protocol – November 2021 Banned and Restricted List Update

Marvel: Crisis Protocol – November 2021 Banned and Restricted List Update

Welcome once again to Atomic Mass Transmissions! As we are sure you are eagerly aware of, we recently released the digital printable versions of our revised Stat, Tactic, and Infinity Gem cards. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again; our transition to the new, more accessible card formats came with a number of boons, including this incredible opportunity to revisit early decisions and view them under the lens of experience. While the print versions of the cards are on their way, hop on over here to view the updated documents.

And speaking of once-in-a-blue-moon opportunities, we in the development team took this chance to revisit the Ban and Restricted list. As you all know we do this rarely, with extreme caution, and always in an attempt to make the game more fun and enjoyable for all kinds of players. So let’s get into it:

Bitter Rivals is now on the Restricted list. This is a card that is currently very powerful, more so than we anticipated in testing. Our hope is that by adding it to the Restricted list its power will be offset by the decision to use one of precious two Restricted card slots on it, and players will be able to enjoy it in a less abusable capacity.

All You’ve Got and Panic Grips City as Evacuation Efforts Continue! are moving from the Restricted list to the Ban one. We had hoped that restricting All You’ve Got would be enough to prevent its ubiquitous inclusion in rosters, but over time this has proven to be incorrect. Panic Grips City as Evacuation Efforts Continue has seen a downturn in use, but when it is taken it is still creating rather abusable play patterns. Both of these cards lead to strategies that prevent their opponents from getting a fair chance to engage with the game with a standard choice of characters.

We also want to take this opportunity to call out some Tactic cards that will be changing slightly in the upcoming revised pack. These cards are NOT banned or restricted, but their tweaks should bring them more up-to-speed.

Ricochet Blast formerly required both Captain America and Iron Man to pay 2 Power to play the card. We have lowered this cost to 1 Power each, which makes it more similar to other Tactic cards like it.

Thunderwave is similar to Ricochet Blast; it previously cost Thor and Captain America 2 Power each, and will now cost them 1 apiece.

Doomed Prophecy is now an Asgard-affiliated card, and must be played by an Asgard character. This both prevents it from being used in combination with some particularly brutal out-of-affiliation characters and keeps its thematic uses stronger.

Pentagram of Farallah has gone the opposite direction of Ricochet and Thunderwave; instead of costing Doctor Strange or Wong 2 Power, it will now cost 3 Power. For a powerful card, this small tweak keeps it off the restricted list but makes the cost more fair.

Rainbow Bridge got a bit of a wording lift. We generally try to avoid effects that let a character run far away with an objective token. As such, anyone looking for a ride on the Bifrost must not be holding an objective token.

Advanced R&D now requires that a character play it on their own activation. This little utility tweak should keep this popular Unaffiliated card in-line.

Gamma Launch can now be played only during Hulk’s activation. This prevents some turn-one combination plays that were robbing opponents of the ability to play before they even began. The rest of the card is unchanged, so Hulk fans should have no problem enjoying tossing their buddies around.

With all the other excitement going on we are keeping this transmission short and sweet. If you’d like to see the full Ban and Restricted list you can find the updated document here. Until next time; Atomic Mass Games, signing off!