He isn't Johnny Blaze. For some Marvel fans, that was the first hurdle. When Firaxis announced that the Midnight Suns Ghost Rider would be Robbie Reyes, a segment of the internet let out a collective sigh. They wanted the classic leather jacket, the vintage motorcycle, and the Spirit of Vengeance they grew up with in the 90s. But after spending fifty hours in the Abbey, you realize something. Choosing Robbie wasn't just a "diversity pick" or a modern branding play. It was a mechanical necessity.
Robbie brings a literal engine of destruction to the tactical grid. He doesn't just punch things. He runs them over with a hell-bent 1969 Dodge Charger.
The High-Risk Geometry of Robbie Reyes
Most characters in Marvel’s Midnight Suns play it safe. Captain America hides behind block. Iron Man redraws his way to perfection. Robbie? He burns his own life bar to get the job done. It's stressful. You’re constantly looking at his HP, watching it dwindle as you play high-damage cards like Lash or Judgment.
Judgment is the big one. It consumes a percentage of his current health to deal massive area-of-effect damage. If you aren't careful, you’ll accidentally KO your own Ghost Rider just trying to clear a wave of Hydra goons. But that’s the soul of the character. It feels dangerous. It feels like you’re actually struggling to control a demon that doesn't care about your survival.
The mechanic that really separates the Midnight Suns Ghost Rider from the rest of the roster is the Souls gauge. Every time Robbie kills an enemy, he fills a meter. Fill it up, and his maximum HP increases. It creates this frantic, greedy playstyle where you have to feed him kills early in the mission so he can survive the late-game heavy hitters.
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- Fill the Meter: Every two KOs grants a Soul level.
- Health Management: High Soul levels mean Robbie becomes a tanky powerhouse.
- The Risk: If he doesn't get those early kills, he stays fragile.
Hell Ride and the Art of the Straight Line
Let’s talk about Hell Ride. It is arguably the most satisfying card in the entire game. You target a straight line across the map. Robbie summons the Hell Charger and drifts through every single enemy in his path. The catch? It discards your entire hand.
It’s a "finisher" in every sense of the word. You use it when you have nothing left to lose or when the board is so cluttered that a reset is your only hope. Seeing that flaming muscle car tear through a line of Lilin is a visual treat that Johnny Blaze’s bike just couldn't have matched on this specific tactical scale. The car has presence. It’s a physical obstacle and a weapon simultaneously.
Why the Abbey Conversations Actually Matter
Honestly, Robbie is the heart of the Abbey. While Tony Stark and Doctor Strange are busy measuring their egos, Robbie is usually hanging out in the garage or worrying about his brother, Gabe. It’s grounded.
He’s a kid from East L.A. who stumbled into a curse.
There’s a specific vulnerability in his dialogue. He’s terrified that the Spirit of Vengeance—which he calls "the other guy" or "the spark"—is going to take over completely. When you engage in the friendship hangouts, you aren't just clicking through text for stat boosts. You're watching a young man try to stay human in a house full of gods and monsters. It makes the Midnight Suns Ghost Rider feel like a person rather than just a flaming skull on the battlefield.
Most people skip the dialogue in strategy games. Don’t do that here. Robbie’s interactions with Peter Parker are particularly great. They’re the two youngest members of the team, bonded by a sense of responsibility they never asked for. It’s sweet. It’s also kinda tragic.
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Building the Perfect Deck: Don't Get Greedy
If you want to dominate with Ghost Rider, you have to resist the urge to pack your deck with nothing but "Heroic" cards. You need balance.
Lash is a mandatory inclusion. It’s a Quick card, meaning if you kill an enemy with it, you get your card play back. But more importantly, it lets you knock enemies in any direction. You can toss a soul-less husk into a ley line, off a roof, or directly into the path of Magik’s portals.
- Retribution: This is your bread and butter. It deals solid damage and has a chance to generate a Ghost Rider card.
- Straight to Hell: This is Robbie's "get out of jail free" card. He drops into a literal hole in the ground, becoming untargetable for a turn and healing. It’s the only way to play him sustainably on higher difficulties like Ultimate III.
- Penance Stare: This is the boss killer. It deals damage based on how much health Robbie has missing. It’s the ultimate "Reverse Uno" card.
The biggest mistake players make is forgetting that Ghost Rider is a "greedy" hero. He doesn't generate many Heroism points. He consumes them. You need to pair him with "batteries" like Nico Minoru or Doctor Strange who can feed him the resources he needs to go nuclear.
The Problem with Johnny Blaze
Let’s address the elephant in the room. Johnny Blaze is in the game. He shows up as a secondary character, an old, grizzled relic of the previous generation. He’s cool, but he’s tired.
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Firaxis made a bold choice by making Johnny the "past" and Robbie the "present." It fits the narrative of Midnight Suns—a game about legacy and the burden of the mantle. If they had used Johnny as the playable character, we would have lost that mentor-student dynamic that makes the middle act of the story so compelling. Plus, Robbie’s powers are visually more distinct. The chains, the car, the glowing orange street clothes—it pops against the dark, gothic backgrounds of the Abbey.
Making Ghost Rider Viable on Ultimate Difficulty
In the late game, the Midnight Suns Ghost Rider can feel like a liability if you haven't invested in his passive abilities. His secondary passive, Retribution, gives you a chance to gain a random Ghost Rider card whenever an ally is KO'd. That’s... okay, but you really want his friendship passive, It's an Honor.
This gives him a chance to gain a Soul on every KO. It accelerates his scaling.
Without this, Robbie is too slow for the highest difficulty tiers. You’ll find him getting targeted by snipers and going down before he even gets to move. If you're struggling, focus on "Vulnerable" debuffs. If an enemy has Vulnerable, Robbie’s high-damage attacks become world-ending.
Actionable Strategy for Your Next Run
To get the most out of your Ghost Rider experience, stop treating him like a frontline tank. He is an assassin who happens to have a lot of HP.
- Prioritize "Quick" Mods: Use the forge to add the "Quick" keyword to Lash. This allows Robbie to farm Souls without wasting your precious three card plays per turn.
- Pair with Magik: Use Magik to gather enemies into a tight cluster. Once they're bunched up, use Robbie’s Hell Ride or Judgment to wipe the entire group in one go.
- Ignore the Health Bar: It sounds counterintuitive, but don't be afraid to let Robbie drop to 10% health. That is exactly where you want him for a massive Penance Stare on a villain like Crossbones or Sabretooth.
- The Environment is Your Friend: Ghost Rider has some of the best knockback distance in the game. Use it. Why waste a card on a high-HP Elite when you can just Lash them into a pit?
Robbie Reyes isn't just a replacement for Johnny Blaze; he's a complete mechanical reinvention that rewards players who aren't afraid to play with fire. If you’re willing to manage the risk, he’s the highest damage-per-turn character in the entire game, bar none. Just make sure you keep a healing potion in your combat items slot, just in case.
Next Steps for Mastery:
Focus your Abbey research on the Foundry upgrades that specifically enhance "discard" mechanics. This will mitigate the downside of Robbie’s most powerful card, Hell Ride, by allowing you to draw cards back into your hand immediately after the car clears the board. Additionally, prioritize reaching Friendship Level 5 with Robbie early to unlock his Legendary Blazing Burst suit and card, which provides the AOE damage needed for the final act's massive enemy waves.