Marvel Legendary 2nd Edition reboots an already-great card game into something even better

When it comes to the deck building genre of card games, these popular options have featured all manner of different properties and styles over the years, with one of my favorites being Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game (henceforth referred simply as Marvel Legendary) from Upper Deck. In fact, this was where I first got my introduction to the deck builder landscape; ever since watching Wil Wheaton's Tabletop episode featuring it, this has been one of my go-to types of games to play.

Now, Upper Deck has released a new edition of the base Marvel Legendary, bringing with it some refinements and updates that the team has picked up in the past 14 years since the original box came out, along with fan-favorite mechanics that were introduced in later expansion content. All of this results in superior, yet still very familiar, new starting point for anyone wanting to assemble some Marvel heroes and save the day – and one of the best card games overall for Marvel fans.

New mask, same task

This new 2nd Edition of Marvel Legendary retains the same cooperative deck-building mission as the original, now with a nice neoprene mat gameboard, replacing the classic folding cardboard one. Prior to the game starting, players pick the heroes that they will build their decks with, a total of 15 choices, followed by the villain you will face off against, what their dastardly scheme will be, and the various henchmen and other foes assisting them.

From there, in typical deck-building fashion, over the course of numerous rounds, players will purchase and enhance their decks with hero cards from a shared pool, taking out villains, rescuing captured civilians, and thwarting enough of the mastermind’s schemes and bashing them in the face until either the heroes or villains come out victorious. It’s a tried-and-true formula that has served Upper Deck for many years and many spin-offs, and it all began with Marvel Legendary, and it still is just as fun today.

Legendary adopts a rotating and ever shifting marketplace of cards for folks to pick from, an approach more akin to Ascension as opposed to a static shop like Dominion. It’s an approach I have always favored, and considering all of the new redone art in this box, I appreciated this direction even more, since it lets me see more cards. Having each power of hero card feature its own unique piece of artwork is a great touch, that while fixed in later expansions, was sorely lacking in the original core box. Same with the various schemes you will contend with.

By and large, all the new artwork is an improvement, though some fall a bit flatter, with the “Wound” cards that will clog your deck. Previously, these featured a gruesome image of Wolverine getting blasted, his body contorting with pain as his classic X-men costume is shredded. Now, it’s just Iron Man in pristine looking armor holding his shoulder like he threw a slightly too-fast baseball, and pulled a muscle. I mean, I guess that’s a wound…technically?

A spectacular jumping-on point

For folks that don’t own the original Core Box of Marvel Legendary, this new box is an amazing and spectacular jumping on point for one of the most established deck builders out there. Even if you never touch any of the previously released expansions (that are compatible with this new box, by the way), you still have a fully stocked game that will keep things exciting for years to come. Things become slightly more complicated if you do already own the older box. At $100 msrp, it’s a hefty price tag for what is basically new artwork, some rebalanced cards, a couple and card types like sidekicks and S.H.I.E.L.D Officer Specialists being included (originally released in expansions).

Even when it comes to the heroes and villains being offered, there is a good deal of crossover between the two boxes. On the heroes side, Deadpool from the OG box has been swapped out for Miles Morales, and Doc Ock has been added to the Mastermind list to represent the web-head’s rogues gallery, along with some adjustments to the henchmen and villain offerings. Again, all of this is great for new players, it’s just something for returning owners to be aware of before they drop the cash on the new box.

Should you buy Marvel Legendary 2nd Edition?

There’s a reason that Marvel Legendary would go on to spawn tons of expansions, and with the Legendary series spinning off to feature other properties like The Matrix, Predator, and now even DC. It’s just a damn good game that has withstood the test of time.

Sure, it can still take a bit to set up and pack up, thanks to all the various little decks of cards you need to shuffle together, but the end result has always been worth the hassle. I look at my dinged up, faded, and scratched original core box sitting on my game shelf and remember back to all the fun game nights that it’s been a part of, and this new 2nd Edition Core Box will let the sweet prince finally rest. It’s served its time, and I can’t wait for the future game nights this new box will make.