Marvel: Age of Heroes

From WizKids:

Marvel: Age of Heroes is an epic strategy game in which each player commands a pair of X-Men who are dispatched to defeat villains and complete objectives. Your team will collect resources and power-ups before embarking on dangerous missions in one of the three uniquely challenging scenarios included in the game.

The theme and strategy come together through a mix of worker placement and resource management mechanics in a tight design from Rodney Thompson, co-designer of Lords of Waterdeep. Players’ heroes are represented by a set of striking full-color acrylic standees. Teams include favorites such as: Jubilee and Wolverine, Jean Grey and Cyclops, Forge and Storm and more! The most effective team will win the game, so you must manage your resources and skills wisely. The action rotates back and forth between two phases: the Institute Phase and the Mission Phase.

The Institute Phase: 

Players will send their heroes to action spaces like the Danger Room or the Medical Bay to receive various benefits. Some action spaces on the Institute board let you increase your Physical, Mental, and Willpower tracks, while others let you draw cards, play cards, or change the turn order. Additionally, over the course of the game, Ally cards will come into play, revealing new action possibilities. Instead of performing actions at The Institute, heroes may be sent to the X-Jet to take on the challenges of the Mission phase.

The Mission Phase:

This is where players will put their teams to the test! Send your heroes out to the Mission Board or the Extraction Point where you’ll use the resources, skills, and powers you’ve accumulated to take on villains directly or to team up with other characters for even more effective strikes! Each scenario presents entirely different challenges, as you take on Sentinels, Magneto, and even Apocalypse!

Scenarios can alter the composition of the Institute Deck, which creates a rich, thematic storyline. The deck features dozens of iconic X-Men characters and events that are available through a shared market. Players will be jockeying to collect and influence the heroes that are most useful for their strategies. As the board and scenarios evolve, your characters will, as well. Special evolution cards add new abilities and scoring conditions. In addition to unique evolution cards, each team has different starting resources and asymmetric abilities in advanced mode that make for high variety and replay-ability!