**** Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ****

[ErikPeter]

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

npxo
The total Health of the AoS is spread across three, low-HP Directors. When one is downed the next one in the list takes their place in the battle fully healed, modifying the effect of their Blue power. This effect can be shown appending the Blue power, but applies regardless of covers trained. (E.g. “(PASSIVE) If Director Coulson is downed, Maria Hill arrives to take his place in the battle.”)

• Director CoulsonAt Level 270: HP:5586 Tile damage:73/10/82/09/64/11/3.0

  Maria HillAt Level 270: HP:4361 Tile damage:73/11/64/10/82/9/3.5

  Phil CoulsonAt Level 270: HP:4361 Tile damage:73/10/82/09/64/11/4.0

(Note: Once Phil Coulson is downed, the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. are downed and out of the battle as normal.)

Powers

Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. 11
AP (Director Coulson)

• S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Coulson arrives to evaluate the situation. Place 2 traps on the board.

  (PASSIVE) When a S.H.I.E.L.D. Director’s trap is matched by either team, generate 1 AP of each color.

Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. 11
AP (Maria Hill)

• Maria takes charge in Director Coulson’s absence. Place 2 traps on the board.

  (PASSIVE) When matched by the enemy team, the S.H.I.E.L.D. Director’s traps detonate in unison, dealing 758 damage each. If you match a trap it detonates, dealing 379 damage.

Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. 11
AP (Phil Coulson)

• When the situation looks hopeless, the Director does whatever it takes to succeed. Place 2 traps on the board, then detonate all S.H.I.E.L.D. Director’s traps, dealing 379 damage per trap to the enemy team.

  (PASSIVE) When a S.H.I.E.L.D. Director’s trap is matched by either team, it detonates, dealing 379 damage and generating 1 AP of each color.

Level Upgrades (all versions)

• Level 2: Creates 3 traps.
  Level 3: Creates 4 traps.
  Level 4: Creates 5 traps.
  Level 5: Creates 6 traps.

  Character Level 270: Creates 4-6 traps that deal 1505 (from 758) or 752 (from 379) damage each.

S.H.I.E.L.D. Tech 6
AP

• S.H.I.E.L.D.'s science division manages to construct the perfect gadget for any situation. Fortifies 1 friendly special tile and Locks 1 enemy special tile in a Containment Field. If there are no eligible tiles on the board, creates 1 random Strike, Protect, or Attack tile of Strength 119 instead.

Level Upgrades

• Level 2: Fortifies/Locks up to 2 tiles for each team.
  Level 3: Creates 2 random Strike, Protect, or Attack tiles.
  Level 4: Fortifies/Locks up to 3 tiles for each team.
  Level 5: Creates 3 random Strike, Protect, or Attack tiles.

  Character Level 270: Fortifies 2-3 friendly special tiles and Locks 2-3 enemy special tiles, or creates 2-3 random Strike, Protect, or Attack tiles of Strength 230.

S.H.I.E.L.D. Support 5
AP

• Shield Agents lay down covering fire, destroying 2 random tiles (Does not generate AP). This power becomes S.H.I.E.L.D. Assault.

  (PASSIVE) When an ally is downed, a S.H.I.E.L.D. Support agent arrives to take their place.

S.H.I.E.L.D. Assault 5
AP

• A Shield Assault Team sweeps the area, creating 2 Attack tiles of Strength 52. This power becomes S.H.I.E.L.D. Cavalry.

  (PASSIVE) When an ally is downed, a S.H.I.E.L.D. Assault agent arrives to take their place.

S.H.I.E.L.D. Cavalry 5
AP

• The Cavalry Arrives! Destroys 2 random tiles, dealing 198 damage per tile destroyed (does not generate AP). This power becomes S.H.I.E.L.D. Support.

  (PASSIVE) If an ally is downed, Melinda “The Cavalry” May arrives to take their place unless she is already in the battle.

• S.H.I.E.L.D. Support
  At Level 270: HP:4361 Tile damage:64/64/64/64/64/64/3.0
  
  Support (Passive): S.H.I.E.L.D. Support automatically generates 1 Purple AP per turn.
  Suppressing Fire 5
  AP: Creates a 4-turn Countdown tile that destroys a row and reduces the enemy’s Red, Yellow and Green AP by 2 each.

• S.H.I.E.L.D. Assault
  At Level 270: HP:4361 Tile damage:64/64/64/64/64/64/3.0
  
  Assault Team (Passive): S.H.I.E.L.D. Assault automatically generates 1 Red AP per turn.
  Sustained Fire 5
  AP: Creates a 4-turn Countdown tile that creates an Attack tile of Strength 52 each turn.

