Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game (Second Edition) Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• What's New in the Core Set Second Edition
• How to Win
  • How the Evil Mastermind Wins
• Your First Game
  • Your First Game - Cards to Use
• Game Setup
  • Mastermind and Scheme
  • Player Decks
  • Always Available Decks
  • Villain Deck
  • Hero Deck
  • Completing Setup
• How to Play
  • Step 1) Play the Top Card of the Villain Deck
  • Step 2) Play Cards from Your Hand, Using Them to Fight and Recruit
  • Step 3) Discard Your Hand and Draw 6 New Cards
• Masterminds
• End of the Game
  • Players Win
  • Evil Wins
  • Tied Game
• STOP – End of the Core Rules
• Specific Card Types
  • S.H.I.E.L.D. Cards and Sidekicks Are Heroes
  • S.H.I.E.L.D. Officers
  • Sidekicks
  • Bystanders
  • Wounds
  • Running out of Officers, Sidekicks, Bystanders, or Wounds
  • Special Abilities on Cards
  • Revealing a Card
  • "Reveal the Top Card of Your Deck"
  • "Each Hero You Played This Turn"
  • "Your Heroes" & "Heroes You Have"
• Advanced Card Interactions
• Alternate Game Modes
  • Cooperative and Competitive Play
  • Adjusting Difficulty
  • Making the Game Harder
  • Optional End Game: "Final Blow"
  • Making the Game Easier
  • Second Edition Solo Mode
  • Alternate Solo Mode: Simulating Multiple Players
• Hero Classes / Colors
• Hero Teams
• Game Contents
• Quick Reference Guide

What's New in the Core Set Second Edition

(Skip this section if this is your first time playing Legendary®.)

• Each Hero's 4 different cards now use 4 different art pieces, uniquely created for Legendary®. This is an upgrade from First Edition using the same art for all 4 cards.
• Core Set Masterminds are now significantly more challenging than in First Edition, with additional abilities to make each Mastermind more flavorful and dangerous.
• Core Set Masterminds are now double-sided with normal and extra-challenging "Epic Mastermind" sides.
• Doctor Octopus is a new playable Mastermind.
• Sinister Syndicate is a new Villain Group.
• The original 8 Schemes have now been redeveloped and rebalanced to be more challenging.
• There is now an additional, all-new 9th Scheme.
• 10 S.H.I.E.L.D. Officer Specialists are now mixed in with the normal Officers.
• Daring Sidekicks now appear in the core set.
• Special Bystanders now appear in the core set, and there are 42 total Bystanders instead of 30.
• Marvel fan favorite Spider-Man (Miles Morales) is now a playable Hero in the core set, taking Deadpool's spot. (You can still find a playable Deadpool in the Legendary®: Deadpool set, where the whole set gets to be as weird as he is.)
• There are now 550 playable cards in the core set, instead of 500.
• About 250 cards have been redeveloped to be more flavorful, fun, and balanced.
• There is an updated quantity of card stacks to use for each number of players, to give games with larger numbers of players more time to win.
• 4-5 player games now use a "Warmup Round" to reduce early Villain escapes.
• There is now a "Starting HQ Mulligan" if multiple cards in the HQ cost 7+.
• Solo mode no longer plays an extra card from the Villain Deck after each Master Strike. In solo, 2 Henchmen start the game already in the city. The solo mode Villain Deck now gives about 4 extra turns before running out.
• The rulebook has been revised to answer frequently asked questions.
• New "Alternate Game Modes"
• New "Designer's Notes"

The Core Set Second Edition replaces the rulebook and cards from the First Edition. Don't randomize between First Edition and Second Edition versions of the same character.

Second Edition is 100% compatible with all Marvel Legendary® expansions!

How to Win

Players must work together to fight the evil Mastermind four times. Each fight takes one of the Mastermind's four face down "Tactic" cards. When the Mastermind has no more Tactics, the players win the game! Fighting Villains and rescuing Bystanders along the way earns each player additional Victory Points. If the Mastermind is defeated, then all players win a group victory, and the player with the most Victory Points is the most Legendary Hero of all!

How the Evil Mastermind Wins

Unlike other games, in Legendary®, the game fights back against the players. The evil Mastermind, like Magneto or Doctor Doom, isn't played by a player. Instead, the game itself plays that role.

The Mastermind works to accomplish an evil Scheme throughout the game. Every Scheme card has a part that says "Evil Wins," which tells you how the Mastermind completes their Scheme. If the Scheme is completed, then the Mastermind wins the game for evil, and all the players lose! If this happens, then the Victory Points don't matter and no player wins.

Your First Game

For your first game, follow the setup rules on the following page, using the specific card stacks listed there instead of choosing card stacks at random.

After your first game, every session of Legendary® uses different Heroes, Villains, Mastermind, and Scheme, so there are always new challenges to confront and new combinations to explore.

Your First Game - Cards to Use

• Mastermind: Red Skull
• Scheme: Unleash the Power of the Cosmic Cube
• Heroes:
  • 1 player: Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Iron Man, Cyclops
  • 2-4 players: Also add Storm, Captain America
  • 5 players: Also add Wolverine
• Villain Groups for the Villain Deck:
  • 1 player: HYDRA, Sentinels (2 Sentinels in Villain deck, and 2 start in the city)
  • 2 players: Also add Sinister Spider-Foes (all 10 Sentinels in Villain Deck, and none in the city)
  • 3 players: Also add Brotherhood of Mutants
  • 4 players: Also add Sinister Syndicate and Hand Ninjas (all 10 cards)
  • 5 players: Also add Radiation

Game Setup

(Once you're used to the setup, the Quick Reference Guide on the back of this rulebook summarizes the setup steps.)

Mastermind and Scheme

• Pick 1 Mastermind at random. Put it on the Mastermind space on the playmat. Tuck its 4 matching Mastermind Tactic cards underneath it, face down in random order.
  • All the Masterminds in this set are double-sided, with a normal side and a harder "Epic" side. For most games, you'll want to use the normal (non-Epic) side.
• Pick 1 Scheme card at random. Put it face up on the Scheme space. Each Scheme card has a "Setup" that specifies how many "Twists" to use. Add that many "Scheme Twist" cards to the Villain Deck. Some Schemes also change the number of Heroes or Villain Groups to use or specify other special rules.

Player Decks

Give each player their own personal 12-card deck, made of these cards:

• 8 S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents
• 4 S.H.I.E.L.D. Troopers

Always Available Decks

Put each of these decks on their spaces on the playmat. Use all the cards you own of each type:

• S.H.I.E.L.D. Officers
• Bystanders
• Wounds

Special Bystanders are shuffled in with the other Bystanders. Likewise, Officer Specialists are shuffled in with the other Officers. Decks of all identical cards can stay face up. Decks containing different cards should be shuffled face down.

Covert specialists use trickery, deception, and clever maneuvers. Strength specialists use physical force and determination, but also leadership.

Villain Deck

• Add all 5 Master Strike cards to the Villain Deck.
• Add Villain Groups and Henchman Groups to the Villain Deck. A "Villain Group" is a set of eight Villain cards that work together, like "Hydra" or "Sinister Spider-Foes." Each Villain card lists its Villain Group under its card name.

