Marvel Board Games: miniatures game
How to Play Marvel Crisis Protocol
Marvel Crisis Protocol is a two-player tabletop miniatures game from Atomic Mass Games. Squads of Marvel heroes and villains battle over mission objectives. It’s for ages 14 and up, especially fans of tactics, collecting, and painting their own figures.
- 2019
- 2 players
- 90 minutes
- Ages 14+
- miniatures game
- Atomic Mass Games
Designers: Will Pagani, Will Shick
Choose your squad, grab the objectives, and throw a car at Red Skull. Here’s how a round plays out.
A game of Marvel Crisis Protocol lasts up to six rounds, each with the same three phases. The steps below cover a full round, from start to finish, and explain how the first player to reach the victory point target wins. For a lighter Marvel game, try Marvel Dice Throne.
You can pass only when your opponent has more characters left to activate.
A quick guide to one round of Marvel Crisis Protocol
Each round has three phases: Power, Activation, and Cleanup.
When a character takes enemy damage, it gains the same amount of Power.
- Step 1:
Power Phase: Each character gains 1 Power. Then resolve any start-of-phase effects, beginning with the player who has the Priority token.
- Step 2:
Activation Phase: Players take turns, starting with the Priority player. On each turn, activate one character without an Activated or Dazed token.
- Step 3:
An activated character gets two actions, such as moving, attacking, shaking off a special condition, or using a superpower that requires an action.
- Step 4:
To attack, choose one of the character’s attacks, then select an enemy in range and line of sight.
- Step 5:
The attacker rolls dice equal to the attack’s Strength. The defender rolls dice equal to the matching Defense. Both sides count successes, and the attacker deals damage equal to the difference.
- Step 6:
When an enemy effect damages a character, that character gains the same amount of Power. Take a hit, get ready to hit back harder.
- 7Step 7:
Cleanup Phase: Score Victory Points from the Crisis Cards. Dazed characters lose their damage and flip to their Injured side. Then remove Activated tokens.
- 8Step 8:
Reach 16 Victory Points to win immediately. If no one reaches that total by the end of Round 6, the player with the most Victory Points wins.
Most of the learning curve comes during setup: build a roster, draw two Crisis Cards to create a mission, then choose a squad within the threat limit. The round itself is simple, though attacks take several steps. The rules below explain each part in order and define the key terms.
Marvel Crisis Protocol: The Full Rules
Setup
Each player builds a roster with 10 characters, 10 Team Tactic Cards, and 10 Crisis Cards (5 Secure and 5 Extraction). You can’t include duplicate character names with the same alter ego or duplicate cards.
Set up the battlefield on a 36-inch by 36-inch table with at least 12 terrain features, sized 1 to 5 and mostly 2 to 4.
Roll for priority: Each player rolls five dice. The player with the highest combined total of Criticals, Wilds, and Hits takes the Priority token.
Build the mission. The Priority player picks Secure or Extraction and draws 2 cards from that deck. The other player chooses 1. Then the other player draws 2 cards from the opposite deck, and the Priority player chooses 1. Those two cards make the mission.
The player without Priority chooses which Crisis Card’s Maximum Threat applies. The Priority player chooses a table edge as their deployment edge. Place the objective tokens as directed by the Crisis Cards.
Each player secretly builds a squad from their roster, keeping its total Threat at or below the maximum, then chooses up to 5 of their 10 Team Tactic Cards.
Reveal squads, then take turns deploying characters within Range 3 of your deployment edge, starting with the Priority player. Roll for priority again, then begin Round 1.
Turn by turn
Power Phase
Each character gains 1 Power. The Priority player resolves their start-of-phase effects first, followed by effects that belong to neither player.
Activation Phase
Players take turns. On your turn, you can play Team Tactic Cards and activate one character without an Activated or Dazed token. That character takes two actions, then gets an Activated token. You can pass only if you have fewer non-Grunt characters left to activate than your opponent.