• Melinda May
  
  At Level 270: HP:4361 Tile damage:11/64/10/73/9/82/4.5
  
  Stealth Operative 5
  AP: An expert infiltrator, Melinda dodges enemy patrols, becoming Invisible for 2 turns.
  Whatever It Takes 5
  AP: Destroys 4 random tiles, dealing 198 damage per tile destroyed. This power’s cost becomes 5
  AP, or returns to its original cost if it is already Purple.

Level Upgrades

• Level 2: Destroys 3 random tiles or creates 3 Attack tiles.
  Level 3: Destroys 4 tiles or creates 4 Attack tiles.
  Level 4: Destroys 5 tiles or creates 5 Attack tiles. S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents’ Countdowns are reduced by 1. (Note: S.H.I.E.L.D. Assault’s Sustained Fire now creates 1 attack tile immediately when fired)
  Level 5: Destroys 7 tiles or creates 7 Attack tiles. S.H.I.E.L.D. Cavalry deals 319 damage per tile destroyed.

  Character Level 270:
  Destroys 4-7 tiles, or creates Attack tiles of Strength 101. S.H.I.E.L.D. Cavalry deals 390 (from 198) or 630 (from 319) damage per tile destroyed.

Comments
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is easily my most complicated spec ever. Luckily, a lot of that complexity is under the hood and I think their powers will be easy to grasp in battle. They have decent tanking ability with a couple cheap powers that cycle through different effects.

S.H.I.E.L.D. has plenty of loyal agents ready to step up and take command! Battles featuring the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. should be very distinct, like mini-multi-wave missions, since they are very good at bringing new characters into the battle; primarily, of course, through the Director succession mechanic, but also through the passive effects of their green power. Players fighting the AoS would want to take them down first (to prevent more mini-mooks from spawning), which is confounded by the passive “OTK resistance” of multiple directors.

Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. makes traps compatible with Nick Fury’s Demolition power. Early in the match these just generate AP but after Director Coulson is downed they become quite dangerous, and once he comes back, he immediately detonates them (plus any existing traps) for big team damage.

S.H.I.E.L.D. Tech offers general special tile support for the long game (Thanks, Fitz-Simmons!). They may not be able to completely shut down enemy threats, but they can temporarily neutralize them, as well as protecting their own assets. Cast on a clean board, provides efficient special tile creation, but as the board fills up it’s more likely to just lock/fortify a few tiles.

S.H.I.E.L.D. Support cycles between 3 different green powers, which aren’t incredibly strong by themselves but promote a cycle of tile destruction and attack tile generation. However, if an ally is downed, the passive will trigger, bringing a new Agent right into the battle. Which agent arrives depends on which version of the power is active when the ally is downed; Melinda is much more capable than her mook allies, so there may be incentive to press your luck and not cycle away from The Cavalry if a teammate is low on Health, even though the third activation packs the best punch in terms of damage-per-AP.

EDIT 30/May/2016: Reorganized the build description and moved the comments to the bottom for simplicity and readability.

[ErikPeter]

Notes
From the beginning, I thought the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. should be multiple-characters-in-one, like Rocket & Groot. None of the major players in AoS–besides Daisy “Tremors” Johnson–are really superhero material, just talented people trying to cope with a world full of super-powered threats. Plus, as an ensemble show, none of the characters really justify an appearance as a full-fledged MPQ character (barring the fun speculative build here and there). The heart of the show is in its cast of human characters–as opposed to the Inhumans that drive much of the action and plot.

In MPQ, my AoS are quite strong in the long game, utilizing traps and specials (especially attack tiles) to maximize turnover benefits. They have a small potential for AP gain plus random tile destruction, but have no dedicated acceleration powers. They are very resistant to OTK, making them a decent counter for many strong characters. Thanks to the “leadership change”, any one hit can only do 1/3 of their maximum Health, and if an ally is downed first, another meat shield arrives to cause problems. In addition, the low relative HP of each Director synergizes with protective allies like Thing and Deadpool. E.g., even if Thing is down to 1/3 Health he will likely have more than his S.H.I.E.L.D. chums, allowing his Yellow passive to trigger more often.

On offense, the sheer variety of possibilities that come from a flavor-packed build should be lots of fun to play around with. Do you go all in on Blue, hoping to do decent damage to a single target, or team damage if things go south? Or do you focus on cycling green, hoping for decent cascades while racking up lingering Attack tile damage?

