by t_shak
Howdy y'all, I see there's already lots of reviews out there, but I wanted to throw my hat into the ring. I haven't seen a lot, but from talking to some of my fellow gamers, I've heard this game got some pretty bad rap. After playing it, I'm not sure why. I don't really have a set format on approaching this, but I'll try and keep things as concise as possible. Here we go!As far as components go, I don't have much to say. Solid box, nice quality cards and a practical insert that I'll actually leave in the box. (I tend to remove them in favour of condensing games with their expansions.) A lot of the art looks like it's pulled right from the comics, so there's a nice variety there. Pretty solid overall.
I guess a big problem a lot of people have is that thematically the game doesn't make much sense; I agree, but I don't think that's a fair reason to dislike the game. I mean, go ahead and take a second to look up a list of games that don't match thematically to their mechanics. It's quite big. If that's a deal-breaker for you, fair enough, maybe this game isn't for you. For me though, it wasn't that major though; it didn't really take away from the experience. If you use your imagination, I'm sure you can come up with reasons why certain cards end up together.
As far as mechanics go, I've got to say I like the simplification compared to a few of the other comparable deckbuilders I've played, namely Legendary and Ascension. The major one is that instead of having two resources to either purchase or 'fight' cards, you just have one (Power) used to do both. Of course, to add to the variety, instead of having all 'Power' cards in your starting deck, you start off with some dead cards, called 'Vulnerability' which don't do anything at all. Usually one of your early goals is to try and remove them from your deck which is possible through a few different cards you can purchase in game.
Similar to Ascension and differing from Legendary, you have a center row of cards that you either fight or purchase using your power. Like all deckbuilders, the cards go off to your discard pile when purchased, to later show up in your deck the next time you have to shuffle. A key difference though, is that cards aren't replaced until the end of your turn (as opposed to immediately) so you can't have turns that are TOO huge. Although with the right cards, you can still have some pretty impressive turns.
Also, similar to Legendary, you have the ever-looming threat of the Supervillains next to the center row, always starting with Ra's al Ghul. Depending on how long you want the game to be, you shuffle up another 7-11 supervillains and place them beneath Ra's. They don't do anything while they're sitting there, so you don't have that ticking clock like Legendary, but there are one-time effects (called first appearances) when they are revealed that typically can have negative consequences for all the players. When the last super villain has been defeated, the game is over. Then, players count up victory points. As in similar games, your starting deck cards aren't worth anything, and most cards are worth one or two points and the super villains usually being worth around 5 points.
Finally, I think the thing that sets this game apart is that it takes all of five minutes to set up and clean up. You have the deck that comprises the center row which is always the same (but randomized of course) then 3 small piles of individual cards (the super-villains, weaknesses which are worth negative points and seem to only come out in rare circumstances, and the 'kick' cards, which are powered up versions of your starting 'punch' cards which are your primary power generator). It's nice and clean.
The short form:
Pros:
-Quick set-up and play
-Easy to learn, easy to play
-Nice components
Cons:
-That thematic disconnect
-No game board
-Maybe a little TOO easy?
Overall, I'd recommend giving the game a try. If you've played any of the other deckbuilders I've mentioned, or perhaps a few others, you'll get the hang of the game almost instantly. I'd describe it as a fun, relaxing, quick game. I picked mine up for about $45 after taxes, so it's not too expensive. If you're still on the fence, hopefully you can find someone who does have it and give it a go.
Cheers!