The 4 Roster Archetypes

Welcome back to SG Protocol.

Today I want to explore the 4 archetypes of rosters in MCP.

Often times people in this game refer to a roster as either being “scenario” or “attrition” but there is also room between these extremes.

We give a short overview of the main game plan for each type, affiliations that (competitively) are usually running their rosters like it.

Type 1: Pure scenario teams

These teams try to win the game with as little engagement with their opponent as possible. Instead they aim for a crisis combination that is as spread out (D, B, possibly F Maps) and has as many VPs on the board as possible. Typical pure scenario teams are going to be either tanky, fast moving or both.

Example teams:

Web Warriors, Kingpin led Criminal Syndicate, Hellfire Club

Type 2: Scenario teams that can pivot to attrition

These are teams whose primary plan is similar to those of Type 1 but who pack more of a punch or sometimes a secondary leader in case they meet an opposing roster they think outfighting will work out better. They often aim for a similar crisis combination like Type 1 but are more adapted to accepting closer maps as well.

Example teams:

Uncanny X-Men, Wakanda, Hydra, Sam Avengers, Doc Ock Spider-Foes

Type 3: attrition teams that can pivot to scenario

These are rosters mainly build to punch you out but who have some ways to switch their game plan to scenario if the matchup calls for it. Unlike Type 4 these teams don’t always favour the down the middle brawl but like a mid-scoring game where Types 1 and 2 can’t just outscore them while also not giving the preferred combination to a Type 4 roster.

Example teams:

Asgard, Shadowland Daredevil Criminal Syndicate, X-Force, Inhumans, Daredevil Defenders

Type 4: pure attrition teams

These are teams with one plan and one plan only: killing the enemy. Its a very simple logic: your opponent can’t outscore you when all his models are dead. These teams typically want the game to be a big brawl right in the middle of the table so noone can run from their attacks.

Example teams:

Guardians of the Galaxy, Steve 3 Avengers, Black Order, Malekith Cabal, Red Skull 3 Cabal

Obviously everything here is debatable and every affiliation can somewhat be tuned to all 4 of the archetypes (but getting the ones I categorised in 1 and 4 to be the other is quite a stretch). But it’s the basic thing in roster building you should be aware of. And with a bit of experience you should be able to deduce which archetype for opponents roster is going for helping you with decisions for squad building.

What do you think: do you agree with the 4 types or do you think there are more/less? Where does your favourite affiliation land on the list for you? Tell me in the comments!

Cheers from Germany 🍻

Comments

Affiliation Overview: Web Warriors

Why should you play the affiliation Peter Parker is the single most popular character in the world. Miles and Gwen share between them the focus of the two best superhero movies of all time and are extremely popular characters in their own rights. On the table Web Warriors are a supreme objective play team building off of their core of incredible 3 threats. They are big enough nowadays to offer different approaches too though. How to start the affiliation Untypically I don't think getting the affiliation pack is always the best way to start here. While Miles and Gwen are absolute core models to the affiliation, 4 threat Peter Parker will very rarely (if ever) see the table and Venom is decent but really up to personal taste. And seeing how the only real benefit of the affiliation pack is getting the additional Peter for free you can really decide if that's worth it for you. If you own core set 1 you already have the character and if you own core set 2 you h...

Affiliation Overview: Defenders (updated)

Why should you play the affiliation Defenders are a giant affiliation containing both the more mystic focused Defenders of Doctor Strange and also the Marvel Knights which made up the Netflix show Defenders. On the board Defenders have a super deep roster with a tonne of great characters and some variety in play style. How to start the affiliation Update: In Q2 2025 AMG releases the Defenders affiliation pack which uniquely comes with five models in Doctor Strange, Wong, Daredevil, Luke Cage and Iron Fist. You have to pick this pack up first and absolutely should. After that I would first pick up Shang-Chi and Silver Sable followed by Hulk and then Namor and Black Panther, Chosen of Bast. You have your core very much there.The affiliation is very deep and has a lot of good characters but with those mentioned you have your probably most used models in hand already. Also all of the affiliated TTCs. Just note that Pentagrams of Falafel (let me have fun with t...

Affiliation Overview: Midnight Sons (updated rewrite)

Why should you play the affiliation? These are Marvels best Earth based characters. This is a definite objective fact and not just my personal feeling. They also offer a wide variety of play styles and affiliated models. How to start the affiliation Update: Blade, Moon Knight, Doctor Voodoo and Ghost Rider will be combined into a MS affiliation pack, with their current stat cards in all four langues and new art. It releases in April. Your first purchase here is probably still Blade (leader) and Moon Knight but you could also now start with Elsa Bloodstone (leader) and Man-Thing. Both are good value boxes as both come with a leader and a good affiliated 3 threat. So in the end it's probably best to just get both. Next up you'll want to look at getting a high threat model for which you have 3 options that all have their unique strengths and reasons to be picked. The biggest threat investment but also by far and large his best home comes in the Immortal Hulk. Ghost ...

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