Besides mitigating the biggest hits, having multiple Directors can make the battle feel more dynamic. The pair’s Match Damage is a bit different, as Coulson is more likely to take fire while setting plans into motion (Blue), while Maria is focused on the personnel and ground forces (Green). The Blue power is inherently tied to this dynamic, making each director more distinct. If you’re pushing for Blue, Coulson is more likely in harms way (taking early match damage), but Maria may be able to hide behind an ally with stronger Blue, prolonging your opponent’s chance of triggering the big boom while saving up for more.

Power Considerations

Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Director Coulson’s is the Avengers movie Coulson–though technically he wasn’t director until after Fury went into hiding–he’s on the move, gathering intel first hand, generating AP for his team. Once things start getting ugly and Coulson is out of commission, Maria Hill takes command, enacting Fury’s orders (and blowing stuff up!) by placing traps just like his. When Coulson returns to the battle, it’s with a grim resolve and he’s ready to end the fight no matter what. Leftover traps can be matched one at a time for a small amount of damage and AP, or he can detonate them all at once–plus a handful of extra ones–dealing big team damage.

Very similar to Nick Fury’s Blue, and in fact, my intention was that the traps created by this power are compatible with Fury’s. For example, if Fury created 7 traps with Demolition, then matched one, Director Coulson would generate 1 AP while Fury did some damage. If the enemy matched one, it’d generate 1 AP before they all detonated (but no more AP). Or Coulson could create the traps (possibly more efficient with a 3/5/5 Fury on the team) and they would still detonate in unison thanks to Fury. So they would be compatible, but their damage would be based on which character fired them (and would disarm when that character was downed, as usual.)

S.H.I.E.L.D. Tech
Ah, Fitz-Simmons. Spouting technobabble and coming up with a fantastical solution for every problem. Those lovable dorks.

I don’t have much to say about this power, it’s relatively straightforward tile generation/protection. Locking enemy specials is a double-edged sword, as it can sometimes lead to things like multiplying Iron Fist’s attack tiles, or simply preventing you from matching a tile that would otherwise be easy to remove. However, it does delay them from hurting you for a while, at least, which makes this power pretty cost-effective. Especially since it can fortify a couple of your own tiles too (most often the weak attack tiles created by S.H.I.E.L.D. Assault, but clever players could use it to fortify the strong tiles of allies like HB or OML).

S.H.I.E.L.D. Support
This power creates some fun choices. If you think an ally is going to be downed you can cycle it to a desired support character–probably the Cavalry, who is a pretty fun glass cannon in her own right–but perhaps you’d be better off with the Purple AP generation and AP destruction of the Support, or the attack tile output of the Assault.

On a more meta/construction level, you could choose to focus on this power or not. 3 ranks, or 5? Cycling green gets you decent board shuffle, but is it worth 5 covers to get a little more effect and better damage every three activations? And unless things are dire you’re not often going to get that passive effect.

I really had fun coming up with simple characters that would be easily understandable but fun to have on your team when things get rough. The generic AP generators are probably nice, but having Melinda May come out to wreak havoc–with a cheap tile destruction power in alternating colors–would be well worth the heal pack.

Art considerations
For such a complicated spec, the art assets wouldn’t have to be too extensive. You’d need battle poses for Coulson and Hill, and a group pic for the character selection screen.

• Director of S.H.I.E.L.D only requires 1 image: Phil Coulson pushing a big red button. Optionally you could have two more activation poses; Director Coulson or Maria Hill pointing off and giving orders to secure the area.
• S.H.I.E.L.D. Tech should have an activation image of Fitz and Simmons assembling a gadget in the lab. Optionally, another image (Fitz and Simmons sending one of the Dwarves (i.e. a drone) off on a recon mission, perhaps) could be used when the power creates special tiles.
• S.H.I.E.L.D. Support: Besides new battle poses, you’d need just one new animation of Melinda May doing a flying scissor kick for both her active and character abilities. Existing assets (S.H.I.E.L.D. Soldier and Pyro) could be used for the other two NPCs, with no activation animation.

[ErikPeter]

Here’s a totally new spec for the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

The core theme of AoS is how each member of the team has a role to play. I thought it would be fun to play around with highlighting the different members of the team so I created an “Activation system” for this spec. Basically, at the start of the battle Phil Coulson will be the face of the AoS, but whenever one of their powers is fired, a different team member takes the lead, becoming “Active”, granting a new interesting passive ability until a different agent becomes Active and takes their place. npxo

Additionally, as the AoS take damage, they are able to fire a free, random power, even when stunned–which Activates a new agent, of course. So over the course of the battle, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents get taken out but are replaced by a new Active ally immediately. Even though they share one basic health pool, it will feel like a battle against a bunch of different minor characters, which is how it should be. The powers themselves are low-cost and medium-impact, as they’ll get a lot of free uses in a typical fight; when fighting the AoS you’ll want to use a Hulkbuster strategy of big single target attacks to bring them down in as few hits as possible.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (CLASSIFIED)

