The human rocket blasts into Marvel Crisis Protocol!
I have been playing Guardians of the Galaxy since they released way back in the first six months of Marvel Crisis Protocol’s lifespan- just as the pandemic rocked the world and reduced most of us to playing on our kitchen tables with indulgent family members and painting obsessively in the hope of future adventures in miniatures gaming down the line. I have been writing about them almost as long, over on Across the Bifrost in a series called Going Knowhere I have (very) intermittently updated over the years. In almost every article I wrote, I alluded to or outright said, “WHERE IS MY RICHARD RIDER NOVA, AMG?”
Well, true believers- at long last, he is here, and he was worth the wait!
Who Is Nova?
Richard Rider has had quite the career. He started off as one of Marvel’s “teen heroes” back in the 1970s, when he was granted the powers of the Nova Corps by a dying centurion who had pursued a galactic fugitive to Earth. Over the next decades, he would have many adventures, fighting alongside Spider-Man, the Avengers, and most notably the original iteration of the New Warriors. He was firmly a “C-tier” character for Marvel until the early 2000s, however.
The Annihilation story arc (and its sequel, Annihilation: Conquest) made Richard Rider a star, as he led the galactic resistance against the Annihilation Wave and subsequently the Phalanx conquest of the Kree Empire. These series “rebooted” Marvel’s cosmic characters and properties, gave Nova the opportunity to grow into the true hero he was always meant to be, and among other things brought about the creation of the modern iteration of the Guardians of the Galaxy. These runs are phenomenal comic storytelling and well worth your time to look into- not least of which because the team behind Annihilation: Conquest (and the Guardians’ reboot) was none other than Dan Abnett, a name who needs no introduction on this site, working alongside the also extremely talented Andy Lanning. Seriously. Go check them out.
But first- let’s take a look at what Nova brings to the table in Marvel Crisis Protocol!
Well done, Atomic Mass Games.
Nova’s stats are fairly standard for a 5-threat character, with no glaring weaknesses and a few standouts. He has 4’s in all defenses and a respectable 7 health. This is solid, if not setting the world on fire. I will point out that the also Guardians-affiliated Angela is often criticized for being a bit easy to remove for a 5 threat, and Nova has the same defensive stats, albeit with one more health instead of enemy models not being able to reroll/modify dice when attacking him. He will hold up against chip attacks, but will go down if a serious beater comes after him. However, he has several other nice things going for him: he’s a Long mover, which is excellent and starts to make the case for Guardians having a “fast models” build centered around some combination of Nova, Gamora, Beta Ray Bill, Ronan and Angela. He also flies, which is great, and has the all-important Immunity to Incinerate which makes him that much tougher to take out and lends itself well to playing Demons Downtown!, a Guardians of the Galaxy staple crisis.
Nova has two “gainer” attacks and no “builders”- meaning his two zero cost attacks will only ever give him one power, regardless of damage dealt. This is somewhat offset by one of his superpowers, below, but it does mean you’re going to need to manage his power economy carefully.
Nova Burst is his close-range attack, and it’s a little underwhelming for a 5 threat, an energy attack hitting with five dice at Range 2. However, it has an absolutely outstanding wild trigger to Throw characters of Size 4(!) or less Away S. This is a fantastic displacement/control ability (as well as obviously a source of damage if you’re tossing a Hulk into one of his friends), especially in Star-Lord’s Guardians, where rerolls can make the trigger more reliable.
Gravimetric Cannon is Nova’s long-range attack, at Range 4 with six dice. This is a little beefier, and it comes with two great triggers: an automatic sizeless Push Away S if damage is dealt, and a wild/shield trigger to hand out the Judgment condition. Judgment is rare in the game for a reason, as it breaks the “clap-back” mechanic MCP is built around. It’s a very powerful ability, if a bit dice dependent. I’ll also point out that while Ronan doesn’t see a lot of play in Guardians, he also hands out Judgment, so two sources could be quite debilitating in some matchups.
Nova’s spender is going to generate a lot of buzz. Lightspeed Lance is a Beam 5(!), 7 dice energy attack that costs 5 power. After all the attacks are resolved, Nova then places within R1 of the last character targeted. This attack also has a wild trigger to push the enemy model Away S. Order of operation is important here: if you target three models, for example, the first two will have to push Away from Nova’s starting position, because he won’t have placed next to the final target yet. The final target, you’re free to resolve the abilities in any order you want, so you can place and then push the target in exactly the direction you’re looking for if you hit the trigger, OR push the target away from your original position and then place next to them. Nice!
Nova has three superpowers (besides the previously mentioned Flight and Immunity: Incinerate). The first, Faster Than Light is an interesting one. It costs 2 power and an action, and when using it, Nova makes an attack action, then places within R2 of his current location. This superpower may only be used once per turn. This adds even more mobility to an already very fast character, and combos in interesting ways with Nova Force (see below), but I wonder how often Nova will have 2 power he wants to spend on this, given the number of other ways he can spend his power. When it matters, such as when it enables Nova to attack twice while still placing somewhere he needs to be, you’ll be glad you have it, but I don’t see this as an “every turn” power.
