Black Cat Trials | Marvel Church

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Intro

Black Cat is a new Legendary character, and her unlocking method will be through Trials. Same as it was with Nova. All Trials in their essence are modified Scourge Events, so the structure should be familiar to us all.

There are Pacts (same as Scourges in Horsemen’s events), that can alter the flow of battles either to your benefit or detriment. All Pacts have point modifiers that depend on the difficulty of the Pact, and by having more Pacts active you can increase your final Run Score.

The core of the Event will be the same. We will have 10 Difficulties for all ranges of player progression. All players who are level 50+ can participate in Black Cat Trials. And you can quit each node and try again until you reach the desired result.

Black Cat Trials and all the other Trials are now on a repeating schedule where they will be live every two weeks and will run for 5 days. This stability provides everyone with a good opportunity to plan ahead and get the rewards they aim for.

Unlock

Alongside the new schedule, there is also a new reward system. There are no longer any leaderboards where you can get bonus shards, now everything is centered around Milestones.

Here’s how the Milestones are separated in terms of Shards and Star Ranks:

Milestone 3 (500,000 Points) = 3-Star Unlock
- Milestone 4 (600,000 Pts) = 1 Red Star unlock
Milestone 5 (700,000 Pts) = 4-Star upgrade
- Milestone 6 (750,000 Pts) = 2 Red Stars upgrade
Milestone 7 (800,000 Pts) = 5-Star upgrade
- Milestone 8 (850,000 Pts) = 3 Red Stars upgrade
Milestone 9 (900,000 Pts) = 6-Star upgrade
- Milestone 10 (950,000 Pts) = 4 Red Star upgrade
Milestone 12 (1,400,000 Pts) = 7-Star upgrade

Requirements

Node 1 – No restrictions on all difficulties
Nodes 2/6/10 Difficulties 5+ – Knowhere, Sinister Six
Nodes 3/7 – Mystic (Diff 3-4) / Mystic Villain (Diff 5+)
Nodes 4/8 – Controller (Diff 3-4) / Global Controller (Diff 5+)
Nodes 5/9 – Brawler (Diff 3+)

Difficulty 1 doesn’t have any restrictions on all nodes, and difficulty 2 only has restrictions for the last 4 nodes (Node 7 – Mystic/Node 8 -Controller/Node 9 – Brawler/Node 10 – Hero)

Pacts

EXPERIMENTAL SERUM II – Enemies gain +20% Max Health
EXPERIMENTAL SERUM III – Enemies gain +30% Max Health
SNAKE EYES – On Spawn, Player characters gain increased Critical Hit Chance, and Enemy Characters gain increased Critical Hit Damage
WORLD AT WAR – All War Abilities are Active during this Run
SINISTER SYMBIOSIS – On Spawn, non-minion City Villain characters gain the Sinister Six trait, and all City Bio Hero characters gain the Symbiote trait.
AGENTS OF KNOWHERE – On spawn, Cosmic Hero characters gain the Knowhere Trait, and Invaders characters gain the S.H.I.E.L.D. trait
BRAWLROOM BLAST – All Brawler characters gain additional Critical Hit Damage, and all Blaster characters gain additional Critical Hit Chance
SECOND WIND – When any character drops to 50% Health, they generate 2 Ability Energy for themself
HIRED HELP – Summoned characters gain +20% Max Health
SELF PRESERVATION – At the start of any Healer turn, Barrier that character for 5% of their Max Health

As we expected, the key Pact is focused on War this time. Namely, the WORLD AT WAR Pact will make all War Abilities active during your Run. It will significantly affect some teams/characters we plan to use in Black Cat Trials. Most importantly, Knowhere team. Which is realistically the strongest team in the game for War, and we will need them for 3 Nodes.

Certain characters like Red Hulk, Abomination, Taskmaster, Mister Negative, Hela, Omega Red, etc. will also get their War bonuses and be stronger.

WORLD AT WAR can also make our lives much more difficult because the enemies will have the same bonuses. However, we recommend this Pact to anyone who plans to get serious with Black Cat Trials. It’s simple – we gain more than we lose with this Pact.

SECOND WIND is a very interesting Pact that we can use to our advantage. To fill Ability Energy much faster. Of course, we must also take into account the opponents. Everything that works for us will work for them too. So we do not want some nasty Ability to hit us.

EXPERIMENTAL SERUM I and II are simply health boosts to enemies, so if you find some nodes tricky or unbeatable, you can always turn those off.

SNAKE EYES, BRAWLROOM BLAST, HIRED HELP, and SELF PRESERVATION – are not that crucial, and you should turn them on for a better score. You can even do the same with SINISTER SYMBIOSIS without impactful consequences.

AGENTS OF KNOWHERE can be tricky precisely because the Knowhere team is the strongest in War game mode, and if the Cosmic Hero characters get this Trait, it can buff them to the extent that they make some nodes much more difficult.

In conclusion, Traits that we can turn off to make Runs easier are:

EXPERIMENTAL SERUM I and II
AGENTS OF KNOWHERE
SINISTER SYMBIOSIS.

