Let’s talk about Tigra! With over 50 years of existence, it’s impossible for designers to represent all her appearances. The cards suggest a specific period: from Tigra (2002) to the Moon Knight run (2021). Tigra wasn’t randomly chosen for this Civil War (2006) box either. Like Hulkling, she switches sides during the story, first with Captain America then Iron Man. This allows playing scenarios from each side without thematic inconsistency.

Greer Nelson

Greer is a police officer and widow of Bill Nelson.

Between 2002 and 2024, she infiltrated three organizations: a corrupt police department in her “Tigra” run, the resistance during Civil War, and also spied on Moon Knight (we’ll come back to that). She excels at tailing, tracking her targets thanks to her animal instincts that she retains even in human form. Hence the “undercover work”. Her stats reflect this human duality: hand size of 6, 10 hit points, REC of 3.

Her flavor text “You don’t have to be an Avenger to protect others” reveals a character who refuses the roles imposed on her. From her first issue, presented as the “perfect woman” with “overdeveloped female instinct,” she struggles against this image of a sex object. A physics PhD, she only receives offers for masseuse, hostess, or secretary positions. She prioritizes local action – protecting her community at night while the Avengers handle global crises. After her traumatic captivity with Molecule Man, she advocates for support for victims of sexual exploitation. Faced with her trauma and shortcomings, she ends up leaving the Avengers to try to grow by herself. Her emancipation asserts itself, notably with her own “Tigra” series which definitively establishes her existence beyond the Avengers.

The Hero Tigra

The 3 defense echoes her flavor text on her alter ego’s side. The “huntress” silently bypasses enemy lines to feed on violence in the midst of melee. Catching minions “off guard” is appropriate, and it is mechanically sound to loose the guard keyword.

Moon Knight

Writers have long played on the cliché of the cat meowing under the moon. But in Moon Knight 2021, their flirtation evolved into a true friendship – a duo that works perfectly. Tigra agrees to spy on Marc Spector for the Avengers, worried about his mental health. This infiltration mission between close friends adds dramatic tension. Moon Knight will discover the betrayal without taking offense, simply admitting he needs a friend. Since then, they form a duo that’s a hit at newsstands, like cat and dog. No other signature ally would have made as much sense for her. He shares the same stats as his previous incarnation in the Red Skull deluxe expansion, but changes his trait to represent a different time period.

Precinct HQ

This action suggests that Greer manages to foil the villain thanks to information collected from minions.

Cat’s Head amulet

Greer escaped death thanks to her former thesis advisor who transformed her into a cat-woman, thus giving her 9 lives. Her necklace allows her to switch between human and feline form. The card here doesn’t reflect the comics, a more utilitarian design than narrative.

Two Gun Kid

Two-Gun Kid has practically no connection to Tigra. In reality, designer Nate wanted this obscure character in the core set. Caleb replaced him with the more popular Tigra, but promised to reintroduce Two-Gun Kid later – a promise kept with this pack. The card is explicit: two guns, period.

Spider-Girl

A coherent reprint. Tigra was Spider-Girl’s teacher in Avengers Academy. This choice works thematically and mechanically: status cards have always been linked to Spiders, and targeting only minions evokes well the secondary missions assigned to Academy students – less critical threats than those handled by the Avengers. I also like to think that master and student both interact with minions.

Audacity

Hawkeye is the leader of the West Coast Avengers, who are complete with this Civil War wave and of which Tigra was a part.

Yellow Jacket

While both being teachers at the Academy, Hank and Greer developed a romantic relationship which ended while being pregnant with future William Nelson. Why Nelson and not Pym? Greer chose to raise William alone. The story gets complicated with Skrull affairs… In the end, Hank becomes William’s godfather, and Nadia “The Wasp” recognizes him as her half-brother. A modern family in all its complexity. The card reflects a tinkerer character, being able to pull the right toy at the right time.

In too deep

You can feel that her cover is blown and she’s caught red-handed. Beautiful storytelling.

Nemesis Set

Bendis left his mark on a generation with a post-Civil War story involving Tigra. The Hood gathers all of New York’s underworld in a speakeasy. He then captures Tigra at her home, violently assaults and humiliates her. Jigsaw films and broadcasts the scene live to the bar. Message: united, criminals surpass heroes. The most powerful gang in NYC has just been born. The designer recreates this traumatic scene in 3 cards.

Madame Masque, absent from this scene, remains The Hood’s right hand and takes over when necessary.

Tigra’s revenge already appeared in the base game on “The Power of Aggression,” where we see her ready to beat down The Hood. Interesting detail: no minion is elite. It echoes for me the resolution of this scene: Tigra walks away, saying “The Hood is just a criminal like any others, he doesn’t deserve any special treatment.”

My 2 cts

Caleb Grace delivers a design guided by his in-depth reading of Tigra’s lore. Sure, he recycles the Dúnedain mechanic from LOTR LCG, but he manages to create a mechanically successful character because it’s thematically coherent. The picture painted by these cards will excite players. The increased risk via multiple minions, the tactical choices that follow, and this explosive style hit the mark.

A great success.

Reading list

If you don’t have a lot of time, I recommend you take a look at the 7 main issues of Civil War (2006) and the Moon Knight run (2021) which is a modern classic. If you enjoyed the Civil War, The Initiative is the direct sequel, then Avengers’ Academy bridges the final gap and will explore more of her relationship with lower stake events.