Level 270: Base HP: 9550 Total HP after
3 ranks: 12370. 4 ranks: 14844. 5 ranks: 17318.
Tile Damage: 65/12/85/74/13/11/3.5

Director’s Orders 6
AP
The Director taps into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s vast resources to provide support. A new Agent becomes Active, alternating between Director Phil Coulson and Director Maria Hill.
(Passive) While Director Coulson is Active, friendly Team-Up matches generate 1 AP of each other color.
(Passive) While Director Hill is Active, destroy 3 random tiles (gaining AP) when you match Team-Up tiles.

(Passive) After an Active Agent has taken 671 damage, un-Stun the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and fire one of their powers at no cost.

Level Upgrades

• Level 2: The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Maximum Health is increased by 382.
  Level 3: Maximum Health increased by 765.
  Level 4: Maximum Health increased by 1436.
  Level 5: Maximum Health increased by 2107.

  Level 270 values:
  After an Active Agent has taken 2474 damage, un-Stun this character and fire a power at no cost.
  Level 3: Maximum Health increased by 2820.
  Level 4: Maximum Health increased by 5294.
  Level 5: Maximum Health increased by 7768.

 **Science Division 7  AP** S.H.I.E.L.D. has access to some of the finest equipment--and personnel--in the world. Agent Fitz or Agent Simmons becomes Active, draining your Team-Up AP to create two Protect or Attack tiles of Strength **39**, plus one tile for every 2 Team-Up AP spent.

(Passive) While Fitz is Active, deal an additional 565 damage whenever you match 4 or more tiles.
(Passive) While Simmons is Active, stun the enemy team for 1 turn whenever you match 4 or more tiles.

Level Upgrades

• Level 2: Creates tiles of Strength 45. Fitz deals 790 damage on a 4-match.
  Level 3: Creates tiles of Strength 52. Fitz deals 858 damage on a 4-match.
  Level 4: Creates tiles of Strength 70. Fitz deals 1242 damage on a 4-match.
  Level 5: Creates tiles of Strength 95. Fitz deals 1797 damage on a 4-match.

  Level 270 Values:
  Level 3: Creates tiles of Strength 108. Fitz deals 1703 damage on a 4-match.
  Level 4: Creates tiles of Strength 141. Fitz deals 2466 damage on a 4-match.
  Level 5: Creates tiles of Strength 198. Fitz deals 3568 damage on a 4-match.

 **Strike Team 6  AP** A covert strike weakens the enemy. Either Agent May or Agent Morse leads the charge, becoming Active. Deals **365** damage and removes up to 3 enemy attack tiles.

(Passive) While Agent May is Active, become Invisible for 1 turn whenever anyone makes a Purple match.
(Passive) While Agent Morse is Active, Stun a random enemy for 1 turn whenever anyone makes a Purple match.

Level Upgrades

• Level 2: Deals 511 damage.
  Level 3: Deals 657 damage and removes up to 4 enemy attack tiles.
  Level 4: Deals 949 damage and removes up to 5 enemy attack tiles.
  Level 5: Deals 1533 damage and removes up to 6 enemy attack tiles.

  Level 270 Values:
  Level 3: Deals 1303 damage.
  Level 4: Deals 1882 damage.
  Level 5: Deals 3041 damage.

[cardoor]

@ErikPeter

…

Level 270: Base HP: 9550 Total HP after
3 ranks: 12370. 4 ranks: 14844. 5 ranks: 17318.
Tile Damage: 65/12/85/74/13/11/3.5

Director’s Orders 6
AP
The Director taps into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s vast resources to provide support. A new Agent becomes Active, alternating between Director Phil Coulson and Director Maria Hill.
(Passive) While Director Coulson is Active, friendly Team-Up matches generate 1 AP of each other color.
(Passive) While Director Hill is Active, destroy 3 random tiles (gaining AP) when you match Team-Up tiles.

(Passive) After an Active Agent has taken 671 damage, un-Stun the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and fire one of their powers at no cost.

Level Upgrades

• Level 2: The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Maximum Health is increased by 382.
  Level 3: Maximum Health increased by 765.
  Level 4: Maximum Health increased by 1436.
  Level 5: Maximum Health increased by 2107.

  Level 270 values:
  After an Active Agent has taken 2474 damage, un-Stun this character and fire a power at no cost.
  Level 3: Maximum Health increased by 2820.
  Level 4: Maximum Health increased by 5294.
  Level 5: Maximum Health increased by 7768.

