We know that people love a whole slew of different things about trading card games. You might enjoy creating original decks the most, while your buddy digs TCGs for the community. One of the things that I find the most appealing is the simple fun of playing the cards. I mean, actually playing the cards. Not saying “Draw, go,” not having my cards fizzle, and not watching my opponent drag out a combo that requires him to search his deck four times while I wonder if I’ll get to play my first turn. I like to make plays, and see what tactic my opponent will come back with.

For all the people out there that came to play, take a look at how Marvel Superstars brings more action to your tabletop than your typical TCG experience.

Leader Characters

These aren’t just avatars for score keeping, they are characters that can get in the fight from the start of the game up until the final moment when you win or lose. Your leader means you never have to suffer a “draw, go” turn, where you can’t do anything. No card you want to play? Your leader is still ready to swing in and chip away at the enemy. Even if you are down to topdecking, ripping a city is going to feel good, because that’s one more point of force for your leader to attack with. It may be shocking at first when you first hear a sarcastic “nice topdeck” because you drew a resource, but it will feel good that you knew you’d have something to do no matter what you drew.

Three Starting Bases

Playing a game is different from other forms of entertainment (such as watching a movie) because you have choices to make, which adds to the fun. Take a game where you can have one resource on your first turn. Your choice is to play a 1-cost card, if you have any, or do nothing. Not a lot of choices in that first turn—it’s almost scripted.

In Marvel Superstars, you start with three bases resources and can play one new resource each turn, so you can have four resources on your first turn. You can play a 4-cost supporter, or a 3 and a 1-cost. Maybe you want to play a 2-cost supporter and a 2-cost action. Or three different 1-cost actions and use your leader’s charge power on the first turn. Your choices and strategies are plentiful.

Beyond turn one choices, your three starting bases bring you turn zero choices. “Turn zero” is what we in R&D call the first turn of the game if you’re the player going second. When most TCGs start, only one person has any power—it’s definitively non-interactive until the second player’s turn. It’s like having a basketball tip-off with only one player in center court. Not quite the excitement I’m hoping for.

With three bases at the start of the game, going second gives you a total of 3 more total resource points to spend over the first player. You can use those bases to play an action that interacts with your opponent’s first supporter from the start of the game, or set yourself up for your coming turns with a handy draw spell or by charging your leader.

Unlike most TCG’s, going first isn’t always better in Marvel Superstars. It’s just different.

No Counter Spells, Only Counter Strategies

When you play a card, it’s played. Now your opponent has to decide how he wants to deal with it, interactively. He can’t decide to just not deal with anything by building a deck full of counter spells.

The other benefit of this is that when you play a card, the opponent can’t cut in and do something before it happens like they knew it was coming. It’s already there, so why should they get to “respond” and have their response happen first?

Say you’re playing an Iron Man deck, and you have your leader and two other Iron Man supporters on your side. You’ve got Media Darling in your hand; if you play the card you know you’ll get to draw three.

Your opponent can’t sit on an elimination action and just wait for the most opportune time to use it. That comes at his own risk. Now, if he has the skill to foresee your plays, he could have taken out one of those Iron Man cards beforehand. In that case, you might react by holding on to your Media Darling for later and changing your original plan based on his play. This is an interactive game of playing your cards and adjusting your strategies based on what each other does. It’s not a game of just holding on to a card to respond to an action and suddenly rob it of its power.

More action, more interaction. If you’re tired of passing instead of playing, join the Marvel Superstars community and create an alternative.