Marvel Battlegrounds Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Game Modes
• Setup
• How to Play
• Phase 1: Hero Recruitment
  • 1.1: Passing
• Phase 2: Assignment of Heroes to Battlefields
  • 2.1: Using Actions and Heroes
  • 2.2: Challenge
  • 2.3: Exchanging an Action for Influence (Optional)
  • 2.4: Role of the Leader
  • 2.5: End of the Phase
• Phase 3: Battle Resolution
  • 3.1: Absolute Victory
    • War Spoils
  • 3.2: Partial Victory
    • War Spoils
  • 3.3: Defeat
    • Reinforcements
  • 3.4: Domain
  • Domain and Victory Points
• Phase 4: Maintenance
• End of the Game
• Scoring
• Hero Powers
  • Understanding the Powers
• Avengers Mode

Components

• 1 Board
• 5 Leader Shields (one per player)
• 10 Leader cards (2 for each leader): the front shows the game mode (Grand Leaders), the leader's Strength bonus and the Victory Points scored at the end of the game; the back shows the leader's name
• 56 Hero cards: the front shows Strength, name, Influence cost and Power; the back shows the Marvel Battlegrounds logo
• 21 Villain cards: the front shows Resistance, Level, Challenge, the number of players the card is used with, Domain and Influence; the back shows the Marvel Battlegrounds logo
• 1 Scoring pad
• 36 Victory markers
• 1 Round marker
• 18 Champion markers (3 for each location)
• 150 Domain markers: 90 markers of value 1 (15 per battlefield) and 60 markers of value 3 (10 per battlefield)
• 50 Influence markers: 30 brown markers and 20 silver markers marked "3"
• 6 Villain Resistance markers
• 6 Villain Reinforcement markers (front "+5", back "+20")
• 5 Leadership markers
• 32 Leader Action markers (acrylic): 6 each for Iron Man, Captain America, Captain Marvel and Black Panther, and 8 for Black Widow
• 35 Leader Track markers: 7 for each leader

Game Modes

There are two game modes: Grand Leaders and Avengers.

In Grand Leaders mode, all leaders begin the game with exactly the same resources. This mode is recommended for your first game of Marvel Battlegrounds.

In Avengers mode, the leaders have exclusive special abilities and begin the game with different Strength and Influence.

Setup

This is the setup for Grand Leaders mode. To learn how to set up the table for Avengers mode, see "Avengers Mode" on page 11.

1. Open the board in the centre of the table, within reach of all players. During the game you will use a number of Battlefields equal to the number of leaders plus one. For example, in a game with 3 leaders, use the Battlefields numbered 1 to 4 and ignore the other two.

2. Place the 3 matching Champion markers on each Battlefield in play.

3. Separate the Villain cards that match the number of leaders in the game to form the Villain deck. Shuffle it, and place it face down next to the board. Return unused Villain cards to the box.

4. Shuffle the Hero cards. Place the Hero deck face down just above the board, in the leftmost position of the Recruitment Row.

5. For each Battlefield in play, reveal 1 Villain card and place it face up in the "Villain" space. Then reveal a number of Hero cards according to the table below, based on the Villain's Challenge value, and place them face up in the "Prison" space. If there is more than one card, stack them one on top of the other. These cards may be consulted at any time.

   Challenge	Imprisoned Heroes
   2	1
   3-5	2

6. On the Battle Track of each Battlefield, use a Resistance marker to mark the Villain's Resistance printed in the top-left corner of the Villain card.

7. Reveal 8 Hero cards and fill the spaces of the Recruitment Row.

How to Play

A game of Marvel Battlegrounds is divided into three rounds. Each round has four phases, always carried out in this sequence:

• Phase 1: Hero Recruitment
• Phase 2: Assignment of Heroes to Battlefields
• Phase 3: Battle Resolution
• Phase 4: Maintenance

In phases 1 and 2, the leaders take turns. The description of each phase states what may be done during your turn.

In phases 3 and 4, resolve each Battlefield starting from the lowest number to the highest.

Phase 1: Hero Recruitment

Following the order of the markers on the Hero Recruitment track, when it is your turn, each leader has the opportunity to acquire one Hero from the Recruitment Row. Turns continue, with each leader recruiting heroes, until all leaders pass once (described below).