To Add Villain Groups:

The more players you have in the game, the more Villain Groups you use, as shown in this game setup table:

Players	Villain Groups	Henchman Groups	Bystanders	Heroes
1	1	1* (2 cards in deck, 2 cards in city)	1	3
2	2	1	2	5
3	3	1	8	5
4	4	2	8	5
5	5	2	16	6

• Each Mastermind card says that the Mastermind "Always Leads" a particular Villain Group or Henchman Group. Include it as one of the groups you add to the Villain Deck. Pick the remaining Villain and Henchman Groups at random.
• For each Villain Group you pick, add those 8 Villain cards to the Villain Deck.
• For each Henchman Group you pick, add those 10 identical Henchman cards to the Villain Deck.
• In 1-player games only: Add only two cards from the chosen Henchman Group to the Villain Deck. Two more cards from that same Henchman Group enter the city at the start of your first turn. Do not use the remaining 6 cards.

To Add Bystanders:

• Check the game setup table to the left to see how many cards from the Bystander Deck to add to the Villain Deck. (By random chance, some of the cards might be Special Bystanders.)

Hero Deck

There are fifteen different Heroes in the Core Set Second Edition. There are fourteen cards for each of these Heroes. Make the Hero Deck this way:

• Check the game setup table (on the previous page) to see how many Heroes you should add. Pick that number of Heroes at random. For each of them, add all 14 cards for that Hero to the Hero Deck.

Completing Setup

• Shuffle the Hero Deck. Put it face down on the Hero Deck space. Put 5 cards from the Hero Deck face up into the 5 HQ spaces.
• Shuffle the Villain Deck. Put it face down on the Villain Deck space.
• Each player shuffles their own personal deck and draws a hand of 6 cards from it.

Starting HQ Mulligan

If there are at least two cards in the starting HQ that cost 7 or more, then all players can agree to "mulligan" those HQ spaces like this: Set aside all cards that cost 7 or more from the HQ. Refill those HQ spaces, also setting aside any other Heroes that cost 7 or more that appear during any of these refills. Once the HQ is full, shuffle the set-aside Heroes back into the Hero Deck. Do this only during game setup – you can't mulligan once the game has already started. This helps avoid overly expensive starting HQs.

How to Play

Choose a random player to go first. Players take turns in clockwise order. On your turn, do 3 things:

1. Play the top card of the Villain Deck.
2. Play cards from your hand, using them to fight and recruit.
3. Discard your hand and draw 6 new cards.

4-5 Players: Warmup Rounds

Note: In 4 and 5 player games only, there is a "Warmup Round" where on each player's very first turn, they do not play a card from the Villain Deck. On every turn after that, play the top card of the Villain Deck as normal. These extra turns give a little more time for large player groups to get their decks going before the Villains start invading.

Step 1) Play the Top Card of the Villain Deck

Play the top card of the Villain Deck face up. What you do with that card depends on what kind of card it is. There are four kinds of cards in the Villain Deck: Villains, Bystanders, Master Strikes, and Scheme Twists.

If the Card from the Villain Deck Is a Villain:

That Villain invades the city! Here are the different parts of a Villain card. (Note: "Henchman Villains" are Villains too.) A Villain card shows its Card Type, Card Name, Villain Group, Special Ability, Victory Points, and an Attack value: the number of Attack Points you must use to Fight this Villain.

The Villain Enters the City

Move the new Villain into the city space closest to the Villain Deck. That city space is labeled "Sewers". Villains in the city are always face up.

Push Other Villains Forward if Necessary

Each of the 5 city spaces can only hold one Villain. Whenever a Villain enters a city space, if there's already another Villain there, that existing Villain gets pushed forward one space to make room. A single Villain entering the city sometimes causes a chain reaction of several Villains getting pushed forward.

• Remember: Only push a Villain forward if it needs to move to make room for another Villain entering that space.

A Villain Might Escape

If a Villain gets pushed off the final, fifth city space, then that Villain "escapes" the city and goes into the Escape Pile space, face up. Here's what happens when a Villain escapes:

1. The escaping Villain KOs a Hero that costs 6 or less from the HQ. The player whose turn it is chooses which of those Heroes gets KO'd. Put that Hero in a shared, face up "KO pile" off to the side, knocking it out of the game.
   • Immediately flip a new Hero from the Hero Deck, face up, to fill the empty space in the HQ. (Whenever any of the 5 HQ spaces is empty, immediately refill it this way.)
2. If the escaping Villain had any captured Bystanders, then each player must discard a card from their hand as a penalty for failing to rescue the Bystanders. After all, what kind of Superheroes let innocent Bystanders get carried away by Villains? Those Bystanders stay in the Escape Pile.
   • Note: Each player only discards one card when a Villain carries away Bystanders, no matter how many Bystanders it carried away.
3. If the escaping Villain has an "Escape" effect on its card, do what it says.

The New Villain Might Ambush

If the new Villain has an "Ambush" effect on its card, do what it says now. Remember:

• Make sure that the newly entering Villain has fully moved into the Sewers (pushing any other Villains as necessary) before doing its Ambush ability.
• If another Villain was pushed out of the city and escaped when this new Villain entered the city, handle all the Escape effects for the escaping Villain before handling any Ambush effect for the new Villain.

If the Card Is a Bystander:

The innocent Bystander is captured by a Villain! Tuck the Bystander (face up) under the Villain in the city that's closest to the Villain Deck. If there are no Villains in the city, then the Bystander is captured by the Mastermind. Make sure the Bystander pokes out a bit so players can see it.

• Whenever a Villain with any Bystanders moves to a new city space, it carries all those Bystanders along with it to the new space.
• It's up to the players to rescue that Bystander! When a player fights a Villain or Mastermind with Bystanders, that player rescues those Bystanders and puts them into their personal Victory Pile. Each Bystander is worth 1 Victory Point. Some "Special Bystanders" also say they give you extra rewards "When you rescue this Bystander" or after the word "Rescue:".

If the Card Is a Master Strike:

A Master Strike represents the evil Mastermind emerging from their lair to get their hands dirty and smash the Heroes themselves. Each Mastermind has their own specific Master Strike. When a Master Strike is played from the Villain Deck, look at the "Master Strike" effect on the Mastermind card and do what it says. Put the Master Strike in the KO pile (unless the effect says to put it somewhere else).

If the Card is a Scheme Twist:

A Scheme Twist represents the evil Scheme moving forward towards victory for the Mastermind. Every Scheme provides a unique challenge that intensifies when a Scheme Twist enters play. When a Scheme Twist card is played, look at the "Twist" effect on the main Scheme card and do what it says. Some Schemes say they do something special when "Twist 1" or "Twists 4-6" come up. Put the Scheme Twist in the KO pile (unless the Scheme tells you to put it somewhere else).

Note: Villains in the city don't get pushed forward when the card played from the Villain Deck is a Bystander, Master Strike, or Scheme Twist. Resist any temptation to push Villains forward before revealing the card from the Villain Deck!

"Gaining" Cards

Some card effects say that a player "gains" a particular card. That means put that card into that player's discard pile. For example, "Gain a Wound" means put a card from the Wound Deck into your discard pile.

Step 2) Play Cards from Your Hand, Using Them to Fight and Recruit

The only types of cards that can typically be in your hand are Heroes and Wounds. Here are the different parts of a Hero card: Team Icon, Hero Class Icon/Color, Card Name, Hero Name, Recruit Points (use these to Recruit more Heroes), Special Abilities, Attack Points (use these to Fight Villains), and Cost (how many Recruit Points it costs to add this Hero to your deck).

