Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game – S.H.I.E.L.D.
Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game – S.H.I.E.L.D. Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Special S.H.I.E.L.D. Officers
This set introduces 16 new special S.H.I.E.L.D. Officers, featuring some of the most famous agents of all time. There are 2 copies each of 8 different officers. Much like the basic Maria Hill from the core set, all of these officers cost 3 and provide 2 Recruit. However, these special S.H.I.E.L.D. Officers also have Hero Classes (Instinct, [yellow class icon], [red class icon], [grey class icon], and Tech) and additional abilities that make them more powerful than the basic S.H.I.E.L.D. Officer.
Shuffle the new 16 officers with the original 30 officers for all your games, so the stack is now permanently 46 cards. Keep the S.H.I.E.L.D. Officer Stack face down throughout the game. Whenever you recruit a S.H.I.E.L.D. Officer or gain one from a special ability, gain the top card from the stack. If an ability ever makes you return a card to the S.H.I.E.L.D. Officer Stack, put that card on the bottom of the stack.
These special officers still count as "S.H.I.E.L.D. Officers" for abilities that use that phrase. They are Heroes. They have the S.H.I.E.L.D. team icon. However, since they have Hero Classes, they are not "grey cards" like Maria Hill is.
Undercover
This new keyword represents sending S.H.I.E.L.D. agents off the grid on special missions to recover valuable intel.
- Some cards say things like "You may send a S.H.I.E.L.D. Hero from your hand Undercover." This means "Put that Hero into your Victory Pile. It's worth 1VP."
- This helps get your starting S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents and Troopers out of your deck so that you draw your more powerful Heroes more often. You can also use it to get rid of other S.H.I.E.L.D. cards like Officers that you might not need later in the game. The main Heroes in this set are all part of the S.H.I.E.L.D. team too, so you can also send their cards Undercover.
- If you play a card, and it sends itself Undercover, you still get its Recruit and Attack.
- Sending S.H.I.E.L.D. Heroes Undercover is also key to increasing your S.H.I.E.L.D. Level, as shown below.
S.H.I.E.L.D. Level
This new keyword represents how S.H.I.E.L.D. agents unlock special operations, resources, and abilities as they rise through the ranks of the organization. Sending agents on undercover missions, fighting Hydra, and defeating rogue S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives are all good ways to increase your S.H.I.E.L.D. Level.
- Your S.H.I.E.L.D. Level is the number of S.H.I.E.L.D. and/or HYDRA cards in your Victory Pile.
- Some cards say things like "S.H.I.E.L.D. Level 2: Draw a card." You can use this ability only if your S.H.I.E.L.D. Level is 2 or higher.
- This counts any card with the S.H.I.E.L.D. or Hydra team icons, as well as any card with "S.H.I.E.L.D." or "Hydra" in its card name, Villain Group name, or Mastermind name. So this includes S.H.I.E.L.D. Assault Squads, Hydra Kidnappers, Hydra High Council Tactics, etc.
- This never consumes the cards in your Victory Pile – it just checks to make sure you have them.
- Heroes that use S.H.I.E.L.D. Level all have ways to get the needed cards into your Victory Pile.
- Note: When playing with Hydra Villain Groups and/or multiple Heroes that use S.H.I.E.L.D. Levels, your S.H.I.E.L.D. Levels will naturally be higher.
Hydra Level
Some Villain Groups also try to rise through the ranks of the Hydra organization, achieving higher Hydra Levels and ever-greater power. To do this, they help Hydra operatives achieve their missions and escape the city unharmed. They also subvert double agents to infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D., then escape it with key intel.
- The Hydra Level is the number of S.H.I.E.L.D. and/or HYDRA cards in the Escape Pile.
- Some Villains and Masterminds say things like "Growing Man gets +Attack equal to the Hydra Level."
- Like S.H.I.E.L.D. Level, this includes any card with the S.H.I.E.L.D. or Hydra team icons, as well as any card with "S.H.I.E.L.D." or "Hydra" in its card name, Villain Group name, or Mastermind name.
- Some abilities put S.H.I.E.L.D. team icon cards directly from S.H.I.E.L.D. Officer Stack into the Escape Pile to increase the Hydra Level. This is not an "escape" unless it's a Villain escaping from the city, so it won't KO a Hero of cost 6 or less from the HQ.
Adapting Masterminds
The Hydra Super-Adaptoid and the Hydra High Council constantly adapt their tactics to attack the Heroes in new ways. Accordingly, each of these Masterminds is a new "Adapting Mastermind" with 4 different Master Strikes. Here's how they work.
- A normal Mastermind has a Mastermind card and 4 Mastermind Tactic cards. An Adapting Mastermind instead has just 4 Mastermind Tactic cards. Whichever Tactic is currently on top of the stack of Tactics counts as the current Mastermind card.
- Say you are using Hydra Super-Adaptoid as your Mastermind. Keep all his Tactics in a face up stack. Use only the rules on that top card, ignoring the rest of the cards in the stack.
- Whenever an Adapting Mastermind does a Master Strike, it says "Adapt" at the end. This means "Shuffle the Mastermind Tactics and randomly put one on top, face up." You might randomly pick the same Tactic that was previously on top, or it might be a different Tactic.
- Likewise, when you fight an Adapting Mastermind, you always fight the Tactic currently on top of the stack. You ignore all the card abilities and Attack bonuses that are not currently on top of the stack. The "Fight" ability also says "Adapt" at the end. So you put the Tactic you just fought into your Victory Pile, do its Fight effect, then shuffle the remaining Tactics and randomly put one on top, face up.
Schemes that Count "Escaped Villains"
Some Schemes across Legendary say things like "Evil Wins: When 8 Villains escape." or "Evil Wins: When 4 Villains per player have escaped." These count all the Villain cards currently in the Escape Pile.
- This includes other card types like Bystanders, Heroes, or Master Strikes that were turned into Villains by special abilities and escaped the city as Villains.
- However, some cards in this set put S.H.I.E.L.D. team icon Heroes directly into the Escape Pile to raise the Hydra Level. Since these S.H.I.E.L.D. team icon Heroes never turned into Villains, they're not Villain cards, and they don't count towards the number of Villains that have escaped.
- There are a few Villains across Legendary that escape the city then leave the Escape Pile. For example, some Villains say "Escape: This becomes a Scheme Twist that takes effect immediately." Or "Escape: This ascends to become a new Mastermind." Or "Escape: Shuffle this Villain back into the Villain Deck." You don't have to remember that these Villains escaped when counting the number of "Escaped Villains," since "Escaped Villains" and "Villains that have escaped" only count Villain cards currently in the Escape Pile.
Game Contents
Rules insert and 100 cards:
- 4 New Heroes of 14 cards each (Each Hero has 1 rare, 3 uncommons, 5 of one common, and 5 of another common)
- 2 New Villain Groups of 8 cards each
- 2 New Adapting Masterminds (Each has no Mastermind card – just 4 Mastermind Tactic cards)
- 4 New Schemes
- 16 New Special S.H.I.E.L.D. Officers (2 each of 8 types)