To recruit a Hero on your turn, you must pay the Influence cost shown on the card. However, the first card of the Recruitment Row (the leftmost) has its Influence cost increased by 1; the last two cards (the rightmost) have their cost reduced by 1.

Return to the Reserve an amount of Influence equal to the Hero's cost, then add the card to your hand. The hand limit for Hero cards is 6. If you already have 6 Hero cards, you are forced to pass (see below).

Then move the Hero immediately to the left of the one you recruited into the empty space in the Recruitment Row, and continue sliding the cards in this way until a space opens in the first position. Reveal a new card from the top of the Hero deck to fill the empty space.

Leaders who have already passed may no longer recruit heroes, and the turn follows the sequence of the next leader on the Hero Recruitment track.

1.1: Passing

During your turn, if you do not want to recruit any more Heroes, have no more Influence to spend, or already have 6 cards in hand, you must pass. When you do, move your marker from the Hero Recruitment track to the lowest value position still available on the Battle Assignment track.

Example: Iron Man was the first to pass, moving his marker to position 1 of the Battle Assignment track.

Phase 1 ends when all leaders have passed once.

Phase 2: Assignment of Heroes to Battlefields

In this phase, the leaders take turns in the order of their markers on the Battle Assignment track, using Action markers and Hero cards to send their teams to face the villains at the various Battlefields.

The number of Action markers you have available on the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier at the start of this phase varies according to the round the game is in:

Round	Action markers
1st	3
2nd	4
3rd	4

2.1: Using Actions and Heroes

On your turn:

1. Choose a Battlefield in play and place one of your Action markers there, from the Helicarrier, provided the leader limit of the chosen Battlefield has not yet been reached (see "2.2 Challenge" below).
2. Play a Hero card from your hand into the "Hero" space of the chosen Battlefield. Use one of your Track markers to indicate on the Battle Track the damage your Hero dealt to the Villain: each point of Strength corresponds to one point of damage. If the space on the Battle Track is already occupied by another leader's marker, simply place your marker on top of the one(s) already present. (Note: the damage dealt by your Heroes is cumulative. That is, for each new Hero you play at the same Battlefield, add their Strength to the damage already dealt.)
3. Optional: Activate the Power of the newly played Hero (see "Hero Powers", p. 10) and resolve its effects immediately. Some Powers have prerequisites that must be met before you can enjoy the benefits.
4. Optional: Activate your Leader card or your Leadership marker (see "2.4 Role of the Leader", p. 06) to receive a unique advantage.
5. On the Battle Track, move the Villain's Resistance marker back a number of spaces equal to the Strength of the newly played Hero.
6. Pass the turn to the next player and wait until your turn comes around again.

2.2: Challenge

The number of different leaders who may send Heroes to each Battlefield is limited by the Villain's Challenge (the icon shown on the Villain card) at that location. In other words, the number of different players who may place Action markers at a given Battlefield is equal to the Challenge of the Villain that has invaded that location.

Example: Thanos is a Challenge 3 Villain currently occupying Wakanda. If the players controlling Iron Man, Black Widow and Captain Marvel have placed their Action markers at this Battlefield, neither Captain America nor Black Panther may enter it, since the limit of 3 different leaders has already been reached. However, Iron Man, Black Widow and Captain Marvel may still add Action markers (and Heroes from their teams) to Wakanda to try to defeat Thanos.

2.3: Exchanging an Action for Influence (Optional)

On your turn, instead of assigning a Hero to a Battlefield, you may remove 1 of your Action markers from the Helicarrier to take 2 Influence markers from the Reserve, and then pass.

2.4: Role of the Leader

When sending a Hero to a Battlefield, you may activate your Leader card and/or your Leadership marker to gain an advantage. Each of these options may be used only once per game. After using them, return the Leader card and/or the Leadership marker to the game box.

• The Leader card grants the Hero you have just played at the Battlefield the team leader's Strength bonus. Make sure you are using the version of the Leader card that matches the game mode chosen during setup.
• The Leadership marker reduces the Villain's Challenge by 1 point during Phase 3: Battle Resolution (more details in the section of the same name below).

Note: the Leadership marker does not affect the limit imposed by the Villain's Challenge on the number of different leaders who may send Heroes to the battle.