After you play the top card of the Villain Deck, it's time to play the cards from your hand. Some of your cards produce Attack Points that let you fight Villains and Masterminds. Other cards produce Recruit Points that let you gain more Heroes. Many cards also give you cool special abilities.

• Play each card in your hand in any order, one at a time.
  • Each time you play a card, do what that card says.
  • You get any Attack Points listed in its Attack icon.
  • You also get any Recruit Points listed in its Recruit icon.
• Keep the cards you play in front of you until the end of your turn.
• To make it easier to count up your Attack Points and Recruit Points, you can line up all the Attack icons as you go, so that you can read all the Attack Points in a row. You can do the same with lining up your Recruit icons.
• You can play all your cards, building up a pool of Attack Points and Recruit Points, before deciding which Enemies to fight and which Heroes to recruit.

Numbers Like 2+ or 2☼:

Some cards have numbers like "2+" inside their Recruit icon. The "2" means that you always get at least 2 Recruit from that card. The "+" symbol means that you might get even more Recruit based on what the card says in its special ability. Heroes' Attack icons and Enemies' Attack icons can have numbers like "2+" too, working the same way.

Likewise, some Hero and Enemy cards in other sets have a number with an asterisk like "2☼" inside one of their icons. This means the card's special abilities tell you something especially important about how to use that card's Attack, Recruit, or Cost. (It doesn't mean multiplication or a variable.) (For effects that count different costs, 4☼ and 4 are the same cost.)

Superpower Abilities

Some cards have a Superpower ability with a Hero Class (color) icon and a colon, like "[Hero Class icon]: You get +2 [Recruit]."

You can use that special Superpower ability only if you have already played another card of that color earlier in your turn.

• A card's color is shown in the Hero Class icon in the card's upper left, and also in the color of the card's border. (Each Hero has a "Rare" card with no border. You can see a rare card's color by checking the Hero Class icon.)
• Some Superpowers use a team icon like Avengers or X-Men instead of a Hero Class icon. These work the same way as Superpowers that use color icons. A card's team icon is in the card's upper-left corner.
• Important: You can only use a card's Superpower ability once, even if you played multiple cards of that color that turn.
  • However, a few Superpower abilities will explicitly tell you to count a number of cards you've played, like "[icon]: You get +1 Attack for each other [icon] Hero you played this turn."
• You don't have to use a Superpower ability if you don't want to.
• Some Superpower Abilities require things like "[two icons]:" or "[icon] [icon]:" To use these, you must have played two of the first kind of cards earlier in the turn or played a card of the first icon and played a card of the second icon earlier in the turn.

Example of Superpower Abilities:

Thor's "Odinson" card always gives you 3 Recruit when you play it, even if you don't have any other green ("Strength Hero") cards.

• But if you have already played another green card earlier in the turn, then you may use Odinson's Superpower ability to get an additional 2 Recruit, so that Odinson gives you 5 Recruit in total.
• The green card you played earlier in the turn could be a green Captain America card, another green Thor card, or even another copy of Odinson.
• If you play two Odinson cards as your first two cards of the turn, you won't get to use the Superpower ability for the first Odinson card you play this turn, but you will get to use the Superpower for the second Odinson card you play this turn. So you would get 8 Recruit total.

Fighting and Recruiting

In between playing cards from your hand, and/or after you've played all your cards, you can fight any number of Villains and recruit any number of Heroes. You can play cards, fight, and recruit any number of times in any order in the same turn.

How to Fight a Villain

As you play Heroes from your hand, you generate a pool of Attack Points. You can spend these to fight Villains in the city, one at a time. You can only fight a Villain if you have at least as many Attack Points remaining as that Villain's Attack number. You don't have to match up specific Heroes you play against specific Villains. It doesn't matter which city space holds the Villain.

To fight a Villain:

1. Spend Attack Points equal to that Villain's Attack to put that Villain into your personal Victory Pile, faceup. (Also rescue any Bystanders it was holding, putting them all into your Victory Pile.)
2. If the Villain card has a "Fight" effect on it, do what it says. Also do any "When you rescue this" effects or any "Rescue" effects on any Bystanders you rescued this way. (Do these Fight and Rescue effects in any order.)

You can also fight the Mastermind.

KO

Many card effects tell you to "KO" a card, meaning "knock out." Put that card in the shared, face up "KO pile" off to the side of the playmat, permanently knocked out of the game.

• Getting your starting S.H.I.E.L.D. Heroes KO'd is actually very good for you, since it means you will draw your more powerful Heroes more often, instead of drawing as many of the weaker S.H.I.E.L.D. Heroes.
• Note: If a card says to KO "one of your Heroes," that can be a Hero you've already played this turn or a Hero still in your hand. If you KO a Hero you already played this turn, you still get to use the Recruit, Attack, and special abilities that Hero produced.

Victory Piles

• Each player has their own personal Victory Pile. It holds all the Villains they have fought and all the Bystanders they have rescued. It's face up.
• Villains and Bystanders are not shuffled into your deck.
• Keep your Victory Pile horizontal so you don't accidentally mix it up with your discard pile.
• At the end of the game, Villains and Bystanders in your Victory Pile are worth the Victory Points shown on their cards.
• Players can look through face up Victory Piles (and discard piles) if they wish.

How to Recruit a Hero

As you play Heroes from your hand, you generate a pool of Recruit Points. You can spend these to recruit Heroes from the HQ, one at a time. You can only recruit a Hero if you have at least as many Recruit Points remaining as that Hero's cost. The "HQ" area of the playmat has five spaces, which always contain exactly five Heroes, all face up.

To recruit a Hero:

1. Spend Recruit equal to that Hero's cost to "gain" that Hero and put it into your discard pile. A Hero's cost is in its lower-right corner. When your deck runs out and you shuffle your discard pile to make a new deck, you will soon draw that new Hero and be able to use their abilities.
2. Then refill the empty space in the HQ with a new card from the Hero Deck, face up. Whenever there is an empty space in the HQ for any reason, refill that space immediately this way. You can even recruit a Hero, see what new Hero appears in its place from the Hero Deck, and then potentially recruit that new Hero too, if you have enough Recruit Points.
   • You can also spend 3 Recruit Points to recruit a S.H.I.E.L.D. Officer from the Officer Deck (even multiple times).
   • Up to once per turn, you can also spend 2 Recruit Points to recruit a card from the playmat's Sidekick Deck. (See page 14 for more details on Officers and Sidekicks.)

Step 3) Discard Your Hand and Draw 6 New Cards

• At the end of your turn, put all the cards you played this turn into your discard pile, face up.
• Also discard any cards in your hand that you didn't play this turn.
• Then draw 6 new cards from your deck. If your deck runs out and you still have to draw more cards, shuffle your discard pile into a new face down deck, then draw the rest of the cards you need.
  • (Don't shuffle your discard pile into a new deck until your deck has completely run out and you still need to draw or reveal more cards.)

Masterminds

A Mastermind is a diabolical archenemy that pursues an evil Scheme and leads the other Villains. You can fight the Mastermind just like you fight a Villain, by spending Attack Points equal to the Mastermind's Attack.

A Mastermind card shows its Card Name, Card Type, Special Abilities, Always Leads (which Villain Group or Henchman Group it leads), Master Strike, Victory Points, and Attack.