Making an Attack
Choose an attack and pay any Power cost, then pick a target in range and line of sight and build both dice pools. Both sides roll. Each Critical adds one extra die. After rerolls and modifiers, subtract the defender's successes from the attacker's. Any successes left over become damage.
Cleanup Phase
Score Victory Points from the Crisis Cards. Dazed characters remove all damage and special conditions, then flip to their Injured side. The Priority token may pass to the other player, Activated tokens are removed, and the Round marker moves up.
End of the game and scoring
A player wins as soon as they reach 16 Victory Points. If both players pass 16 at the same time, the higher total wins. A tie means play continues until one player takes the lead. If no one wins by the end of Round 6, the player with the most Victory Points wins. If only one player has characters left on the battlefield, they win immediately.
Key rules
The Dice
The game uses eight-sided dice with Critical, Wild, Hit, Block, Failure, and Blank faces. Attackers count Criticals, Wilds, and Hits. Defenders count Criticals, Wilds, and Blocks.
Movement
An Advance uses the Short, Medium, or Long Movement Tool that matches the character's Speed, or a smaller one. A Climb is a Short Advance made as if the character were Size 5. Throws, Pushes, and Places are other movement types.
Damage, Dazed, and Injured
Put damage tokens on the Stat Card. When damage equals Stamina, the character is Dazed (Healthy side up) or KO'd (Injured side up). A Dazed character can't move, attack, or be targeted until Cleanup.
Line of Sight and Terrain
Line of sight requires a straight, unobstructed line between bases. Terrain bigger than the target blocks it. Most terrain is interactive, so characters can throw it, and it can be destroyed.
Objectives
A character within Range 1 of an objective token can spend 1 Power to Interact with it. A character holding a token drops it if Dazed, KO'd, or removed.
Squad Affiliations
A squad can use an Affiliation, such as the Avengers, if more than half its characters belong to it. Leadership abilities work only when your squad uses the matching Affiliation.
Team Tactic Cards
These cards are one-time tricks, usually paid for with Power. Active cards are played on your turn; Reactive cards can be played only when their trigger happens. An Active: Action card uses one of the playing character's actions.
Tips for your first game
- Read both Crisis Cards before picking a squad. They set the maximum Threat and how scoring works, so the best squad depends on the mission.
- Keep Power in mind: attacks and Interacting with objectives spend it, while enemy damage gives you some back.
- Terrain is a tool. It blocks line of sight and can be thrown, so use it for cover or as a weapon.
- Mind the passing rule. You can pass only if your opponent has more characters left to activate, so don't use your best character too early.
- Check your Team Tactic Cards before each turn. Each has its own timing, and playing one at the wrong moment wastes it.
Interacting with an objective costs 1 Power.
Atomic Mass Games built the game around Marvel Comics characters, not a single film. Below, find the studio’s account of its design goals, the release timeline for both core sets, and the missions included in the 2019 box. For other licensed Marvel games, see the Marvel board games overview, or browse superhero board games for more.
The game and the Marvel universe
Criticals add extra dice, so check for them before you compare successes.
The game
Design and Release
Atomic Mass Games released Marvel Crisis Protocol in November 2019. The rulebook credits Will Shick as lead game designer and names Will Pagani as development manager. The studio says Marvel comics fans made the game, aiming to keep each character true to the source and let players recreate comic-book team-ups.
A game that keeps growing
Atomic Mass Games says the game has grown in both characters and community since 2019. In a 2023 note, the studio said it had grown from four people to about nine times that number. Rules updates are available as rulebook PDFs on the studio's rules page.
The film or series it covers
Marvel Comics characters and team-ups are the focus. The game isn't tied to one film or series.
Each miniature has attacks and abilities inspired by its character. The original core set brings Avengers like Captain America, Iron Man, Black Widow, Captain Marvel and Spider-Man face to face with Cabal villains, including Red Skull, Baron Zemo, Crossbones, Ultron and Doctor Octopus.