2.5: End of the Phase

When it is your turn and you have no more Action markers to use, your participation in Phase 2 is over. Wait for the actions of the other leaders and, when all of them are out of markers, move on to Phase 3.

Phase 3: Battle Resolution

This is the moment of truth. It is when you find out whether the effort of the Heroes and team leaders was enough to defeat the Villain and make it abandon the Battlefield. But it is also the moment to find out who stood out most in the combat and became the Champion.

Check the result of the combat at each Battlefield to which at least one team leader sent one or more Heroes. There are three possible results:

1. Absolute Victory
2. Partial Victory
3. Defeat

3.1: Absolute Victory

Victory is absolute if:

• the Villain's Resistance has reached zero, and also
• the number of leaders involved in the battle is equal to or greater than the Villain's current Challenge (possibly through the use of a Leadership marker).

In this case, the Champion is the team leader who caused the most damage to the Villain on the Battle Track. If two or more leaders caused the same damage and therefore occupy the same space on the track, the Champion is the one whose marker is lowest among the others.

The defeated Villain is removed from the Battlefield and returned to the game box.

Remove the Hero cards from the Battlefield and place them separately, forming a discard pile (anywhere on your table).

War Spoils

• The Champion receives one of the Battlefield's specific Champion markers.
• The Champion may choose one Hero card from the Battlefield's "Prison" to add to their team. If there is more than one imprisoned Hero, or if the Champion declines to take a card as a reward, the second-best placed player in the battle may take an imprisoned Hero if they wish.

Note: in the third round of the game there will be no imprisoned Heroes available, and the Champion receives 2 Victory markers, totalling 10 points. If there is a third Victory marker at the location, the second-placed player in the battle keeps it, totalling 5 points. More information in Phase 4: Maintenance, p. 08.

• All leaders who took part in the battle receive Influence and Domain in the amounts shown in the bottom-right corner of the Villain card. Keep these markers behind your shield.

Influence, Domain and Victory markers are not limited. If the physical markers run out, use poker chips, coins, beads, seeds or notes on a piece of paper to keep track.

3.2: Partial Victory

Victory is partial if:

• the Villain's Resistance has reached zero, and also
• the number of leaders involved in the battle is less than the Villain's current Challenge.

The Champion is still the team leader who caused the most damage to the Villain, as described in "3.1 Absolute Victory" above. Resolve any tie in the same way as for an absolute victory.

The defeated Villain is removed from the Battlefield and returned to the game box.

Remove the Hero cards from the Battlefield and place them separately, forming a discard pile (anywhere on your table).

War Spoils

• The Champion may choose one imprisoned Hero card (or keep the Victory markers, if this is the third round), exactly as in an absolute victory (see "3.1 Absolute Victory" above. Transcriber's note: the source's cross-reference here reads "3.2 Vitória Absoluta", which is a misprint for section 3.1.).
• All leaders who took part in the battle receive Influence in the amount shown in the bottom-right corner of the Villain card.

Note: in a partial victory, nobody keeps the Battlefield's Champion marker and nobody receives Domain.

3.3: Defeat

Defeat occurs when the Villain's Resistance has not been reduced to zero.

The Villain, which has prevailed over the Heroes, not only remains at the Battlefield but also calls for reinforcements!

Reinforcements

Take a Reinforcement marker from the Reserve and place it on the Villain card, next to its Resistance. If this is the first time the Villain receives reinforcements in the game, leave the "+5" face up. If the Villain has already received reinforcements before, leave the "+20" face visible. The Villain's Resistance therefore increases by 5 or 20 points over what it was at the end of the battle! The Villain also remains in play for the next round. Update the Resistance on the Battle Track using the Resistance marker.

3.4: Domain

Acquiring Domain markers is one of the main ways to obtain the victory points you need to win a game of Marvel Battlegrounds. You receive Domain markers when you take part in an Absolute Victory (see 3.1, p. 06) or when you activate certain Hero Powers (p. 10). At the end of the game, the Domain markers you have won will be converted into victory points according to the conversion rate of the Domain Marker Track (below).