Mastermind Tactics

Masterminds use different abilities during fights, represented by "Mastermind Tactic" cards. All four of a Mastermind's Tactics have the same Attack number, but they each have different "Fight" effects.

To fight a Mastermind:

1. Spend Attack Points equal to the Mastermind's Attack. Take a random card from the face down Tactics underneath the Mastermind and put that Tactic into your Victory Pile, face up. It's worth several Victory Points. (Also rescue any Bystanders the Mastermind was holding, putting them all into your Victory Pile.)
2. Do what the "Fight" effect on the Tactic card says. Also do any "Rescue" effects on any Bystanders you rescued this way. (Do these Fight and Rescue effects in any order.)
   • These effects usually either give you a reward, or cause the Mastermind to hit each other player with some cruel effect, or power up the Mastermind for the future.
   • If a Tactic's Fight effect somehow increases the Mastermind's Attack number, that will only apply for future fights.

A Mastermind Tactic card shows its Card Name, Card Type, Mastermind Names, Fight Ability, Flavor Text, Victory Points, and Attack.

A Mastermind is not truly beaten until all of their Mastermind Tactic cards have been fought by the players. If you create an amazing combo that gives you tons of Attack Points, you can even fight the Mastermind multiple times in one turn.

End of the Game

Players Win

When the Mastermind has no more Tactic cards under them, the players win the game!

• When fighting the final Mastermind Tactic, the current player still does that Tactic's "Fight" ability. That player can still finish the rest of their turn in case they want to grab a few more Victory Points.
• As soon as the Mastermind has no more Tactics under them, victory is assured, and players will win the game even if the final Tactic's "Fight" ability would achieve the Scheme's "Evil Wins" condition or cause the Hero Deck or Villain Deck to run out.

Evil Wins

Every Scheme card has a part that says "Evil Wins," which tells you how the Mastermind completes their Scheme. If the evil Scheme is completed, then the Mastermind immediately wins the game for evil, and all the players lose. Don't finish the turn.

Tied Game

If either the Hero Deck or the Villain Deck ever reaches zero cards, you can finish the current turn as your final chance to win. If you have not won or lost by the end of this turn, then the game ends in a tie between good and evil. The players have successfully survived the Scheme, but they didn't defeat the Mastermind. The player with the most Victory Points wins an individual victory. Be sure to get the Mastermind next time!

• If a card effect reveals or plays cards from the Hero Deck or Villain Deck then immediately puts them back in that deck, that's not enough to trigger a tie.
• Once the Hero Deck or Villain Deck has reached zero cards (not in the middle of an effect), then the game will end at the end of this turn, even if some card effect later in the turn somehow puts cards back in the Hero Deck or Villain Deck that was empty.
• Note: If the Scheme says that evil wins "when the Hero Deck runs out" (or Villain Deck), then the game is over as soon as that deck reaches zero cards (not in the middle of an effect). You do not finish the turn in that case – evil has already won.

STOP – End of the Core Rules

Now you know all the rules you need to play! You can stop here and play the game. The rest of this rulebook contains additional clarifications, and other game modes. You can skim through them if a question comes up or read them later for more details about the game. There is also a Quick Reference Guide on the back of this rulebook. Go challenge the Mastermind!

Specific Card Types

S.H.I.E.L.D. Cards and Sidekicks Are Heroes

If a card effect says to "KO one of your Heroes," you can KO one of your S.H.I.E.L.D. Heroes, and that's usually a good idea. Most normal S.H.I.E.L.D. Heroes and Sidekicks have no Hero Class and are the color grey.

S.H.I.E.L.D. Officers

You can always spend 3 Recruit Points to recruit a S.H.I.E.L.D. Officer. Gain the top card from the playmat's face down S.H.I.E.L.D. Officer Deck, putting it in your discard pile. There's no limit to how many Officers you can recruit in a turn.

In the Core Set Second Edition, most cards from that deck are normal grey S.H.I.E.L.D. Officers that produce 2 Recruit with no special abilities. But you might also get lucky and randomly get a "S.H.I.E.L.D. Officer Specialist" that has a Hero Class and an ability. S.H.I.E.L.D. Officer Specialists still count as S.H.I.E.L.D. Officers.

Officers in Other Sets

Some expansion sets refer to an Officer Stack, Sidekick Stack, Bystander Stack, or Wound Stack. These are the same piles that are now called the Officer Deck, Sidekick Deck, Bystander Deck, and Wound Deck. The expansion set Legendary®: S.H.I.E.L.D. includes a variety of famous named S.H.I.E.L.D. Officers from across the Marvel Universe with unique special abilities that get shuffled into the Officer Deck, as well as more ways to use S.H.I.E.L.D. Officers.

Sidekicks

Once per turn, you can also spend 2 Recruit Points to recruit a Sidekick. Gain the top card from the playmat's Sidekick Deck, putting it in your discard pile. Card effects that say "Gain a Sidekick" are not recruiting, so they are not affected by the "recruit up to one Sidekick per turn" rule. (The reason you can only recruit one Sidekick per turn is to prevent players in some game situations from falling into a repetitive loop where they just spend all their Recruit Points on Sidekicks, turn after turn.)

When you play any kind of Sidekick, it always says something like "Return this Sidekick to the bottom of the Sidekick Deck." This means a Sidekick will give you a short burst of power, then go away, without permanently improving your deck. When you play a Sidekick, you still get any Attack, Recruit, and special abilities from that Sidekick, and you still "played that card this turn" for the purposes of Superpower Abilities or other effects that care which cards you played this turn. Sidekicks are Heroes.

• (When using expansion sets, card effects can't make non-Sidekicks go into the Sidekick Deck, non-Officers go into the Officer Deck, non-Wounds go into the Wound Deck, or non-Bystanders go into the Bystander Deck.)

Sidekicks in Other Sets

In the Core Set Second Edition, all the cards in the Sidekick Deck are identical "Daring Sidekicks" so you can keep that Deck face up. However, several expansion sets offer different Sidekicks with different special abilities that get shuffled into your Sidekick Deck. These include the "draw two cards" Sidekicks in Legendary®: Secret Wars Volume 1, the various "Pet Avengers" Sidekicks in Legendary®: Civil War, and the various young X-Men and X-Force trainee Sidekicks in Legendary®: Messiah Complex. If your Sidekick Deck has different kinds of Sidekicks in it: Shuffle it face down at the start of the game. Whenever you gain a new Sidekick draw it from the top. Whenever you return a used Sidekick, put it back on the bottom of the Sidekick Deck.

Bystanders

Some card effects tell you to "rescue a Bystander." This means take the top Bystander from the Bystander Deck and put it into your Victory Pile. This represents saving Bystanders that are trapped or in danger from all the chaos and destruction. Each Bystander in your Victory Pile gives you additional Victory Points at the end of the game.

• Important: Cards that say "rescue a Bystander" can't save Bystanders captured by specific Villains in the city – you have to fight those Villains to save those Bystanders.
• Some "Special Bystanders" say you get an extra effect when you rescue this Bystander. This could happen because you fought a Villain holding that Bystander or because you rescued that Bystander from the Bystander Deck through a "Rescue a Bystander" effect.
• Some Schemes like "Replace Earth's Leaders with Killbots" turn some Bystander cards into Villains and say "When you fight one, rescue it as a Bystander." When you rescue one this way, do any "Rescue" effects it has. It counts as a Bystander and a Villain in your Victory Pile.
• Some Schemes like "Enshrouded Identity" say they temporarily have no Mastermind without ending the game. In that case, if a Bystander is played from the Villain Deck, and there are no Villains in the city and no Mastermind, rescue that Bystander.