After the destruction of Xandar by the Annihilation Wave, Nova found himself playing host not only to the entirety of the Nova Force, but the gestalt consciousness of the Xandarian Worldmind as well. In Marvel Crisis Protocol, once per turn, this allows him to spend up to three power when he or an ally within Range 3 makes a defense or a dodge roll, rerolling dice equal to the power spent. Again, this won’t be an every turn superpower, but it’ll help in a pinch for sure, particularly under leaders that can feed him power such as Black Bolt, Professor X, Magneto, or She-Hulk. I can almost hear the Worldmind shouting “Richard Rider, it is critical that you pay attention at this time!”
Nova’s final superpower is, appropriately, the Nova Force. Once per turn, after Nova makes a move action during his activation, he gains 2 power and the next attack roll made as part of a Nova Burst or Lightspeed Lance attack gains 3 dice. There’s a lot here, but before you get too excited: no, it doesn’t work on his long-ranged Gravimetric Cannon, and more importantly, it only affects the first attack roll of a Lightspeed Lance attack, not the roll against every model under the beam! Still, +2 power and +3 dice is a huge benefit, especially on a Long-moving character with a Range 2 gainer attack. That humble Nova Burst attack is 8(!) dice if you move first, and the odds of hitting that wild trigger for the throw dramatically increase as well. Obviously, Nova Force makes it both easier to use Lightspeed Lance and increases its damage output, so it’s a welcome boost there as well. I think you may often see Nova using these two power for Faster Than Light, however- moving L, attacking someone within Range 2 with 8 dice and the chance of a throw, and then placing within R2 is an incredible amount of mobility for a character hitting this hard, and allows them to potentially dodge back out of range of enemy counterattacks (such as from Venom or Dracula, for example) or reposition onto objectives that looked entirely out of reach- and with Nova Burst giving an automatic 1 power, Nova will have a power to interact with an objective if he gets in range of one as well!
Nova does not change at all on his injured side, so no need to upload another picture or discuss further- just imagine the same thing, but orange!
We’re not done yet, though- not to be outdone by the also-spoiled-this-week Man-Thing, Nova has two team tactics cards!
Veterans of the Annihilation War wins a perfect 10/10 for theme- Richard Rider growing up and losing some of his youthful innocence amidst the horrors of war, counterpointed with the ruthless Gamora experiencing some level of happiness and goodness in a partner for the first time is one of the more poignant elements of the Annihilation story arc, so it’s nice to see it hit the table for MCP. Is the card good? That’s tougher to say. It’s got some things going for it- it’s free, for one, which is great, and neither character minds the buffs this card is handing out. Two rerolls on defense and dodge for Gamora is a pretty big deal (with her fragile 3-3-3 defensive stat line) and allows her to save a Winging It token for attacking, and it combos nicely with her Martial Prowess superpower to help ensure she takes no damage and can bop the attacker back for two. As far as Nova goes, who doesn’t want more successes on attack dice? The only downside is that it requires a wild to create a hit (just like Gamora’s Deadliest Woman in the Galaxy), rather than the other way around, and none of Nova’s triggers require a hit- so it’s helping you get more damage, but it’s not unlocking anything else (beyond perhaps making Gravimetric Cannon more likely to do damage and thus push an enemy).
Is Veterans a great card? Probably not; the benefits are good but not earth-shattering, and it requires 9 threat of characters just to use. That said, if you were planning on playing both Gamora and Nova anyways, and you have a slot open, you certainly won’t say no to what this card brings to the pair.
Call for Backup, though…this is a spicy meatball. It’s biggest downside is the cost- 3 power isn’t inconsequential for a character whose power generation is as linear as Nova’s- but on the other hand, he can be absolutely guaranteed to play this any turn he really needs it (generating one power in the power phase and either attacking twice or moving once to generate the additional two needed, or both moving and attacking if he’s been Poisoned or something similar). Other than the cost, though, this card is all upside. Either shoving a whole mess of people off an objective or slowing down all of an opponent’s extract carriers is great. You do have to be within Range 2 of the objective you’re clearing, but Nova is a character who should never have trouble getting where he needs to be (and the extract side of the card carries no range requirements at all). I particularly like this card’s versatility, as it’s able to be used to help either your secure or your extract game as needed, and it is impactful regardless of when in the round you want to activate Nova, either late (on the secure side) or early (on the extract side). The fact that the Slow condition will also carry across rounds is just the icing on the cake. I think this card is aces and should see a lot of play with Nova, both in and out of affiliation.
Where Does He Fit?
As of the time of this writing, we only know for sure that Nova will be a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy. He fits in great there, offering a hard-hitting, fast moving affiliated higher-threat piece with displacement and great attacks that will fit in well with the Guardians’ general gameplan. (I would be windmill-slamming him into the list regardless, so I’m glad he’s good!) It was also implied in the AMG panel-to-play article that he might be a Web Warrior (they referenced what he brings to the team, but didn’t specifically state he was affiliated). He does have a history as one of Spider-Man’s friends back in the day, so it’s possible. He’s also been an Avenger a couple of times (when younger and then as an adult as part of Steve Roger’s Secret Avengers), so that’s a possibility, too. Honestly, he feels like a model who will play well in a lot of places- as previously mentioned, he’ll love power generating leaderships, and any leadership (like Steve3’s) that can help him hit his excellent triggers more consistently.
Overall, this is a great character win on flavor, and I think he’s a very solid model who looks like a ton of fun to play as well. I’m very excited to return to my beloved Guardians in 2025 (after a break where I was sent back to Mutant High to train with Magik and her friends in the New Mutants), and Nova will certainly be seeing my tabletop quite a bit!
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