The Domain markers are associated with the six Battlefields. When you receive Domain from a Battlefield, take from the Reserve markers of that location in the quantity stated on the Villain or Hero card, and place them behind your shield. If this is the first time that Battlefield has granted Domain, also take a marker of the same type and place it on the Domain Marker Track, marking the quantity of Domain obtained.

Example 1: Thanos was absolutely defeated in Wakanda by Iron Man, Black Widow and Captain Marvel. The three leaders each receive 5 Domain markers (totalling 15 distributed markers). As this is the first time a battle has been won in Wakanda during the game, place a Wakanda Domain marker on position 15 of the Domain Marker Track.

Once a given Battlefield's marker is already on the Domain Marker Track, every time new Domain markers are granted there, advance the corresponding marker on the Domain Marker Track by the number of spaces specified on the Villain or Hero card.

Example 2: in the second round, Black Panther and Captain America achieve an absolute victory over Green Goblin in Wakanda. Each of them receives 4 Domain markers from this Battlefield. Advance the Wakanda marker 8 spaces on the Domain Marker Track, from position 15 to position 23.

Domain and Victory Points

The Domain Marker Track is divided into five coloured bands. Above the spaces of each band, the track shows a certain number of victory points: this is the conversion rate, that is, how many points you will receive at the end of the game for each Domain marker you have won across the various Battlefields (more information in "Scoring", p. 09):

• Spaces 1–8: 10 points
• Spaces 9–15: 7 points
• Spaces 16–22: 5 points
• Spaces 23–30: 3 points
• Spaces 31–40: 1 point

Example 3: during the game, Wakanda distributed a total of 25 Domain markers; Nova York provided 21 and Attilan 18. Therefore, at the end of the game, each Domain marker of Wakanda, Nova York and Attilan obtained by the leaders is worth, respectively, 3, 5 and 5 victory points. Iron Man gathered zero Wakanda markers, 10 Nova York markers and 5 Attilan markers. Converting everything into victory points, Iron Man earned (0 x 3) + (10 x 5) + (5 x 5) = 75 VP.

Tip: Note that the more Domain a Battlefield has distributed, the fewer victory points its corresponding markers will be worth at the end of the game. So be careful not to invest in Battlefields that have already yielded a large amount of Domain markers, since those locations will yield fewer points in the end.

Phase 4: Maintenance

In this phase, you must prepare the next round by following the steps below:

• Distribute 3 Influence markers to each leader. If no Villain was defeated in this round, add 2 more Influence markers in total.

• Advance the Round marker on the corresponding track. If this was the third round, proceed to the End of the Game and the victory point count shown below.

• Leaders collect their Action markers and restock the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier according to the table:

  Round	Action markers
  2nd	4
  3rd	4

• Move the leaders' markers from the Battle Assignment track to the Hero Recruitment track, placing them in reverse order. The leader who was last on the Battle Assignment track becomes the first on the Hero Recruitment track; the second-to-last becomes the second, and so on.

• Reveal and put into play a new card from the Villain deck for each Battlefield where the leaders defeated a Villain in this round.

• If there are no more cards in the Hero deck, shuffle the discard pile and form a new Hero deck.

• When moving from the first to the second round, reveal and add to the "Prison" of each Battlefield in play a number of cards from the Hero deck according to the Challenge of the Villain occupying that location:

End of the Game

At the end of the third round, the game is over. Proceed to the victory point count.

Scoring

Take a sheet from the scoring pad and note how many victory points each leader earned in each of the following categories:

• Influence: each Influence marker left unspent earns the leader 1 victory point.

• Victory markers: if the leader did not use their Leader card during the game, the leader may convert it into victory points (value shown in the bottom-right corner of the card). Add up the values of the Victory markers each leader obtained during the game and note the results.

• Champion markers: for each Battlefield in play, rank the leaders who obtained the most Champion markers there. Distribute victory points according to the table below, add up each leader's results across the Battlefields, and note the totals.

  Number of first-place finishers	Victory points
  1	25
  2	15 each
  3	10 each

  If one leader has an absolute majority of the Champion markers at a location, that leader receives 25 points. If two players each hold one Champion marker, they each receive 15 points. If 3 players each hold one marker, then 10 points are given to each of them.

• Battlefield scoring: convert your Domain markers into victory points according to the conversion rate of the Domain Marker Track (see "Domain", p. 07). Add up the results of each leader and note the totals.