Wounds

Some card effects make you gain Wound cards, representing your team getting hurt especially badly. When a player gains a Wound, take a card from the Wound Deck and put it into that player's discard pile. Wounds don't have any Attack or Recruit, so when you draw Wounds in your hand, your hand is weaker than normal.

• Some card effects let you KO your Wounds. Some cards even turn Wounds to your benefit: when the Hulk gets wounded, it just makes him angry...and you wouldn't like him when he's angry.
• Wound cards aren't Heroes. Wounds don't have a Hero Class or color, not even grey. If a card tells you to "KO one of your Heroes," you can't KO a Wound, since Wounds aren't Heroes. However, if a card says "KO one of your cards," then you can KO a Wound, since Wound cards are still cards.
• Wounds cost 0. However, you only gain Wounds when an effect tells you to. You can't intentionally gain Wounds by paying 0 Recruit Points.
• In the Core Set Second Edition, all the cards in the Wound Deck are identical normal "Wounds" so you can keep that deck face up. However, the expansion set Legendary®: Civil War includes "Grievous Wounds" with unique Healing conditions that get shuffled into your Wound Deck. If your Wound Deck has different kinds of Wounds in it, shuffle it at the start of the game and keep it face down throughout the game.

Healing Wounds

If you have one or more Wounds in your hand, you can use the ability written on the Wound card: "Healing: If you don't recruit or fight anything on your turn, you may KO all the Wounds from your hand."

• If you use this Healing ability, you can't recruit or fight any kinds of cards either before or after you use the Healing ability.
• Healing is often worthwhile if you have at least two Wounds in your hand, and/or if Wounds were weakening your hand enough that your turn wouldn't have been very good anyway.
• You use this Healing ability directly from your hand, without actually playing the Wound cards.
• When you have Wounds, it's okay to play the rest of the cards in your hand and use some abilities like "draw a card" to see how your turn develops and how many Attack and Recruit you would have. Then you can decide whether to use the "Healing" ability on the Wounds, or whether to fight and recruit.

Running out of Officers, Sidekicks, Bystanders, or Wounds

If the Officer, Sidekick, Bystander, or Wound Deck runs out, the game continues as normal. If a player would gain one of these cards, and there aren't any more left in the appropriate deck, then you just don't gain that card and the game continues. Don't take extra copies out of the KO pile.

• If all the cards in the Wound Deck are used up, the Heroes have taken enough punishment, and the game is probably close to complete!

Special Abilities on Cards

Special abilities can override game rules.

• Some cards tell "each player" to do something. In those cases, the player whose turn it is does it first, then go in clockwise order.
• If a card tells you to do something, and you can't do all of it, then do as much as you can. For example: if a card tells you to KO two Bystanders from your Victory Pile, and you only have one Bystander, then KO that Bystander and move on.
• If a card calls for a choice, and it's not obvious who should make the choice, then the player whose turn it is makes the choice. For example, Skrull Queen Veranke says "Ambush: Skrull Queen Veranke captures the highest-cost Hero from the HQ. She gets +Attack equal to its cost." If the highest-cost Heroes in the HQ are three Heroes that each cost 6, the current player chooses which of those cards is captured.
• If a card asks you to "KO one of your Heroes" or otherwise choose, discard, or KO a certain kind of card from "your heroes" or your hand, and you don't have any cards of that kind, reveal your hand to show you don't have any.

Revealing a Card

"Reveal a card" just means show the other players that you have it. You can reveal a card from your hand or you can reveal a card in front of you that you have already played this turn. (You can also "reveal" Artifact cards you control, found in expansion sets.) "Revealing" a card doesn't automatically play or discard that card. You can reveal the same card multiple times in a turn if necessary.

• Say a card effect tells you to "Reveal a card or gain a Wound." If you have that card in your hand or that you've played this turn, you could reveal it to stop the Wound, or you could choose not to reveal it and just gain the Wound instead. In rare cases where you have lots of cards that benefit from gaining Wounds, you might prefer to just gain the Wound.
• Essentially, if a card says "do A or do B," you can choose either option that you can actually do. You can't choose an option that you can't do.
• If a card effect tells you to do something like "Discard a card that costs 0" and you don't have any of that kind of card, reveal your hand to show you don't have it.

"Reveal the Top Card of Your Deck"

If a card effect says to reveal the top card of your deck, and it doesn't say where to put that card afterwards, then that card stays where it was, face down on top of your deck.

"Each Hero You Played This Turn"

This phrase only counts cards you have already played this turn, not other cards still in your hand.

"Your Heroes" & "Heroes You Have"

These phrases include both the cards you have played this turn and the cards in your hand. The Heroes in your deck and discard pile don't count.

Advanced Card Interactions

This section covers some unusual card interactions, especially for cards from expansion sets. There's no need to read this section unless you have a particular rules question that you need help figuring out.

Cards You Played That Have Gone Somewhere Else

Cards you played this turn that have moved to the KO pile or some other location still count as "cards you played this turn" so you can use them to trigger Superpower Abilities. However, since they are no longer in your "played cards" pile or your hand, they no longer count as "Your Heroes" or "Heroes you Have" and you can't "Reveal" them for card effects. This applies to cards that have moved to the KO pile, Sidekick Deck, your discard pile, deck, or Victory Pile, and so on.

• For example: Say your hand is all non-grey Heroes. You play your only green Hero, then fight a Villain that says "Fight: KO one of your Heroes." You choose to KO your green Hero. Later in that turn, you can still use a "green: You get +2 Recruit" Superpower Ability, since you still "played a green Hero this turn", but you can't "reveal a green Hero" if some card effect asks you to, since your green Hero has moved to the KO pile, so you don't "have it" anymore.

Printed Attack

A card's "Printed Attack" means the number literally printed inside the card's big Attack icon. Ignore any + or * symbols or special abilities on that card. Likewise, effects that say "If that card has an Attack icon…" check whether that card has a big Attack icon in its lower-left corner. They don't care whether or not the card has any small Attack icons in its text box.

Printed Attack Interactions with Cards from Other Sets

"Divided Cards" from other sets might have two different Attack icons in their corners. While one side of that Divided Card is being played, use only that side's "printed Attack." During times when that card is not being played at all, its "printed Attack" is the total of both Attack numbers printed on it.

Some Villains from other sets join you as Heroes after you fight them. When this happens, that card's "printed Attack" is only whatever Hero Attack number it has printed in the Attack symbol in the lower-left corner. The Attack number in the lower-right corner that the card used when it was a Villain is now considered its "printed cost," since the lower-right corner is where a Hero's cost is printed.

Cards That Don't Have a Number

If a card effect needs to know a number from a card, and that card doesn't have that kind of number, use 0. For example, some Spider-Man (Peter Parker) cards say things like "Reveal the top card of your deck. If it costs 2 or less, draw it." If some Scheme shuffles Scheme Twists into your deck for some reason, and you reveal one of them with that Spider-Man ability, you can draw it, since a Scheme Twist doesn't have a cost, so its cost is considered to be 0.

