Disclosure: Meeple Mountain received a free copy of this product in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. This review is not intended to be an endorsement.
Layeth the Smackdown
Synthezoid Smackdown is the latest scenario pack building on the hero-vs-hero gameplay introduced in the Civil War big box expansion of the larger Marvel Champions: The Card Game system. Aside from having a name that could double as a WWE pay-per-view, it pushes the Superhuman Registration Act schism forward by pitting players against two “villains”: She-Hulk and Vision. They’re on opposite sides of the Civil War divide, and each comes with a customizable scenario plus eight new modular encounters you can mix into the larger Civil War ecosystem. More cards are also added for the PvP (Player vs. Player) mode which Civil War introduced.
Lore
During the Civil War storyline, She-Hulk (Jennifer Walters) and Vision (Jonas) were not spotlight characters in the conflict, but both occupied interesting spaces adjacent to it.
As a lawyer, Jennifer’s support of the Superhuman Registration Act was a natural extension of her faith in due process and the legal system, even if that system often lives in gray areas. Most notably, she represented Speedball in court following the Stamford Disaster, the event that led to the creation of the Registration Act. She was also hired by her father-in-law, J. Jonah Jameson, to sue Peter Parker for fraud after he unmasked himself. Because of the Act, she was drafted into S.H.I.E.L.D. to train new heroes and served with the Hulkbusters.
The original Vision was destroyed during Avengers Disassembled, and the Vision here is the Young Avengers version, built from the original Vision’s programming and Iron Lad’s armor. The Young Avengers aligned with Captain America and were an important part of his underground resistance. Vision mostly served in a technical support role, assisting with surveillance and intel. During the final battle in New York, he played a key role by using his phasing abilities to disable Iron Man’s armor and give Captain America the upper hand.
What’s New?
She-Hulk
This scenario has players squaring off against She-Hulk, who is aided by S.H.I.E.L.D. Ops, the Thunderbolts, the Deadly Duo, and Taskmaster. This fight is an absolute slugfest. Her kit hits players with serious burst damage and a passive ability that deals 1 damage every time a player changes into their alter ego. It may seem negligible at first, but those attacks chip away fast, and the extra overkill can make defending with allies a liability. Her other moves grant bonus activations, Tough statuses, and Stalwart, making her a pain to slow down. Her side scheme, Enforce the Law, can also throw a wrench in the plan by requiring heroes to flip to their alter ego to remove it. The key to beating her is stacking statuses to keep her in check, but that is not always easy. If the main scheme advances and brings out the Mighty Avengers, she gets a nasty attack buff.
The encounters in her set are just as menacing. Some, like the Thunderbolts, immediately confuse or stun when they enter, while others pile on extra damage. The biggest threat, though, is Taskmaster. His abilities burn through the encounter deck and add extra boosts through the Villainous trait. Stack Taskmaster’s Academy on top of that, and those extra boosts can turn She-Hulk into a one-hit killing machine.
Vision
Vision’s scenario leans more into disruption and sequencing buffs. He starts the game with an attachment that flips each turn, and both sides are menacing in their own way, whether through damage reduction or an attack buff. As he gains more attachments, he picks up Stalwart, Retaliate, and additional scheme or attack buffs. These cards are tough to manage because heroes have to spend specific resources after a basic attack to remove them. His other moves also strip upgrades or block all damage outright. Add in the main scheme, which discards 3 cards during the villain phase, and heroes will chew through their decks in a hurry. If the main scheme advances, all allies enter exhausted, slowing your ability to respond to Vision’s ever-changing configuration.
The Young Avengers and Moon Knight encounters are two of the nastiest threats I have seen lately in Marvel Champions. These minions remove upgrades and cap damage output, leaving heroes to tread water on some turns. Every time Moon Knight comes out, bad things follow. Some of his cards repeat discard treacheries, while others auto-exhaust and deal damage. Moon Knight himself has Retaliate 2 and Toughness, making him nearly as dangerous as Vision.
PvP (Player vs. Player)
The expansion includes additional reward cards for both characters that can be used during competitive play. She-Hulk’s rewards focus on direct attacks and resource generation, both useful in a pinch. Vision’s rewards gum up the opponent’s plans by dealing extra encounter cards or removing attachments.
Big Greens
Overall, this is a solid expansion. It continues the thematic gameplay of Civil War, pitting heroes against heroes in tough one-on-one fights. This current flavor of Marvel Champions is less about theatrics or gimmicks and more about straight combat and situational pivoting, which has always been at the core of the game.
Some may not find that all that interesting, as there is no campaign tying things together. The main schemes also do not really connect to the villains the way past expansions have, and they feel more like generic conditions than extensions of each character’s abilities. That makes these encounters, much like the Civil War big box itself, feel a bit samey. That is probably in service of the PvP mode, keeping the mechanics simple enough to create equal footing for opposing teams.
Still, it has the feel of a classic beat-’em-up street fight that is easy to pull out as a one-off because of the simpler villain mechanics. These fights are also a great way to test new builds. Both “villains” offer unique puzzles to solve, and the modular encounters enhance that. I will gladly slot Moon Knight or Taskmaster into other scenarios if I want to get punched in the face.
If you enjoy singular fights against your everyday heroes and want a fresh challenge, Synthazoid Smackdown is worth assembling your strongest team for.
Difficulty: She-Hulk ★★★★☆ | Vision ★★★★★
Variety: ★★★☆☆
Replay value: ★★★★☆
Best modulars: Moon Knight, Taskmaster
Marvel Champions: Synthezoid Smackdown Scenario Pack details
- Designer: N/A
- Artists: N/A
- Publishers: Fantasy Flight Games
- Release Date: 2025
- Player count : 1 - 4
- Age range : 14+
- Time range : 45 - 90 minutes
- Mechanism(s): Cooperative Game
- BGG Geek Rating: 7.66833 - converted to Meeple Mountain scale: 4.0.
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