From Panel to Play: Gwenom

We’ve got a combination of a famous symbiote and the drummer of the Mary Jane’s sliding in on a wicked axe in today’s From Panel to Play! That’s right, we are meeting Gwen Stacy, a.k.a. Ghost Spider, a.k.a. Gwenom!

When Gwen Stacy’s spider powers were neutralized by Cindy Moon, Gwen was devastated. Losing her spider-given abilities was not something she could readily accept, so she went looking for a way to restore them. The path she took was a dark one, with short lived hope being dashed at every turn until the day she found and bonded with the symbiote, Venom, a creature well known for its violent tendencies. Now known as Gwenom, she takes the fight to her foes with a rage amplified to extreme levels thanks to the symbiote’s ability to feed on the emotions of its host and return them tenfold. No one in the underworld of New York is safe from this quick moving, hard hitting, and voracious being. Neither are her foes on the tabletop battlefield!

This version of Gwen Stacy is much more of a brawler than her previous form. She is a Threat Value 4 character with more Stamina than before, with 6 on her Healthy side and 7 on her Injured side. She has defensive stats that reflect her symbiote’s strengths and weaknesses with a 4 in Physical, 2 in Energy, and 3 in Mystic. The symbiote doesn’t slow her down though, as she has a Long movement ensuring she can get around the battlefield quickly.

The symbiote is great at amping up its host’s abilities and we see that in Gwenom’s first attack, Symbiote Spider Technique. This attack generates Power equal to the damage dealt and has a solid range to go along with its Strength of 5. Additionally, it has two powerful rules. The first is the ability to reroll any of the attack dice if Gwenom has already attacked the target character this turn. The second grants her a Long Advance after the attack resolves if she has already Advanced or been Placed this turn. The flexibility of this attack makes her a dangerous opponent for her enemies.

Her second attack is more Venom than Gwen. Maximum Gwenom is what happens when the ever-hungry symbiote goes all out. This attack costs 3 Power for the 7 attack dice. This attack allows Gwenom to remove Damage from herself equal to the Damage dealt to her target as the Venom symbiote tendrils bite into its snack. Additionally, this attack’s Rampage special rule, when triggered, causes all other enemy characters near her to take 1 Damage after the attack resolves as Venom’s tendrils go whipping around her to lacerate her foes!

Gwen’s first superpower shows how she has let her Dark Rage into the front seat of her mind, letting it loose on anyone who gets in her way. Dark Rage is a 3 Power cost Active superpower that allows her to Throw nearby terrain features or enemy characters of Size 3 or less Medium.

Before Gwen bonded with the symbiote she was known to pull enemies out of harm’s way. Now, however, she instead strikes back with Pick On Someone Your Own Size. This Reactive superpower costs 2 Power and gives Gwenom the ability to punish those who hurt her friends. After an enemy within Range 3 of her attacks her allies, she can attack that enemy. So long as she can pay the Power cost, she can use any attack she can access, and both of her attacks are Range 3. Opponents are taking a huge risk to ignore Gwenom when she’s in their path.

Rounding out her card are two classic superpowers for our spider friends. The first is the Innate superpower Spider-Sense which grants Gwenom the ability to reroll up to 2 defense dice against Physical and Energy attacks. The second Innate superpower is Wall Crawler, a web head staple for navigating the battlefield that allows players to treat Gwenom as Size 5 when making an advance.

A battle of the bands must be about to start as Gwenom just took off with that axe, no doubt to return it to its rightful owner. Be sure to check back later for yet another installment of From Panel to Play, the series where we give you your first look at how your favorite characters transition to the tabletop in Marvel: Crisis Protocol. Pre-order your copy of Gwenom at your local game store or through the webstore today!