review
Justice League on cards
DC Comics Superhelden
Deck-building with heroes
“Hurra! Yet another deck builder!“ will be the reaction of many gamers, be it with a sarcastic undertone or not. It is true, that the introduction of this game mechanism with Dominion in 2008 triggered an avalanche of games of that kind, which seems unbroken till today. What is the difference of the DC Comics Superhelden deck building game, compared to all others?
First of all, it does not use a variant of the generic High Fantasy or Science Fiction settings, of which we have had plenty so far, but uses the DC Comics universe for a background. The characters in this universe are, granted, only a colorful mix of entirely fictitious stories from past and future, too, but have been, up to now, rather rarely been featured in a board game or a card game.
Therefore, we assume the roles of Comic Heroes in a special segment of the DC Comics universe, the Justice League, to be precise. We can choose to embody Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Cyborg or The Flash. Each hero commands his own special Super Power, which gives his player a special advantage during the game. If you play Batman, for instance, you acquire greater strength when using a lot of equipment cards. “Strength” is used as a currency by all players to acquire new cards from a common display and to improve their decks in this way.
All players begin the game with an identical deck of cards. This deck comprises seven “Punch / Fausthieb“ cards, of value = one Strength, and three „Vulnerability / Verwundbar“ cards without any effect whatsoever. This deck of ten cards is shuffled face down to form your personal draw pile, from which you draw five cards for your hand. In your turn, you can play any number of your cards in hand down to the table to use their (Strength) bonus to buy better cards from an open-faced display. A Heat Vision / Hitzeblick special ability for Wonder Woman? That’s available for six Strength! Or how about a Batmobil for Flash? Why would I know what he might use that for? Never mind, you can find out for two Strength!
Altogether, there are six different types of cards, with costs varying from two to eight Strength, all can be bought from the open display, if available. The special ability “Kick / Tritt”, costing three Strength and giving you two Strength when it is played, is always available for buying, so that not everything is governed by chance.
The goal of all this is, to improve your deck with new cards in such a way that it enables you to defeat the currently active Super Villain in your turn. This is easier said than done, because those villains demand between eight and thirteen points on the one hand and on the other hand execute an evil attack on all players when they are revealed from the deck of Super Villains for the first time. Such an attack usually randomly targets the hand or decks of players and can only be repelled with cards providing „Defense / Verteidigung“ ability, if you can show them at the respective moment of attack.
As a reward for having taken on such a monster, you receive the Super Villain card for your deck. This card, on the one hand, gives you special bonuses when it is played and, on the other hand, is worth a remarkable number of victory points at the end of the game, when all the Super Villains have been defeated.
Yes, as in most games of this kind within recent years, the goal of the game in this deck builder, too, is to acquire most victory points. And, despite the fact that all newly acquired cards provide their share of points, the Super Villains contribute so massively, that there is hardly an alternative “strategy” to defeating them. But that is not really necessary.
„DC Superhelden“ follows a clear concept. By using standard and reliable, time-tested deck building mechanisms, the game allows players to create their individual card combinations quickly and easily and rounds off the experience with a tasteful comic book topic, that fits like a punch in the eye. Instead of long pondering down times you are offered, combined with the right group of players, a fast and entertaining experience with enough tactical decisions throughout the game. Fans of interactive card game will not get heir money’s worth, as the game play is mainly solitaire, with the exception of the Super Villain attacks. This, however, does not diminish the fun in playing, because the game is simply a race for most victory points, no more, no less.
I like the game very well! I am a huge fan of Marvel and DC Super heroes and the topic goes exceedingly well with the genre of deck building games. As in all those games, the luck of the draw can give you a huge advantage or nip all your chances to win in the bud early in the game, but I can easily live with that in DC Comics Superhelden. I give a clear recommendation on the game, for all fans of “Dominion” as well as of the DC Comics universe. Simply relax and play!
Dennis Rappel
Players: 2-5
Age: 8+
Time: 45+
Designer: Matt Hyra, Ben Stoll
Artist: Larry Rence + Team, Mirko Suzuki
Price: ca. 25 Euro
Publisher: Kosmos 2016
Web: www.kosmos.de
Genre: Deck building, hand management
Users: With friends
Version: de
Rules: cn de en it
In-game text: yes
Comments:
Action-rich comics design
Smooth game play
Lots of card text
Compares to:
Ascension, Star Realms
Other editions:
Cryptozoic (en), Broadway Toys (cn), Cosmic Games (it)
My rating: 5
Dennis Rappel:
Jaunty fun with super heroes when you have familiarized yourself with cards and mechanisms. The plethora of tactical considerations and card combinations keep the deck building interesting and make you want to play again, but leave no room for strategic decisions. Players with the luck of the draw at the right moment have a big advantage but one can accept that due to the fantastic topic and the rather short duration of the game.
Chance (pink): 2
Tactic (turquoise): 2
Strategy (blue): 1
Creativity (dark blue): 0
Knowledge (yellow): 0
Memory (orange): 0
Communication (red): 0
Interaction (brown): 1
Dexterity (green): 0
Action (dark green): 0