Everything else we should include to enable the best possible score.

After we had the opportunity to play several runs of Black Cat Trials, we can freely recommend absolutely all Pacts. Possibly EXPERIMENTAL SERUM I and II can be excluded.

Black Cat Trials videos

Difficulty 8 with all but EXPERIMENTAL SERUM I AND II Pacts – 1,544,900 score.
HERE

The description of this run is down in recommendations.

How to complete Knowhere nodes on Difficulty 5, All Pacts, with a small Knowhere team (420K)
Video HERE.

Recommendations

To simplify things, we will provide node breakdowns for Difficulties 5 and above, since those are the difficulties you should aim for to comfortably get the unlock.

Node 1 (No requirements)

Since there are no requirements just use the strongest team/characters that you have.

Walkthrough:
Gamma is a fine choice because they are a team specializing in War. And to charge Ability Energy for Red Hulk and thus make his ultimate available at the very start of Brawler Node, where we plan to use him. You can also bring Doom or Dormammu to have their Ultimates ready for later nodes where you will use them. Or any important Character.

In general, you can use any team that you have strong enough. Because Node 1 does not have any restrictions.

The easiest Node on Trial, you can do it with almost any team. I used Gamma. No special tactics are needed. Focus on the MLF when she spawns and eliminate her ASAP. That is the only thing worth mentioning in Node 1.

Node 2 (Knowhere / Sinister Six)

Suggested team:
Knowhere is the team for Nodes 2, 6, and 10.
After rework, the Sinister Six team is more than a valid option. If you have a strong Knowhere team, they are still better for these nodes. However, if you haven’t invested in them and have a powerful Sinister Six with Superior Six characters, you can finish everything without investing in Knowhere.

Walkthrough:
Stun MLF at the very start with Nova Special, it is not necessary to save the CD with the others, so you can use them like Korg’s Special to turn rewind enemies. Don’t hesitate to use Nova Ultimate immediately in the second turn. You will get Battlefield Effect and have time to recharge Ability Energy for Node 6.

Focus on Weaver (when she comes), and get rid of the Debuffs with Cosmo’s Ultimate. If your Nova is Striker, try to attack opponents with Vulnerability with him. After you finish Node 2, if Nova Special CD is ready, you did a good job.

Node 3 (Mystic Villain)

Suggested team:
Morgan Le Fay, Strange (Heartless), Agatha Harkness, Doctor Doom, Dormammu

Alternatives:
Hela, Loki, Sylvie, Mister Negative, Ebony Maw, Loki (Teen), Mordo, Absorbing Man …

Walkthrough:
Use MLF Ultimate to control the fight (at the very start) and then Agatha’s Ultimate to heal your team. This Node isn’t hard at all. If Doctor Doom is damaged, use his Ultimate to heal and end the fight.

For Node 3, I brought Loki along with the Doom and Darkhold trio to get an advantage in Speed. It is probably one of the best combinations for those sections (I do not have powerful Dormammu, but you can use him if you have him strong enough).

Node 4 (Global Controller)

Suggested team:
Morgan Le Fay, Doctor Doom, Magneto, Dark Beast, Omega Red

Alternatives:
Black Widow, Moonstone, Nakia, Okoye, Taskmaster, Dazzler, Emma Frost, Scarlet Witch, Agent Coulson, Hawkeye …

Walkthrough:
I hope you have the MLF Ultimate or Special ready because the fight should be opened with some of those, and with Magneto’s Ultimate. If you bring Scarlet Witch, you can prolong all negativities with Her Ultimate. She is useful not only because of the prolongation but also because she can heal all allies. After that, focus on Ikaris and take care of Valkyrie’s Passive. It would be ideal if you could eliminate all Hero Asgardians at once.

Sersi arrives in the second Weave, so it is crucial to eliminate Ikaris before she appears. When Doom’s Ultimate is ready, use it to finish the fight. Try to save every other CD after that.

I can say that the Global Controller Nodes were the most difficult. Because I don’t have a well-built Omega Red, nor a Taskmaster, and even Emma and Black Widow are not too strong on my account. So I adapted to what I had and brought Scarlet Witch, Magneto, and Dark Beast along with MLF and Doctor Doom. Omega Red would make these nodes much more painless.

Node 5 (Brawler)

Suggested team:
Red Hulk, Vulture, Deathpool, Black Cat (after you unlock her), Super Skrull (if you have him)

Alternatives:

Vahl, Quicksilver, Abomination, Shang-Chi, Star-Lord (Annihilation), Thor (Infinity War), Ronin, The Thing, Iron Man (Infinity War), Psylocke, Black Panther, Black Panther (1MM), Captain Marvel, Gamora, Nebula, Titania …

Walkthrough:

There are so many good characters available for Brawler nodes. So, as long as you have these first five listed, you’re going through them all with ease. If you don’t have any of the five listed characters, you do not need to panic because the alternatives are excellent.

