A lot of the extract scenarios have multiple assets to grab. Knowing how to get more of them than you opponent seems a good way to get ahead in the game.

When you are looking at scenarios like Struggle for the Cube Continues, Spider-Infected Invade Manhattan and Fear Grips World as “Worthy” Terrorize Cities, knowing which Assets to grab when can be the difference between winning and losing.

It’s easy to be thinking of the two assets of your side as “your assets”, and those on the other side as “your opponent’s”. That’s not always true. And for those with 5 Assets, that leaves one “up for grabs”.

That central Asset is typically the first one grabbed. You can send a character to pick it up without over extending too much. That formed the central idea behind my article on crisis selection with priority. It will probably be the priority player sending a character to go get that Asset.

It isn’t possible to move once and be in range to interact with the Asset – you are out even with a L move by just over half an inch. So you are sending a character to sit there in the middle of the board. It has better be someone who is at least a bit resilient.

You could pull a trick like Gamma Launching a character up there or Tactical Analysis to get there and back away in a turn, but is that point a good use of your Team Tactics Card? Well, maybe. A lot depends on other factors. But it’s something a more conservative player might value as a turn one play. Both those cards require certain team composition though, which may not suit what you want to play.

I am not left-handed

So your opponent is beating you – they’ve taken the central asset and are visualising the VP lead it will give them. What do you do? Challenge what they think they know.

“Their” assets are in your range if you have the right set up. A Hulk Missile or an L mover is in range of grabbing their Assets. Apart from the Hulk, you do run a real risk of them being dazed turn 1, so judging this is a bit of an art, but the most resilient L mover is clearly Black Panther.

Adding blanks seriously ups his survivability, and Mystic attacks aren’t that common yet. Depending on the characters near him, he might be far enough away that they need to move to get their free/cheap attacks in range, reducing the damage he is taking.

I am not left handed either

One thing to watch for is your opponent doing exactly the same straight back to you, especially on the side you just sent off your fast character from. Ideally in deployment you’ll line up your intended asset grabber opposite characters without L moves, but that’s not always possible. Look at terrain – that might prevent those L movers from making it to ‘your’ Asset. Alternatively, have ranged characters ready to unload two shots at them if they do try it to maximise the threat of dazing them (though watch out for Hulk),or something like Drop Off that will make them think twice.

C-C-C-COMBO!

Really want to amp it up? Grab the central Asset on your first activation, and then send your go-getter to grab one of your opponent’s on your second. Then mop up the other two. A 4-1 lead on Assets can be game winning.

Taking the Scenic route

One thing that can get in the way of you double L mover is scenery. Apart from Spider-Man, none of the L movers can get over more than size 2 scenery. Depending on your set up, you may find that scenery makes it impossible to grab those far Assets. You should assess that at team selection.

Scenery is not always a hindrance though: it can help protect a double L mover you’ve sent out to grab assets. Keep an eye out for little pockets to hide in or large terrain to block LoS.

Stop. Hammer time.

The lack of central Asset on Fear Grips World as “Worthy” Terrorize Cities means you might expect parity in Asset scoring, but with your Asset Hound you could easily end up 3-1 up, also netting that extra dice on attacks to help swing things further in your favour. If you have priority, setting up your Asset grabber last will prevent your opponent loading up a heavy counterpunch. If you are likely to be facing one of these speedy grabbers, deploying your counterpunch characters later seems like a plan.

In a vacuum

It’s worth saying, all of this has been ignoring the Secure scenario. That’s a bad idea. It may not jive with your plans for your Secures so bear that in mind before throwing characters up the table where you don’t want them.