Add up the totals obtained by each leader. The game is won by the leader who has accumulated the highest number of victory points. In case of a tie, the winner is the one with more Influence. If the tie persists, the tied players share the victory.

Hero Powers

Heroes have Powers that you may activate when you play a Hero card from your hand to a Battlefield during Phase 2: Assignment of Heroes to Battlefields.

If you wish to activate the Power of a newly played Hero, announce your decision and resolve the effects immediately.

Example: Black Widow uses an Action marker to send Nebula to London in Phase 2. She announces that she wants to activate Nebula's Power (the icon shown on the card) and immediately takes a total of 2 Influence from the Reserve.

Some Powers have prerequisites that must be met before you can enjoy their benefits. An arrow icon separates the prerequisite from the effect of the Power. You may use a Hero at a location even if the prerequisite of its Power is not met; in that case, the Hero's Power is not used.

Example: Iron Man sends Adam Warlock to Wakanda to face Thanos, a level 4 Villain. Adam Warlock's Power is to receive +3 Strength if he enters battle against a level 3 or higher Villain. Since the prerequisite is met, Iron Man activates the Hero's Power. Adam Warlock's Strength is now 12.

If, instead of Thanos, Adam Warlock were sent to fight Green Goblin, a level 2 Villain, Iron Man could not activate the Hero's Power, and Adam Warlock would remove only 9 points of Green Goblin's Resistance.

Understanding the Powers

The following is a summary of the icons used by the Powers in Marvel Battlegrounds:

• Return Influence icon (a hand giving a medal): if the leader returns to the Reserve the indicated amount of Influence...
• Level 4 Villain icon (a crowned figure with stars): if the Hero enters battle against a level 4 Villain...
• First to enter icon (a Hero kneeling with "1°"): if the Hero is the first to enter this Battlefield...
• +ACTION icon: the leader gains one more Action marker, from their personal Reserve.
• Level 3 or higher Villain icon (a crowned figure with stars): if the Hero enters battle against a level 3 or higher Villain...
• +5 shield icon (a fist on a shield, marked "+5"): the Hero gains the indicated Strength bonus.
• 5X icon (the number 5X with an arrow): the leader may activate this Power the indicated number of times, as long as the prerequisites are met each time.
• Split bar icon (a card icon and a hand icon separated by a bar): the leader chooses and applies only one of the effects separated by the bar.
• +Card icon (a card with a plus sign): the leader may play one more Hero card at this Battlefield. It is then possible to activate the Power of this new Hero.
• Influence from Reserve icon (a hand holding two medals): the leader takes from the Reserve the indicated amount of Influence.
• Domain icon (a hand holding a Domain flag): the leader gains a Domain marker from this Battlefield (advance normally on the Domain Marker Track).

Avengers Mode

All the preparation for playing in Avengers mode is the same as for Grand Leaders mode, with only a few exceptions. First, use the Leader cards of the Avengers mode in place of the Leader cards of the Grand Leaders mode.

In addition, the leaders begin the game with different Strength and Influence, and each leader has a special ability that may be used during the game. The description of the ability states in which phase of the round it may be used.

Captain Marvel

• Initial Influence: 6
• Special Ability: in Phase 3: Battle Resolution, you always receive +2 Influence for each won battle in which you took part.

Captain America

• Initial Influence: 7
• Special Ability: in Phase 2: Assignment of Heroes to Battlefields, every Hero of cost 1 or 2 that you send to battle receives a +2 Strength bonus.

Iron Man

• Initial Influence: 8
• Special Ability: in Phase 1: Hero Recruitment, throughout the game, you may recruit Heroes with the 1 Influence discount starting from the fourth position of the Recruitment Row, not only from the seventh onwards.

Black Panther

• Initial Influence: 8
• Special Ability: at any moment of your turn during Phase 2: Assignment of Heroes to Battlefields, you may swap a Hero card in your hand for a Hero card in the Recruitment Row, provided both have the same Influence cost or less. You may use this ability only once per turn.

Black Widow

• Initial Influence: 7
• Special Ability: at the start of the game, you gain 2 extra Action markers to use in battles. Keep them behind your shield and, when you use one of them, return it to the game box.