by bungeeboy
The DC Deckbuilding game is a deckbuilding game (as the title says
) by Cryptozoic the revolves around characters in the DC universe (again, as the title says). I want to focus primarily on the feel of the game, but I will describe the game slightly first.The Components
The game cards are double backed cardboard stock. They are in no way flimsy, but definately not as strong as if they were better reinforced or plastic-coated. The box is very tight, but I can vouch that all the card DO IN FACT FIT, even when sleeved. There is an issue with the oversized cards (since there is no convenient way to grab them from the tray), so you will either have to just flip the box over to get them (not a problem because you take all the cards out anyway), or stick something in the tray to prop them up.
The artwork is awesome. Apart from the sickening, closeup teeth on the weaknesses, I thought everything else was magnificant.
Gameplay
This game takes Deckbuilding back to the basics (with flying success, in my opinion). On your turn, you play the cards in your hand in any order you choose. In addition to some cards having abilities, the most common text on the cards will be "+X power" with X being a single digit whole number. You can buy any cards in the lineup (which is usually 5 cards), and/or buy a "kick" if there are any in the stack, and/or defeat(buy) a super villain. You can spend your power how you like to get as many cards as you can afford. Like most deckbuilders, the gained cards go to the discard pile to be eventually drawn later in the game.
Each player takes a superhero at the start of the game. This hero will grant you additional abilities. These abilities generally either benefit you when you play certain cards, or when you buy/gain certain cards.
Batman
Batman gains +1 power for each equipment card he plays. Equipment generally either cycles cards or makes other cards easier to buy. Batman will focus on equipment, which will give him an ecclectic amount of support while also strengthening his buy power.
Superman
Superman gains +1 power for each different super power card he plays. Super power cards are worth a lot of power, generally, so Superman's are worth even more power. Superman tends to build high powered decks (well, he IS the man of steel, after all).
Wonder Woman
Wonderwoman counts how many villain cards she buys or gains during her turn, and draws that many bonus cards when she draws her hand for next turn. This ability inevitably helps power her up mid-game, which will allow her to buy better cards and defeat the super-villains.
The Flash
The Flash goes first (because he's really fast). If he plays any cards that let him draw more cards, he gets a bonus card. The Flash should build his deck around these speed cards, because it won't be long until he's drawing ten or twelve card hands, giving him great buying power.
Green Lantern
Green Lantern gains a bonus +3 power if he plays at least 3 different cards with a cost greater than zero. He has a slow start, but catches up quickly midgame.
Cyborg
Cyborg has two slightly different abilities. First, if he plays any super powers, he gets a +1 power bonus that turn. Second, if he plays any equipment, he draws another card. These abilities do not seem to award much to the player by themselves, but by building a deck around super powers and equipment, he will share some of the cycling of Batman with some of the heavy hitting of Superman.
Aquaman
Aquaman may choose to put any card he buys/gains during his turn on top of his deck instead of the discard pile, as long as the cost is less than 6. This can be very helpful since you can partially construct your hand for next turn.
How Does it Feel?
It feels great. Every turn you are learning new powers, acquiring new gear, requesting assistance from other Hero allies and beating up villains. Although it is fun at any player count, it really feels the most fun with 4 or 5 players, as villain attacks usually have a greater impact then.
Does it feel like you are playing a specific super hero? That really depends on how one plays. I can tell you right now that if you build your deck with cards that work well with your hero, it will feel as if you are playing that hero. If you pick cards that don't work with your ability, you will not feel like your hero at all.
One game of mine comes to mind: I was playing Superman, and bought a kick on my first two turns. Third turn, I got lucky to draw a kick and 4 punches for 7 power total, and got super strength (a super power that gives +5 power). Soon after, I was able to buy other powerful super powers, until one turn I got a massize 14 power total. As I kicked the ever living snot out of the Anti-monitor, I realized that this is who Superman is. He is THE man of steel, overpowering foes with massive strength. Not every turn was as awesome as this, but I was living up to the role the whole way.
In this same game, the Flash player was later drawing 7-8 card hands often, and once or twice 10 cards. He was able to meet Superman not through strength, but by his super speed (massive hand of cards). We ended the game 3 points apart.
Many of the cards are fun and thematic as well. The Riddler allows you to pay power to buy cards blindly from the deck. The Penguin gives you information in exchange for small price. Two-Face effectively holds a gun up to the next card in your deck and flips a coin to decide its fate. Bizarro takes your deck into Bizarro world, where weakness actually become strengths. There's lots of fun cards with which to fill out your superhero decks. The abilities are slightly abstracted, but not so horribly so that they lose all semblence of theme.
Conclusion
I like this game. A lot. It is fun, and it is fast. A standard game with 8 supervillains generally has taken about 45 minutes. Sometimes, it feels like its over too quickly without any real chance to build a beautiful deck. This is both the beauty and an annoyance. Quick games means that you have to decide what you want, and the few 'slim' cards mean you're generally stuck with what you get. However, if you want a slightly longer game, use all the supervillains, and it feels like a more decent length.