Let's Talk About You...

The moment has finally come, Country Music Hall of Famer Toby Keith. Today, we’re going to talk about you. Well... not you, you. We’re talking about you.

Let’s get real. “You” is weird. “You” has changed and grown a lot over the years. “You” is confusing at times. I am struggling to use “You” as a singular noun here, and it is driving me batty to actually read these sentences. I hope you are now also suffering.

The rules surrounding “you” have morphed over the years, leading to it feeling more complex and overwhelming than it actually is. It’s not particularly complex once you understand it, though there are the odd edge cases that can cause anyone to stumble. This article is aimed at helping you find peace in “you.”

Let’s start with who isn’t “you.” Supports, allies, and obviously enemy characters are so not “you.” Simple enough!

Now we’ll do the easy part of “you.” Upgrades, events, and resources are you! They count as extensions of your identity, and for this reason, abilities on them count as “you” doing something.

Forward to the harder stuff! “You” generally refers to the player/identity combination. But you, the human reading this (I assume), are not actually in the game. Your identity acts as your avatar, and as such, if something can be interpreted as applying to your identity, it should be resolved and applied to your identity.

You don’t have hit points. Black Panther has hit points. So if something tells you to take damage, please take the safe option, and move Black Panther’s hp dial down. You cannot be exhausted (Ha! Take that kids!), but Carol Danvers can be exhausted. So if something says “If you were already exhausted…” ignore your yawn and check on Carol’s in-game state.

Now there are some times that “you” is referring to the player. If something cannot be interpreted to be done by your character’s identity, then apply it to you, the player. Black Panther doesn’t have a hand. Well he has two of them, but they aren’t going to reach out and hold your cards. Black Panther doesn’t have a deck or a discard pile. You, the player, have those things. So if something tells you to “discard a card from your hand” it wants you the player to do so.

Finally, there is a big exception to this. When an enemy attacks, it is considered to be attacking both the targeted character and the player that controls that character. So even if you block an attack with an ally, you “the player” have been attacked by the villain. Where does this matter? Drax has a couple cards that highlight the difference and why it might be impactful.

• Drax’s hero ability states: “After the villain attacks Drax, place 1 vengeance counter here.”

• Drax’s event Payback has an ability that states: “After the villain attacks you, deal X damage to the villain…”

If the villain attacks Drax, and you do nothing, both of these abilities will trigger. Drax was attacked by the villain, because the attack was resolved against Drax. Since Drax was attacked, the Drax player was also attacked. However, if you decide to defend with an ally (thanks Groot!), Drax’s hero ability will not trigger. Drax was not attacked, because the attack did not resolve against him. Instead the attack was resolved against the defending ally. However, the second ability can still trigger. The villain still attacked an ally you control, which means the villain attacked you! Not confusing at all! (Maybe a little confusing.)

And as a brief reminder, if you’re ever feeling overwhelmed by what ‘you’ means, just pick something that feels good and go with it. You can file a report with the FFG Police when your game ends, and they’ll direct you to their rules questions submission form. Just be forewarned that it may be a while before they get back to you. For a faster option, you can check out the Marvel Champions Community Discord server. There are plenty of knowledgeable folk that can answer your questions.

Not so bad, yeah? Easy, breezy, “where is the holy grail of RRGs that simplifies ‘you’ completely?”

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This is all based on the Rules Reference Guide version 1.6. You (the player) can find the entry for You (the rules) on pages 44-45.