 **Science Division 7  AP** S.H.I.E.L.D. has access to some of the finest equipment--and personnel--in the world. Agent Fitz or Agent Simmons becomes Active, draining your Team-Up AP to create two Protect or Attack tiles of Strength **39**, plus one tile for every 2 Team-Up AP spent.

(Passive) While Fitz is Active, deal an additional 565 damage whenever you match 4 or more tiles.
(Passive) While Simmons is Active, stun the enemy team for 1 turn whenever you match 4 or more tiles.

Level Upgrades

• Level 2: Creates tiles of Strength 45. Fitz deals 790 damage on a 4-match.
  Level 3: Creates tiles of Strength 52. Fitz deals 858 damage on a 4-match.
  Level 4: Creates tiles of Strength 70. Fitz deals 1242 damage on a 4-match.
  Level 5: Creates tiles of Strength 95. Fitz deals 1797 damage on a 4-match.

  Level 270 Values:
  Level 3: Creates tiles of Strength 108. Fitz deals 1703 damage on a 4-match.
  Level 4: Creates tiles of Strength 141. Fitz deals 2466 damage on a 4-match.
  Level 5: Creates tiles of Strength 198. Fitz deals 3568 damage on a 4-match.

 **Strike Team 6  AP** A covert strike weakens the enemy. Either Agent May or Agent Morse leads the charge, becoming Active. Deals **365** damage and removes up to 3 enemy attack tiles.

(Passive) While Agent May is Active, become Invisible for 1 turn whenever anyone makes a Purple match.
(Passive) While Agent Morse is Active, Stun a random enemy for 1 turn whenever anyone makes a Purple match.

Level Upgrades

• Level 2: Deals 511 damage.
  Level 3: Deals 657 damage and removes up to 4 enemy attack tiles.
  Level 4: Deals 949 damage and removes up to 5 enemy attack tiles.
  Level 5: Deals 1533 damage and removes up to 6 enemy attack tiles.

  Level 270 Values:
  Level 3: Deals 1303 damage.
  Level 4: Deals 1882 damage.
  Level 5: Deals 3041 damage.

Very cool! The title of each power fit AoS so well and this version seems much more streamlined and worked through.

If you are taking suggestions, I would drop the third passive from yellow. Even without it, the power is on par with 4clops yellow and since it has no countdown could even be used the entire match (if the other teammates have a better blue and purple power).

Are Fitz and May the default for blue and purple respectively and then can be toggled or is the default random?

I think I like best that you can fit AoS into many teams and can choose one power to keep passive or mix and match as the situation/team composition calls for. All of the 6 passives are useful too.

[ErikPeter]

I think it would cause problems with the build if you could stay on Agent Coulson the whole battle. The third passive is a bonus–free power activation–with a drawback: it’s random. Without the ‘switch Active agent’ passive, people might just run AoS for Coulson’s passive as a battery, and completely ignore their other powers, making them a lot less interesting. As it is that power is borderline OP (or maybe worse). Fighting them would still be kinda fun and random (as the AI would just fire powers willy-nilly) but I like the uncertainty of what could happen next. “Oh I wanted Simmons out but she got Sundered and May jumped out to kick Ares in the face, maybe I’ll match that purple…”

You might start out matching TU and getting bonus AP. Then if you see a 4-match to make, activate Science Division, make some special tiles with your TU AP, and get in a good hit or two with Fitz. Or if you see a lot of purple on the board (or team with Switch) you might want to just pound on purple tiles to cycle May’s and Bobbi’s actives and passives. There’s stuff to do, but if the cost of that is “not just getting +6 AP for every TU match” I think people wouldn’t be incentivized to do it.

The Attack-tile specific removal also creates a bit of synergy with friendlies that create enemy attack tiles: e.g. Carnage, Banner, Moon Knight. Carnage is especially strong as the nature of his slow attrition will ensure you get the more free activations for your buck without much overkill. 2/3 of AoS’ powers will either remove enemy Attack tiles or possibly create Protect tiles to mitigate them.

[cardoor]

OK, I think I understand the third passive better now. I thought you could sit on any passive you wanted, but it sounds like once the active agent takes enough damage, even if it is a non-yellow agent, then a new random agent (of any color) will take their place.

I suppose you could guard your preferred passive once it is in place (until some team damager like Rulk drops his green)

[therightwaye]

No Shotgun Axe? A grave over sight!

I like Fritz’s blue power. I’ve been wanting to see more 4 match power affects.

[ErikPeter]

Yeah, since Mockingbird’s not on the show anymore, and Mack has a bigger role than when I originally specced this build, he’d be a better option for the alternate strike team member. “My axe is sharp… and a shotgun”.