"Copy a Hero" Effects

There are generally two kinds of Copy effects in the game. First, "Rogue: Stolen Powers" says "Play this card as a copy of one of your Heroes that you played this turn." As you play it, Stolen Powers becomes exactly like the card you're copying. It loses its team icon, loses its Hero Class/color, loses its 5 cost, loses its Hero Name, etc. and instead takes on the team, Hero Class, cost, Hero Name, etc. of whatever it's copying. It gives the Recruit, Attack, and special abilities of the copied card, as if you had played another copy of that card from your hand.

• If you copied an effect like "[icon]: You get +1 Attack for each other [icon] Hero you played this turn," you would check the Attack bonus at the moment you played the Stolen Powers.
• To play Stolen Powers as a copy of a Cyclops card that says "To play this, you must discard a card," you would have to discard a card for the Stolen Powers.
• If you play Stolen Powers as a copy of a card that can "Transform" (from expansion sets), the Stolen Powers can Transform as normal and will stay Transformed.
• (Some Copy cards in other sets explicitly say that they keep their original Hero Class in addition to gaining everything about the copied card, so they might end up with multiple Hero Classes.)

The second kind of Copy effect is shown by Rogue: Grand Larceny, which says "Each player discards the top card of their deck. Play a copy of one of those cards." In this case, Grand Larceny itself does not change, and you are instead playing an "invisible copy" of the copied card that grants all the same Recruit, Attack, and special abilities of the copied card. If you play an "invisible copy" of a green card this way, you still "played a green card this turn" for the purposes of triggering "green:" Superpower abilities. However, "your Heroes" and "Heroes you have" don't include the green card, since it's not actually in front of you.

• If Grand Larceny plays an "invisible copy" of a card that can "Transform" (from expansion sets), the "invisible copy" can Transform and will give you the Transformed card.

Taking Extra Turns

Occasionally a card effect will let you "take another turn." You still play a card from the Villain Deck during your extra turn unless the effect tells you not to do so. If the players win, if evil wins, or if the game ends in a tie this turn, don't take any extra turns after that.

Henchman are Villains

Henchman Villains are a kind of Villain. Henchman Groups are likewise a kind of Villain Group. When a Scheme says "add an extra Villain Group," it means a standard 8-card Villain Group (not a Henchman Group), unless it specifically says to add Henchmen. If a Mastermind always leads "any 'Sinister' Villain Group," that does not include 'Sinister' Henchman Groups.

Masterminds are Not Villains

Masterminds are so powerful that they don't count as mere Villains. Abilities that affect Villains don't affect Masterminds unless they explicitly say they do. For example, when Bank Robbery Hostage Crisis says "Each Villain gets +1 Attack for each Bystander it has," that doesn't affect Masterminds.

• The word "Enemy" includes both Villains and Masterminds.

A Villain Gets -2 Attack

Some cards reduce Villains' Attack. If a Villain's Attack goes to 0, you can fight that Villain without spending any Attack. A Villain's Attack can't go below 0.

"Defeat a Villain"

When a card effect tells you to "Defeat a Villain" outright, you don't need to spend any Attack and you can ignore any fighting restrictions written on that Villain like "To fight Forearm, you must also reveal four Hero cards with different card names." (from Legendary®: Dark City) You still do the defeated Villain's Fight effect. If a card effect lets you "Defeat a Mastermind," that means defeating one Tactic for free.

Villains Capturing Heroes

Some Villains like Skrulls and Venom can capture Heroes. If a Villain escapes with captured Heroes, that doesn't cause any discarding. The captured Heroes just stay in the Escape Pile. The Scheme "Secret Invasion of the Skrull Shapeshifters" says "Evil Wins: When there are 6 Hero cards in the Escape Pile." These Heroes could include any captured Heroes carried into the Escape Pile by Villains as well as any Hero cards that turned into Skrull Infiltrators as described by the Scheme.

Schemes that Count "Escaped Villains"

Some Schemes say things like "Evil Wins: When 4 Villains per player have escaped." These count only the Villain cards currently in the Escape Pile.

• This doesn't count Villains that escape the city and are immediately put somewhere besides the Escape Pile. For example, Mystique says "Escape: Mystique becomes a Scheme Twist that takes effect immediately." Since a Scheme Twist typically goes to the KO pile when it takes effect, Mystique would not be in the Escape Pile and would not count towards "the number of Villains in the Escape Pile" – not even for a moment.
• Some Schemes turn Bystanders or other card types into Villains that can enter and escape the city. Such cards escaping the city count as Villains as well as their normal card type while in the Escape Pile.
• Captured Heroes and Bystanders can also be carried into the Escape Pile by Villains. If the Escape Pile contains both Heroes/Bystanders that turned into Villains and Heroes/Bystanders that didn't, keep the ones that aren't Villains off to the side, so you can remember which is which.
• If Hero cards enter the city as Villains, ignore their Hero abilities.

Card Effects Causing Villains to Enter or Escape the City Instantly

Sometimes a card effect causes a Villain to escape instantly from the city, without the normal process of being pushed by another Villain. If this happens, the Villain escapes from whatever space it's in, without pushing any other Villains out of the city.

• The escaping Villain does all normal Escape effects as if it had escaped normally, including KO'ing a Hero from the HQ and causing each player to discard if it escaped with any number of Bystanders.
• Likewise, if a card effect causes a Villain to enter the city at an unusual time, and/or in an unusual city space, that Villain still does its Ambush ability.
• Note: Villains only do their Ambush ability when they enter the city. If a card effect makes a Villain appear someplace besides the city (like in the HQ, in front of a player, etc.) then it won't do its Ambush.

Scheme Setup Details

If a Scheme's rules conflict with a Mastermind's rules, the Scheme takes precedence. If a Scheme says to "add an extra Hero," add all 14 cards for that Hero to the Hero Deck. If it says "add an extra Villain Group," this means all 8 cards for a normal Villain Group, not a Henchman Group. If it says "add a Henchman Group", add all 10 Henchman cards, even in solo mode.

Multiple Masterminds

Some Schemes or Ascending Masterminds from other sets can lead to multiple Masterminds in the same game. Players must defeat all Masterminds to win the game. When a Master Strike occurs in this situation, each undefeated Mastermind does its Master Strike effect. The current player chooses the order. If multiple Master Strike effects try to stack the same Master Strike card somewhere, keep that Master Strike card wherever the first effect stacked it.

If a card effect (or a Bystander played from the Villain Deck into an empty city) would do something to "the Mastermind," the current player chooses which of the Masterminds to affect. Do the same thing if a Scheme creates multiple Villain Decks, Hero Decks, cities, etc.

New Masterminds Entering the Game

If a card effect causes a new Mastermind to enter a game already in progress, it gets all its normal Mastermind Tactics, and it uses any "Start of Game" ability it may have.

Mastermind Tactics Turning into Other Card Types

Some Tactics from other sets have special abilities that turn those Tactics into face up Villains, or "Villainous Weapons," or other card types. Players win as soon as there are no more Tactics under the Mastermind, even if some of those Tactics have turned into Villains in the city or other card types.

Hero Name

This section gets into some very specific details that you don't need to know unless you specifically have a question about Hero Names. Some card effects check whether Hero cards have the "same Hero Name." In particular, the "Chivalrous Duel" keyword in other sets says "To fight this Enemy, you can only use Attack from a single Hero Name." The Hero "Patriot" from Civil War says things like "You get +1 Attack for each Hero Name among your non-S.H.I.E.L.D. Heroes."

