I got myself the starter set of Thor: The Dark World because I skipped the Bioshock: Infinite, Man of Steel, and the Kick-Ass 2 sets, so I don’t have a copy of the 2013 Rulebook and Powers and Abilities Card yet. The packaging is nothing to write home about. The card design features Thor: TDW movie images on the front and the back. The clear plastic shows the figures in the set but still hides any details about the maps and the character cards.
Just like any other starter set, this set comes with:
1 2013 Core Rulebook
1 2013 Powers and Abilities Card (PAC)
6 playable Heroclix figures with character cards
1 2-sided map
1 pair of dice
6 object tokens
16 game tokens
The set contained a pleasant surprise. Similar to the Fear Itself Scenario Packs, the 2-sided map came with a scenario guide!
If this set is anything like the Iron Man 3 Starter Set, then the 2-sided map features locations from the movie. So I won’t give away any info about the battlefield conditions of the maps or info about special character abilities. It might spoil the movie’s plot. All I have to say about the maps are that they are really good. I’ve played several games on them and they force you to think about your placement because of an abundance of different kinds of terrain. Before this set, we’ve gotten a lot of wide open, outdoor maps perfect for just duking it out and I’m glad that that was not done here.
The PAC doesn’t feel right because they changed the paper used for it. It’s much thinner now and doesn’t feel any bit as durable as the 2011 card. It feels like a travesty to even call it a card. Maybe we should just call it a… PAC Sheet.
And now, the main reason why I bought this set – the figures. Before anything, I have to say that the sculpt on the figs are really good! Thor’s cape and pose looks like he’s moving at top speed to charge with his hammer while Loki makes me think that Wizkids shrunk down Tom Hiddleston to make miniature plastic versions of him. The cape work on Sif and Malekith is really detailed and the spikes and details on the Dark Elf Scout and Kurse make them look all sorts of nasty.
On gameplay, the balance of powers and point value allocation is much better than the Iron Man 3 set. Thor, Sif, and Loki makes for an offense-focused, 275 point, Asgardian-themed team. With 25 points to spare, you can outfit them with the Asgardian Additional Team Ability and add a relic to the game. I also played a Thor, Loki, and Spitlip Asgardian team with Iron Man’s briefcase armor, all of that for well below 300 points!
Malekith, Dark Elf Scout, and Kurse make for a flat 300 point Svartalfhem-themed team, which is just fine considering the synergy of Malekith and the Dark Elf. Plus Kurse has a wicked charge ability. They held their own against a 300 point Ms. Marvel and Dr. Strange team from the Fear Itself set.
If you’re a Marvel collector or a newbie, you really shouldn’t pass up on this starter set. The figures are fun to play and there aren’t a lot of modern age Asgardian sets outside of Fear Itself so you can combine the figures with characters from the FI set for some fun Asgardian teams. I'm just thankful that the Thor isn't a 300-point letdown like a certain Iron Man. The biggest downside I found was the lack of versatility in the figures' dials and I hope that the figures in the Thor: TDW Gravity Feed make up for that.