From Panel to Play: Ronin

In today’s From Panel to Play, we meet the ace archer turned fearsome blade master, Ronin! Clinton Barton, better known as Hawkeye, has donned the mantle of Ronin at times over the course of his long career. There are some things that must be done that a public figure like Hawkeye cannot do. However, a darker figure with a secret identity may be able to get away with them. So long as he’s not caught, no one will be the wiser.

Clinton Barton’s new superhero identity enters Marvel: Crisis Protocol as a front line fighter whose martial arts and excellent agility allows him to stand toe to toe with some of the mightiest. This Threat Value 4 character has solid defenses and a good Stamina pool along with the Stealth superpower to help him avoid being hit by ranged attacks. His Medium movement speed may be average, but this card is full of movement abilities.

As someone who strikes from the shadows it should come as no surprise that his close range Shadow Strike features the Pierce and Bleed special rules, fitting enhancements for a master swordsman’s basic strength 5 attack. While Ronin does not bring a bow to the fight (which might be too big of a hint as to who is behind the mask), he is not without some ranged weaponry. The Hawk’s Blades focuses on splitting the difference between movement and attack, with its range and Pursuit special rule. This rule allows him to make a short advance towards the target when he rolls a Wild result during the attack. With some luck, you can use the Pursuit trigger, to move Ronin into range for a Shadow Strike, having the best of both worlds.

Ronin’s final attack costs 4 Power to unleash all of his potential on his enemies. The Cutting Wind is a Range 3 beam attack that has Pierce backing up a respectable strength of 6. At the end of all of the attacks made as part of this beam, Ronin is placed within Range 1 of the last character he attacked, providing him with some additional mobility and flexibility.

Speaking of mobility, he has one more mobility trick up his sleeve in the form of Grappling Hook. This superpower costs 2 Power and allows Ronin to be placed within Range 3 of his current location. This immensely powerful movement tool can only be used once per turn, but it does not force him to relinquish any objective tokens he may be carrying as he swings off.

With these wicked attacks flying out from the shadows, evil doers are likely to interpret this black clad figure as the Specter of Death. Each Wild and Critical result in the dice roll will let him change any other die to a Hit. This can allow him to turn up the damage on his target, potentially taking them down in a single hit!

The final part of Ronin’s card is the Martial Artist innate superpower which empowers his defense when attackers are close to him by allowing Blank results to count as successes.

Barton turns to the Ronin persona when Extreme Measures are required. And what better way to represent them than with a Team Tactic Card that provides Ronin with a little extra power to break through the hardest defenses? When played at the start of his Activation, both The Hawk’s Blades and Shadow Strike gain an extra special rule. The Hawk’s Blades gain Rapid Fire and Shadow Strike gains Flurry. Both of these special rules are triggered by dice results and grant Ronin an extra attack.

Players should be looking out for Ronin’s entrance to their battlefields. He’ll be here before you know it and strike from where you least expect it! Pre-order your Echo, Ronin, and Tigra character pack from your local store or the Asmodee webstore today!

Until next time, Atomic Mass Games, signing off!