Scenes and story beats in the game
- 1
Struggle for the Cube Continues is a Crisis Card about a fight over Cosmic Cube fragments. In the rulebook example, Spider-Man picks one up.
- 2
In Skrulls Infiltrate World Leadership, players collect Skrull Agent tokens and score for each one they hold at Cleanup.
- 3
The original core set also has Crisis Cards called Spider-Infected Invade Manhattan, Deadly Meteors Mutate Civilians, Infinity Formula Goes Missing! and Riots Spark Over Extremis 3.0.
- 4
The rulebook example features Captain Marvel's Photon Blast attack, with Captain America defending.
Marvel Crisis Protocol core set: What’s in the Box
- 13 plastic character miniatures with 13 bases (Earth's Mightiest Core Set)
- 26 terrain miniatures
- 13 character Stat Cards
- 20 Team Tactic Cards
- 6 Crisis Cards
- 2 punch sheets of tokens
- 1 Mission Tracker
- 3 tracking cubes
- 1 rulebook
- Miniatures come unassembled and unpainted
Marvel Crisis Protocol core sets: 2019 and 2023
Marvel: Crisis Protocol Core Set 2019
The original box. It has 10 plastic miniatures and bases, a Daily Bugle stand, 2 cars, 2 dumpsters, 2 traffic lights and 2 lampposts. It also has 10 Stat Cards, 20 Team Tactic Cards, 6 Crisis Cards, 2 Affiliation cards (Avengers and Cabal), 170 tokens, 10 dice, measuring tools and a Learn to Play booklet.
Earth's Mightiest Core Set 2023
A refreshed entry box announced in August 2023 for that fall. The studio says it keeps the existing rules, and it adds 13 miniatures including Winter Soldier, Captain Marvel's Binary form and Ultron Drones, with new sculpts and 26 terrain miniatures.
Marvel Crisis Protocol: Answers to Your Questions
How do you play Marvel Crisis Protocol?
Each player builds a squad of Marvel characters and draws Crisis Cards to set up a mission. The game lasts up to six rounds. Players take turns activating characters to move, attack and grab objectives, then score Victory Points at Cleanup.
How do you win Marvel Crisis Protocol?
Reach 16 Victory Points first to win. If nobody does by the end of Round 6, the player with the most Victory Points wins.
How many characters are in a Marvel Crisis Protocol squad?
There’s no fixed number. Your roster holds 10 characters, and you choose a squad from it with a total Threat at or below the maximum on the mission's Crisis Card.
What are Squad Affiliations in Marvel Crisis Protocol?
Squad Affiliations are named groups such as the Avengers. More than half the characters in a squad must belong to an Affiliation for it to count, unlocking Leadership abilities and some Team Tactic Cards.
Do you need to assemble and paint the miniatures?
They come unassembled and unpainted, so assembly comes first. The rulebook recommends hobby clippers, a hobby knife and plastic glue, and invites players to paint their collections.
How big is a Marvel Crisis Protocol table?
The battlefield measures 36 inches by 36 inches and needs at least 12 terrain features, from Size 1 to Size 5.
Does the Earth's Mightiest Core Set change the rules?
No. Atomic Mass Games says the newer core set keeps the current rules and updates the miniatures, cards, and terrain.
How many players can join, and how long does a game take?
It's a two-player game for ages 14 and up. Atomic Mass Games lists the play time at about 90 minutes.
You can pass only when your opponent has more characters left to activate.
When a character takes enemy damage, it gains the same amount of Power.
Sources
- Atomic Mass Games: Marvel Crisis Protocol Core Set rulebook, version 1.4 (official PDF) cdn.svc.asmodee.net
- Atomic Mass Games: Marvel Crisis Protocol Core Set (2019) atomicmassgames.com
- Atomic Mass Games: Why We Made MCP's Earth's Mightiest Core Set (4 August 2023) atomicmassgames.com
- Atomic Mass Games: Marvel Crisis Protocol rules and documents atomicmassgames.com