Before we start talking about Luke Cage & Iron Fist, we need to talk about value in Marvel Crisis Protocol. You only have so much threat you can bring to the table in every game. Deciding between bringing a 6 threat Hulk or two 3 threats (such as Carl & Danny here) is an important strategic choice.

Most 3 threats in the game have smaller health pools and a fair amount of tools to achieve their goal, but they’re unlikely to run the table or win games single handedly. Luke Cage & Iron Fist are particularly ‘high value’ 3 threats. It’s hard to stop them from doing their job, making them extremely reliable, and you’re going to see me saying “for a 3 threat” a lot throughout this article because of this…so let’s get into why.

At first glance, Luke Cage may seem a little vanilla. But let’s get into what his role on the table is.

Power Man Punch is a very standard attack with an unlikely Stagger trigger. I wouldn’t rely on this doing much for you, but attacking isn’t why you bring Luke. The real star of his kit is Too Dangerous To Ignore. Otherwise known as a Taunt, this is the reason you bring Luke. He’s there to stand in the way of your squishier characters and soak up attacks. Unbreakable Skin plus 4 Physical defence makes him deceptively hard to take down for a 3 threat.

Once Luke is in position (ideally within 2 of an enemy that is trying to take down one of your Extract holders), he has essentially done his job. Too Dangerous To Ignore costing 2 power means that you usually want to just double move with him in Round 1, towards someone you’d like him to protect.

Sweet Christmas likely won’t get used often, but giving someone guaranteed Slow & Stun can really make it easier for Luke’s allies to get out of trouble while he stays behind to be a nuisance.

For 3 threat, Luke is a supreme bodyguard who is tough to take down – and that you won’t lose much sleep over if he is wiped off the board. Any attack into Luke that isn’t into the rest of your team is a win.

Then there’s Heroes For Hire…which we’ll get onto later.

Here he is! The Iron Fist himself. Danny Rand plays a very different role to Luke in that he wants to be flying around kicking people in the chin. Master Martial Artist however does make him almost equally as annoying to take down as Luke, as he’ll often block more damage than his 3/3/3 defence dice would lead you to believe.

But the real sauce Danny Rand brings to the table is The Iron Fist. Nine dice is nice, damaging enemies around the target is nice, but we’re really here to activate characters before they get to even take a turn. This is why you bring Iron Fist along. 

At a whopping cost of 8 power, you’re unlikely to get this off more than once a game. But when you do, activating the right character at the right time can be game winning. With Iron Fist being a 3 threat, you can make his sole purpose to be activating an enemy of say…threat 5 or higher…and he’ll have paid for himself nicely.

Immortal Weapon giving him 2 power a turn means he can often hang out on a point, be annoying to take down – and wait for his moment to strike. 

Affiliations

Avengers have an impressive roster of characters, one of the largest in the game. But Luke Cage and Iron Fist float nicely to the top of that list because of the weight they bring to their 3 threat cost.

Immortal Weapon makes Iron Fist a safe grab in Avengers as he can pay 1 to use the Avengers Assemble Team Tactic Card to move short towards an Extract, then move once, spent his 2nd power to pick it up and then move back to safety. He can then spend the rest of the game holding onto that Extract (or getting beaten up for it, it doesn’t matter) and then using The Iron Fist on a higher threat character later. It’s a very reliable and valuable play patter…for a 3 threat.

Also, under Captain America, Steve Rogers, Luke’s Too Dangerous To Ignore only costs a measly 1 power. Under Captain America, The First Avenger, Luke’s Stagger trigger on Power Man Punch becomes a lot more likely to come off.

Captain America, Sam Wilson works best when he’s taking multiple high value, low threat characters. These guys fit into that perfectly. 

Safe to say, Avengers is a fantastic home for either of these characters – and they bring a lot to their game plan.

Defenders recently had a leadership upgrade in the form of Doctor Strange’s Judgment of the Vishanti.

This essentially dishes out the Hex special condition like candy, taking the edge off of all of your opponents attacks into you. Luke Cage obviously loves this, as he’s already tough to take down. 

Iron Fist counting blanks on his defenses also means he synergises nicely with Doctor Strange’s Hoggoth’s Hoary Wisdom. Adding extra defence dice to a character that has higher quality defence dice is a surefire way to keep your models in the fight for longer.

Doctor Strange also comes with Oshtur’s Refuge, which heals his allies. Healing these two after some damage has snuck through all of the defensive tech mentioned above will be very annoying for your opponent.

Tactics Card

Now THIS is where it all ties together nicely. Heroes For Hire is a staple card in Marvel Crisis Protocol. It’s the ultimate bodyguard tool and should be brought in every single game that has Luke Cage or Iron Fist in.

We’ve covered the defensive nature of these two models already, especially when you can place them closer to the enemy character attacking. This turns on Iron Fist’s Master Martial Artist and Luke Cage’s Too Dangerous Ignore for any follow-up attacks. But even then…so long as you survive the attack as the new target, you then throw the attacker away…making it even harder for them to have another attempt at taking you down.

The key to playing this card is remembering its requirements. The defender needs to have 2 power in order to use it – and Luke Cage or Iron Fist need to be within 3 of them. Remembering this will take some finessing, but once you do, you’ll soon realise why this card is a must take with the would-be Heroes.

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