Is Marvel Crisis Protocol Too Expensive ? A different perspective

Is the Marvel Crisis Protocol miniatures game catching your eye? But do you find the pricing of its products way too high? Paying €35 for an unassembled and unpainted M.O.D.O.K. miniature seems outrageous? In this article, I’ll share a different perspective on the game’s cost and give you some tips on how to play MCP on a tight budget.

The price-to-content ratio: a matter of perspective…

When browsing in a store, we instinctively assess whether the price of a miniatures box is justified. “What?! €35 for this M.O.D.O.K. miniature? Are they out of their minds?” some might exclaim.

We make this judgment because, through experience, we’ve seen a lot of miniatures boxes. Naturally, we start comparing products from different game systems. For instance, for €35, you could instead buy:

• A box of Baratheon Wardens for A Song of Ice and Fire
• A box of Geonosian Warriors for Star Wars: Legion
• A Saurus Astrolith Bearer for Warhammer Age of Sigmar

More specifically, we compare the contents of these boxes relative to their price. For €35, the Star Wars: Legion box provides you with seven flying aliens, while the A Song of Ice and Fire box gives you twelve miniatures. Naturally, a single M.O.D.O.K. figure seems underwhelming in comparison. “Maybe it’s huge, and the amount of plastic justifies the cost?” you might wonder. “Hmm… no, it’s not even that big. Spending €35 for so little plastic? What a rip-off!”

A few years ago, I was among those who thought this way. But over time, I learned not to assess the value of things solely based on their price. Nowadays, I prefer to evaluate a product based on its function. In the case of wargames, I judge a miniatures box by what it brings to the table in terms of gameplay. Want a concrete example?

The products listed earlier all have one thing in common: they each contain a single unit for their respective game system. However, before diving into a new wargame, it’s crucial to understand the requirements of its system. In other words, how many units do I need at a minimum to play in a tournament? Some games require numerous units to build a legal army list, while others need only a few. Let’s compare:

• A Song of Ice and Fire lists typically contain between 7 and 9 units, including 4 or 5 combat units.
• Star Wars: Legion lists, since version 2.6, consist of 10 to 12 units (but can range from 9 to 20!).
• An Age of Sigmar army generally has around 10 to 15 units.
• Marvel Crisis Protocol requires exactly 10 characters—no more, no less.

You can probably see where I’m going with this: if your goal is to play the game, then Marvel Crisis Protocol is not inherently more expensive than its competitors. Some games might seem more budget-friendly because they offer more plastic in a single box. However, their list-building rules can be more demanding, requiring you to buy more units in the long run—which ultimately costs you more.

The Core Box: A Stepping Stone to Cheaper Miniatures

If your wallet is still trembling at the sight of this colorful game, rest assured—there are ways to get started while keeping costs down.

Miniatures game publishers often offer starter boxes with an excellent price-to-content ratio. For Marvel Crisis Protocol, this is especially true since the core set is more than enough to play casual games with two players and provides all the tools needed to build a legal roster (as it contains 10 characters). Sure, it won’t be the most competitive list, but hey—you will at least be able to sign up for your local tournament. This is worth mentioning because it’s not the case with A Song of Ice and Fire starter sets or Star Wars: Legion Battle Forces, for example.

Even if you’re not a fan of the characters included in the core box (I wasn’t), nothing prevents you from reselling some of them at a good price. With the money earned, you can reinvest in other official miniatures to build your own custom starter. That’s exactly what I did: I sold three miniatures for €15 each on Vinted, which allowed me to fund the purchase of the Spider-Foes box (€48, shipping included). Based on the cost-per-unit ratio I mentioned earlier, I traded 3 characters for 4—an excellent deal for a tight budget!

3D Printing: Affordable and High-Quality Proxies

Finally, if you fundamentally dislike spending so much money for so little plastic, don’t worry—you’re lucky to live in the age of 3D printing! A human-sized miniature, like Cyclops or Beast from the X-Men, can be purchased for around €3.50 to €5 each on Vinted. (Yes, many 3D printing sellers make a living through this platform.) Most of the time, these sellers only display a few miniatures in their listings, but don’t be fooled—that’s just the tip of the iceberg (or should I say, the tip of Iceman). These vendors often have hundreds of files, and a simple message is enough to place a custom order. In short, for under €60 (shipping included), it’s possible to build a solid roster of characters.

A Few Obvious Tips…

Check the Second-Hand Market Before Buying New

Before purchasing an item at full price, I strongly recommend checking second-hand sales platforms. You can even find brand-new items (still shrink-wrapped)! For example, through Vinted, I managed to get the NYC Terrain Pack, brand new, for €30 (shipping included), whereas a specialized store would have sold it for at least €50.

Hunt for Discounts

While supporting your local game store is always a good practice, sometimes your budget just won’t allow it. In that case, online sales and promotions can help you complete your roster at a lower cost. To find the best deals, don’t limit yourself to stores in your own country—check out offers from foreign retailers as well. But how do you do that?

In your search engine, type the keywords you’re interested in, followed by site: and the country domain identifier. For example, site:.de will show results only from German websites. Next, learn the word for “promotion” in that language— in German, it’s Förderung. Now, put it all together in Google:

Marvel Crisis Protocol Förderung site:.de

This will filter results to German sites currently offering promotions on Marvel Crisis Protocol. And with just a little searching, I quickly came across this deal:

Conclusion

Is Marvel Crisis Protocol too expensive? In my opinion, no. Of course, it all depends on how you interpret the costs. I believe it’s more reasonable to value a product based on what it brings to your gaming experience rather than on the amount of plastic it contains—especially since that plastic might just end up in your pile of shame anyway.

If you don’t share my perspective, I think we can at least agree on one thing: there are plenty of ways to get into this amazing game without breaking the bank! Once you take the plunge, don’t forget to join your country’s Discord community so we can organize some epic battles in a marvellous atmosphere!