• If a Hero card has no printed Hero Name, then its card name counts as its Hero Name. For example, a S.H.I.E.L.D. Trooper's Hero Name is also "S.H.I.E.L.D. Trooper." Likewise, if a Villain becomes a Hero somehow, its card name counts as its Hero Name.
• For Heroes using the "Transform" Keyword in other sets, you can ignore the word "Transformed" in their Hero Name. So the Hero Name "Gladiator Hulk, Transformed" counts as being the same as just "Gladiator Hulk."
• Occasionally two different Heroes from different sets have the exact same Hero Name, such as "Beast" from Legendary®: Secret Wars, vol. 2 and "Beast" from Legendary®: X-Men. Since the Hero Name is literally identical – "Beast" – they count as having the same Hero Name.
  • (When it's time to sort out the Heroes at the end of the game, you can tell which stack to put each Beast card in by checking the expansion set code in the small text at the bottom of the card.)
• As common abbreviations often used interchangeably, "Mr." is considered the same as "Mister" and "Dr." the same as "Doctor." So "Dr. Strange" is considered the same Hero Name as "Doctor Strange."
• However, other Hero Names are not considered the same unless they are completely identical. So "Spider-Man (Peter Parker)" is not the same Hero Name as "Spider-Man (Miles Morales)" or "Peter Parker" or "Peter Parker, Homecoming" or "Spider-Man."
• While a "Divided Card" from other sets is not being played, it counts as having both of the two different Hero Names of its two different sides. For example, if you have a Divided Card in your hand with the Hero Name "Colossus" on one side and a the Hero Name "Wolverine" on the other side, then the Patriot card above could give you +3 Attack for having the Hero Names "Patriot," "Colossus," and "Wolverine." If you also had a non-Divided "Wolverine" card in your hand, you would still only get +3 Attack, since it has the same hero name "Wolverine" that you already have.
  • A Hero with Divided Cards sometimes has some non-Divided cards with the "&" symbol in their Hero Name, like "Colossus & Wolverine" (or "Storm & Black Panther" or "Rocket & Groot"). This means that card counts as having two Hero Names: "Colossus" & "Wolverine." If you added a "Colossus & Wolverine" card to the example above, you would still only get +3 Attack for having the Hero Names "Patriot," "Colossus," and "Wolverine."
  • So if you fight a Chivalrous Duel, you can use cards with the Hero Name "Colossus" in the same duel as cards with the Hero Name "Colossus & Wolverine." You could not also use cards with the Hero Name "Soulsword Colossus."

Alternate Game Modes

Cooperative and Competitive Play

You can play Legendary® anywhere on a spectrum from fully cooperative to fully competitive. Some play groups like to focus on cooperation to beat the Mastermind, helping each other at every opportunity and not even counting Victory Points. Other groups focus on competition, even looking for ways to slow down or sabotage other players to get more Victory Points for themselves.

Most groups end up in the middle, focusing mostly on cooperating to beat the Mastermind, but with each player also hoping to score the most Victory Points. In that kind of group, beating the Mastermind is a collective celebration where the whole team wins, with a further congratulations for the player who scores the most VP and is the most Legendary Hero of all.

Adjusting Difficulty

Some play groups like an easier challenge when introducing new or younger players or after the Mastermind wins. Other groups like to face tougher and tougher challenges. One way to adjust the difficulty level is choosing which cards to use in your next game:

• Mastermind: Some Masterminds are intentionally easier or harder to defeat. This is the easiest way to adjust difficulty. In this set, the higher-difficulty Masterminds are the ones with the higher Attack numbers, but that's not true for all sets. Many elements play a role in overall Mastermind power level. Learning which Masterminds are easier and stronger (and the best ways to fight each one) is part of the game!
• Epic Mastermind Side: If you are feeling especially confident and ambitious, you can flip over any of the Masterminds in this set to their "Epic Mastermind" side, which has more dangerous special abilities, Master Strikes, and Attack numbers. These are not for the faint of heart!
• Scheme: Likewise, you will find that some Schemes are easier or harder to defeat. Some Schemes are especially difficult in combination with certain Masterminds or Villain Groups. Again, finding out which Schemes are hardest and the best ways to beat each Scheme combined with each Mastermind is part of the game!
• Villain Groups: Some Villain Groups are intentionally tougher than others. For example, the Enemies of Asgard are especially tough, while Hydra is much easier. The VP of the Villains in the group is the clearest signal for which Villain Groups are harder.

Making the Game Harder

If you are seeking even greater challenges, you can try increasing the Mastermind's base Attack or increasing the number of Scheme Twists in the Villain Deck. A small change here can have a big impact!

Optional End Game: "Final Blow"

Some players like to play with an optional rule that after the Mastermind has been fought 4 times and has no more face down Tactics, a player must still fight the Mastermind card itself in a 5th, final fight to put the Mastermind card into their Victory Pile and win the game. This variation makes the game harder and a bit longer. If your group wants to use Final Blow, it's best to make that clear at the start.

Making the Game Easier

If you want to give newer or younger players a boost to help them compete with veteran players, or if you want some help in challenging an especially powerful or Epic Mastermind:

• You can replace some number of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents with S.H.I.E.L.D. Officers in those players' starting decks.
• Or you can give them a larger hand size, like 7 or 8 cards.
• Or you can agree to reduce the Mastermind's Attack by some fixed number throughout the game.

Second Edition Solo Mode

You can also play Legendary® as a single player, competing to defeat each Mastermind and Scheme combination while earning the highest scores you can. This revised solo mode overrides and replaces the solo rules in earlier core sets like the Core Set First Edition, Legendary®: Dark City, Legendary®: Villains, and Legendary®: Marvel Studios Phase 1.

Solo Setup

Hero Deck: Use 3 random Heroes, 42 cards in total

Villain Deck:

• 1 Villain Group (8 cards. In solo mode, ignore the Mastermind's "Always Leads" ability.)
• 2 Henchman cards from the same random Henchman Group
  • In addition, set aside 2 additional cards from that same Henchman Group. Those 2 Henchmen enter the city at the very beginning of your first turn, right before you play the normal card from the Villain Deck for your first turn. (They enter the city one at a time, doing any Ambush ability before the next one enters.)
  • Do not use the remaining 6 cards from that Henchman Group. (If a Scheme says to add an extra Henchman Group, use all 10 Henchmen from that extra group unless it tells you to use another number.)
• 1 Bystander (taken randomly from the Bystander Deck)
• 5 Master Strikes
• Scheme Twists (The normal number listed on the Scheme)

Extra Scheme Twist Effect

Whenever you complete a Scheme Twist effect, choose a Hero from the HQ that costs 6 or less and put it on the bottom of the Hero Deck.

• This helps you avoid Heroes you don't want and helps you craft a more focused personal strategy. Without this rule and without other players taking cards from the HQ, you would be stuck recruiting most of the cards that the Hero Deck randomly served up to you.
• Note: Some Scheme Twists say things like "Play two cards from the Villain Deck," which can cause even more Scheme Twists to be played. No matter how many Twists end up occurring in the same turn, only put one Hero from the HQ onto the bottom of the Hero Deck. This avoids you having to remember how many Twists happened then tucking away multiple Heroes in a row.
• There is no extra effect after a Master Strike.

