Marvel.com: Its been a while since weve seen anyone with an X-Gene join the roster. Can you talk a little about why mutants are back on the menu?
Josh Austin: I know, right? Keeping the secret that we are bringing back the mutants was so hard! Players have been asking for a long time and Rogue is just the start. We will be releasing a few more, plus some mutant-themed events that should bring a lot of excitement to the game.
Marvel.com: Super happy to see Rogue making the cut too! Why was she the right mutant for the job?
Josh Austin: Rogue has been one of the top requested characters for so long. Every time I would send out a preview character with the community one of the top automatic responses seemed to be Rogue, so we wanted to start with her. Shes a 4-star character and will be tough to beat with her power siphoning and damage reduction. Players are going to have fun using her and dread facing her. The designers did a great job translating her powers to Marvel Puzzle Quest and shes going to be a great addition to any roster!
Marvel.com: Rogues been in her fair share of video games in the past. What does the team have in store for us in Marvel Puzzle Quest?
Josh Austin: Since we did not want to disappoint on such a highly requested character, we definitely went with her familiar power set of draining powers, flying head on into combat with a devastating punch and even leading her team in the attack, all done in Marvel Puzzle Quest fashion.
Marvel.com: And what can she do in MPQ fashion?
Josh Austin: What the above overview translates into is Rogues first ability, Gloves Off, which costs five Green AP. This power then becomes Power Siphon. Power Siphon is a Passive ability that has Rogue absorbing enemy powers but risks damaging herself with continued exposure. What this means in terms of gameplay is enemy matches in this abilitys color generates no AP and [deal] no damage while friendly matches generate double AP and deal double damage! At the start of the turn, spend 14 AP in this abilitys color to deal damage to the target and deal about half that amount of damage to Rogue. This power then becomes Gloves Off again.
Rogues Second ability is called Sugah, Youre Goin Down and costs 12 Red AP. Its a headfirst flying charge punch that sends the enemy reeling. It deals damage and destroys a block of tiles dealing damage but not generating AP.
Rogues final ability is called Leading the Charge and its a Yellow Passive. When Rogue is in front, enemy matches deal less damage for each teammate still in the fight. Whenever the enemy makes a Green, Red or Yellow match, Rogue is sent to the front automatically.
Marvel.com: Lets talk a little about Gloves Off. Because of the potential damage Rogue risks, is this something she needs to use sparingly or do the benefits outweigh the risks.
Josh Austin: The risk is only if the player gets the 14 AP to set off Power Siphons damage function. The moment the player collects 14 AP in the chosen color, Rogue damages the enemy and receives damage. If you have someone that can use up the AP, so youre just doing double damage on matches, Rogue will be totally fine.
