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Mojo Rising
Mojomania is the first in a new kind of scenario pack, where rather than just one scenario with extra modular you get a mini-campaign. Essentially, by releasing alongside two more hero packs (Storm and Wolverine) it works out as a full release wave, but makes it much more manageable on the wallet (and storage, frankly – it’s not like I’ve got my own pocket dimension to put stuff in…) With this in mind, we tried it with the two heroes from Mutant Genesis (reviewed HERE) Shadowcat and Colossus, as many folk will look to this as a logical next purchase from that boxset.
Mojo, for the uninitiated, is Marvel’s demented, ratings-obsessed, inter-dimensional TV executive / robotic scorpion (no, really). The campaign has you racing through various twisted takes on genres – so, Horror adds in Lovecraftian minion cultists and beasties, Sitcom (Mojo in the Middle) is all about awkward Obligations interfering, Fantasy (A Game of Mojo) is just generally deadlier, and so on. It’s a fresh take and surprisingly funny, mixing up the game for experienced players but still mechanically straightforward for novices.
Gladiator... Ready!
The first scenario is a live, televised, fight between you, the players, and MaGog, in a ratings battle to end all ratings battles! As both sides ratings go up or down, the crowd cheer or boo accordingly, making your chance of victory constantly change. It's a great way of mixing up the regular victory conditions of the game and really helps scenario feel fresh and unusual - especially as you're thrown into one of Mojo's genres at the same time. And you really do need to work together: there’s even a tag team Treachery in there to force the issue.
As if that’s not enough, we have the absolutely glorious addition of fan-fave Longshot to the game as an ENCOUNTER card (so, he's in the Villain deck, not the players) which is both mechanically and fluffily genius. It evokes that moment of turning a page in a comic and not knowing what’s coming next, feeling the anticipation alongside the Heroes – only to breathe a sigh of relief for it to be an unexpected ally. He’s a generic modular, and I can see him being in literally every game of Champions we play from now on.
As usual, for experienced players, we recommend using Standard II (from The Hood scenario pack) if you want a more satisfying challenge. Whilst Colossus and Shadowcat continue to be very potent and made fairly short work of MaGog, he wasn’t a pushover either, and the Setting’s Cultists summoning a Kraken in the middle of the match may have driven up ratings but was certainly a nuisance – though not as much of a freakin’ Dragon coming on during A Game of Mojo and then channel hopping Mojo in the Middle and to The One With The Break-Up.
Yup, for Season 2 you have to race through genres, trying to track down Spiral – she can’t be killed, but can be trapped and convinced to help you. Again, it’s a really satisfying twist on the regular Champions mechanics, as you still have to watch for the “villain” scheming out (she escapes the Mojoverse, leaving you behind) whilst navigating Mojo’s maze of genres. It was glorious when defeating the Dragon got me Lockheed though – just, again, a perfect comic-panel moment.
This is Champions at its best – this is up there with Once and Future Kang (arguably the best scenario pack to date) for evoking the comic medium in LCG form. And as the for the season finale? Well, #spoileralert but you’re taking on Mojo and the Wheel of Genres – no, I’ve already said too much! You’ll just have to tune in yourself and find out. Suffice to say, it’s a proper nailbiter. Genuine character death and everything…
Previously, On Marvel Champions...
Physically, this is a fantastic product with some of the best art to date – I never expected to laugh out loud an LCG but there you go, Mojo in the Middle nails the sitcom feel whilst Mojo on the Iron Throne is pure George RR Martin. The double-sided villain cards are great and the card layout is a bit tighter also: sometimes there can be a bit of confusion with Champions scenarios, but this is really clear, helped by a very straightforward scenario booklet – even without the comic art spreads, you still get a full storyline, and the Wheel of Genres means the campaign has massive replay value. I think that Mojo might just have won the ratings war, and come out on top as the best Scenario pack to date.
That concludes our thoughts on Mojomania. Do you agree? Let us know your thoughts and tag us on social media @zatugames. To buy Mojomania today click here!