"Each Other Player"

In solo mode, when a Villain, Mastermind, or Mastermind Tactic tells "each other player" to do something, do it yourself. (Don't do this for "each other player" effects on Hero cards.)

Mastermind Abilities & Specific Villain Groups

Since there is only 1 Villain Group in a 1 player game, ignoring "Always Leads" ensures that the Villain Groups which aren't "Always Led" by any Mastermind still show up sometimes in solo mode. This also adds variety to different games against the same Mastermind.

Some Masterminds like Red Skull or Doctor Doom have special abilities and Tactics linked to the specific Villains that they usually "Always Lead." In solo mode, if you don't use the group that your Mastermind usually "Always Leads," then apply that ability to the corresponding Villain Group or Henchman Group that you are using instead.

• Say you play Red Skull with the Enemies of Asgard instead of Hydra Villains. Red Skull says "Red Skull gets +1 Attack for each Hydra Villain in the city and/or Escape Pile." Red Skull would instead get +1 Attack for each Enemy of Asgard in the city and/or Escape Pile.
• Say you play Doctor Doom with Hand Ninjas instead of Doombot Legions. The Attack bonuses that Doctor Doom usually grants to Doombot Legions would be granted to Hand Ninjas instead.

Solo Scoring

If you win the game, add up your Victory Points and subtract these penalties:

• -3 for each Scheme Twist that was played (and isn't in the Villain Deck).
• -1 for each Villain in the Escape Pile.
• -1 for each Bystander in the Escape Pile.

Write down your scores and which Heroes, Mastermind, and Scheme you used. Compete against yourself, your friends, or the many Legendary® solo challenge groups on board game websites or social media groups to get better scores against that Mastermind and Scheme with the same or different Heroes!

Alternate Solo Mode: Simulating Multiple Players

Another way to play Legendary® solo is to simulate two (or more) players, and you play each of them. This lets you play the game without any solo mode special rules. When doing this, it can be difficult to remember whose turn it is, so whenever a card is played from the Villain Deck, some players like to tilt that card towards the direction of the "player" who played that card. That makes it easier to glance at the playmat and see that the most recent card from the Villain Deck was played by "the right-hand player." Some players also like to jot down with a pencil which colors or strategies each 'player' is pursuing, since it can be otherwise hard to remember.

Hero Classes / Colors

A card's color is shown in the Hero Class icon in the card's upper left, and also in the color of the card's border. (Each Hero has a "Rare" card with no border, but you can still see that card's color by checking the Hero Class icon in its upper left.) Hero Class and color are the same thing except that there is a sixth color, grey, for cards with no Hero Class.

Strength Heroes (Green) include Heroes with raw physical power, but also Heroes with strength of will, determination, and strong leadership.

Instinct Heroes (Yellow) use savagery and quick reflexes to dominate combats. Some Instinct Heroes use superhuman senses to get an edge on their opponents.

Covert Heroes (Red) include Heroes using trickery and deception to outwit their foes. Some Covert Heroes also plan clever maneuvers or use Superpowers to gain subtle advantages.

Tech Heroes (Black) include Heroes using advanced weaponry, incredible gadgets, brilliant inventions, or next-generation science.

Ranged Heroes (Blue) unleash massive firepower. This includes bows, projectiles, energy beams, elemental powers, and mental assaults.

Basic Heroes (Grey) include normal S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents, Troopers, and Officers, and normal Sidekicks. They all count as Heroes, though they don't quite get the job done as well as high-flying Superheroes.

Hero Teams

X-Men: Born as mutants, with strange powers that set them apart, the X-Men are sworn to protect a world that hates and fears them. The X-Men Heroes in the Core Set Second Edition are Cyclops, Emma Frost, Gambit, Rogue, Storm, and Wolverine.

Avengers: "And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes and heroines found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, the Avengers were born—to fight the foes no single super hero could withstand!" – Avengers Prologue. The Avengers Heroes in the Core Set Second Edition are Black Widow, Captain America, Hawkeye, Hulk, Iron Man, and Thor.

Spider-Friends: This team includes spider-powered Heroes from across the multiverse, plus their closest friends and allies. The Spider-Friends Heroes in the Core Set Second Edition are Spider-Man (Miles Morales) and Spider-Man (Peter Parker).

S.H.I.E.L.D.: The "Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate" is a clandestine paramilitary and spy organization led by Director Nick Fury. It works behind the scenes to stop Superpowered Villains before they get out of hand.

Game Contents

Rulebook, playmat, dividers, and 550 game cards:

• 15 Heroes, each with 14 cards (210 cards. Each Hero has 1 rare, 3 uncommons, 5 of one common, and 5 of another common)]
• 8 Villain Groups of 8 cards each (64 cards)
• 4 Henchman Groups of 10 cards each (40 cards)
• 5 Double-Sided Epic Masterminds (25 cards: 5 Mastermind cards and 20 Mastermind Tactics)
• 40 S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents
• 20 S.H.I.E.L.D. Troopers
• 30 S.H.I.E.L.D. Officers (20 normal S.H.I.E.L.D. Officers and 2 each of 5 different colors of S.H.I.E.L.D. Officer Specialists)
• 24 Daring Sidekicks
• 42 Bystanders (30 Normal Bystanders and 4 each of Experimental Geneticist, Kindly Caretaker, and Police Officer.)
• 30 Wounds
• 9 different Schemes
• 11 Scheme Twists
• 5 Master Strikes

Use the dividers in the box to separate the different types of cards. Some people like to put their cards in card sleeves to help protect them.

Quick Reference Guide

Setup

• Each player shuffles a personal deck of 8 S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents and 4 S.H.I.E.L.D. Troopers and draws 6 cards.
• Put the S.H.I.E.L.D. Officer, Bystander, and Wound Decks in the appropriate spaces. Decks of all identical cards can stay face up. Decks containing different cards should be shuffled face down.
• Pick 1 Mastermind at random, and put them on the playmat, with their 4 Mastermind Tactics face down underneath them in random order.

Villain Deck

• Pick 1 Scheme at random. Follow its "Setup" instructions. Use the number of Scheme Twists it specifies to start the Villain Deck.
• Add 5 Master Strikes to the Villain Deck.
• Add this many Villain Groups, Henchman Groups, and Bystanders to the Villain Deck. Be sure to include the group that this Mastermind "Always Leads." Shuffle the Villain Deck.

Players	Villain Groups	Henchman Groups	Bystanders	Heroes
1	1	1* (2 cards in deck, 2 cards in city)	1	3
2	2	1	2	5
3	3	1	8	5
4	4	2	8	5
5	5	2	16	6

• *In 1-player solo games only: Add only two cards from the chosen Henchman Group to the Villain Deck. Two more cards from that same Henchman Group enter the city before your first turn.
• In 4 and 5-player games only: there is a "Warmup Round" where on each player's very first turn, that player does not play a card from the Villain Deck.

Hero Deck

• Randomly select the listed number of Heroes. Shuffle their cards together to make the Hero Deck.
• Put 5 cards from the Hero Deck into the HQ, face up.

On Your Turn

1. Play the top card of the Villain Deck.
2. Play cards from your hand, using them to fight and recruit.
3. Discard your hand and draw 6 new cards.

Icons: Strength, Instinct, Covert, Tech, Ranged (Hero Class icons); Attack, Recruit, Cost, Victory Points (card stat icons).