If you have powerful Red Hulk and Deathpool, Brawler nodes will be child-play for you. It is enough to say that Multiple Man is one of the opponents in Node 5, so Deathpool will be a perfect choice. Save most of CDs for Node 9. That’s the most important advice.

Node 6 (Knowhere / Sinister Six)

Suggested team:
Knowhere is the team for Nodes 2, 6, and 10.
After rework, the Sinister Six team is more than a valid option. If you have a strong Knowhere team, they are still better for these nodes. However, if you haven’t invested in them and have a powerful Sinister Six with Superior Six characters, you can finish everything without investing in Knowhere.

Walkthrough:
For Node 6, the important thing is to get rid of Strange and Agatha quickly and then focus on the others. I’ll repeat that you shouldn’t hesitate to use Cosmo’s Abilities to get rid of debuffs. Ghost Riders can be annoying with their passive attacks, so they (there are two of them) should be dealt with as soon as possible, but not at the cost of losing control over the fight. When Taskmaster comes, don’t let him play – you have plenty of tools to do that. Nova’s Ultimate should be saved for Node 10. Underworld characters (Taskmaster and Mister Negative) can prove to be tough opponents, but nothing Knowhere can’t handle.

Node 7 (Mystic Villain)

Suggested team:
Morgan Le Fay, Strange (Heartless), Agatha Harkness, Doctor Doom, Dormammu

Alternatives:
Hela, Loki, Sylvie, Mister Negative, Ebony Maw, Loki (Teen), Mordo, Absorbing Man …

Walkthrough:
This time, Hela should be here with a Darkhold Doom combo (if you do not have strong Dormammu). Speed manipulation is crucial. Focus on Quicksilver and try to get rid of him ASAP. Strange (Heartless) and Doom Ultimates will get you through this node.

Node 8 (Global Controller)

Suggested team:
Morgan Le Fay, Doctor Doom, Magneto, Dark Beast, Omega Red

Alternatives:
Black Widow, Moonstone, Nakia, Okoye, Taskmaster, Dazzler, Emma Frost, Scarlet Witch, Agent Coulson, Hawkeye …

Walkthrough:
It would be nice if Magneto’s Ultimate was ready at the start. That will help us to control combat. If opponents are blind, you can easily prepare for the next wave of enemies. Timing and order of kill are important.

The crucial moment of this fight happens when the Gamma appears in the second wave of enemies. When that happens, Doom Ultimate must be ready. Extend the first weave of enemies as long as necessary.

Dark Beast should also have his Ultimate ready and Ability Block Red Hulk when he arrives. Doom Ultimate should be used before 3rd weave of enemies comes because Kestrel will prevent spawns of Doombots. Even if that happens is possible to beat them, but it would be much easier if you can use Doom Ult before Kestrel joins combat.

Node 9 (Brawler)

Suggested team:
Red Hulk, Vulture, Deathpool, Black Cat (after you unlock her), Super Skrull (if you have him)

Alternatives:

Walkthrough:

Another undemanding Node if you have adequate characters. Don’t skimp on Abilities, open up with Red Hulk Ultimate followed by Vahl Ultimate if they are ready (and they should be). Deathpool Passive will do a great job here. Focus on characters able to remove debuffs, and heal (Maria Hill, Squirrel Girl, Viv Vision).

Watch out for Kate Bishop. She can Blind your characters. Don’t be like me, not notice it, and waste essential Abilities for nothing. Even with such a mistake, you can finish Node. But it is better not to make it.

Node 10 (Knowhere / Sinister Six)

Knowhere is the team for Nodes 2, 6, and 10.
After rework, the Sinister Six team is more than a valid option. If you have a strong Knowhere team, they are still better for these nodes. However, if you haven’t invested in them and have a powerful Sinister Six with Superior Six characters, you can finish everything without investing in Knowhere.

On higher difficulties, Sinister Six can be used as a sacrifice team. They need to survive until opponent Nova uses his Ultimate (his turn 2).

Walkthrough:
Use Nova’s Ultimate to get the battlefield effect – it will significantly increase your sustain. Once you get rid of the opposing Nova – more than half the job is done. Watch out for Minerva. She can revive someone at the worst possible moment.

This Node can be tricky if not played properly. All opponents that come after you kill Nova are more dangerous to us than 3 Cosmos, so I recommend leaving them for last but you should be able to clear others before Cosmos can Heal them back.

Knowhere have more than enough tools in their arsenal to control the fight. Stun, Blind (should be used on Gambit), Ability Block, speed manipulation. Make sure to use those advantages, and you will win. As long as you have a well-built Thor (Infinity War), his Ultimate will be one of the crucial weapons with which you can do a ton of Damage to opponents.

Not overly complicated, but on the other hand, not a simple event either. Good luck to everyone in their fights for a better score.

Conclusion

As soon as the event goes live we will be testing out the best ways to clear the nodes, and this page will be updated with short descriptions. Shortly after that, we will also be publishing video guides on how to complete the nodes on our YouTube channel.

We hope that with our help this will be even easier for you. If you have any questions or suggestions the best way to contact us is through our Discord:

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Good luck and have fun!

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