DC Deck Building Game Review: Superhero Deck Building Done Right

You never really know what you are going to get with a deck building game. Sometimes a game will emphasize an “easy to play” mentality on the box, only to leave the player awash in confusion midway through putting together their first deck. Others that promise mechanics nirvana end up being too convoluted to be fun. Overall, it's kind of a crap shoot.

That’s why I was so pleasantly surprised at just how easy Cryptozoic’s DC Deckbuilder is to get into. For those who have not played these types of games before, there is a very quick and easy learning curve. For those who have, they can pretty much pick up and play with no issues. That said, more experienced players might not be astounded by the game's original ideas, but to be fair ,those are not where the game excels — it's is how effectively it uses those systems during play.

I'm putting the cart before the horse a bit there. Let's go over how the game works, shall we?

In a two player affair (the game supports up to five), both players randomly draw their Superhero, of which each one has a unique ability. For example, Green Lantern allows you opportunities for extra power during each turn, while Cyborg allows you to draw a card or get +1 power depending on what cards you play. Your initial deck is made up of 7 Punch cards and 3 Vulnerability cards, and every card in the game has a power rating, which acts as your currency to buy more powerful and rarer cards. You purchase your cards from the lineup, which always contains 5 cards to possibly add to your deck.

As you can see in the image above, there are three other piles on the right hand side, those being Kicks, Super Villains, and Weaknesses. Kicks are a cheap way to quickly stack power (worth +3 each), while Weaknesses take away from your total points at the end of the game (called Victory Points). The super villain deck contains 8 villains for you or your opponent to defeat, and once defeated they become a part of your deck. The villains typically have high Victory Point point values as well, so it's in your best interest to collect as many of them as you can. You defeat villains by simply having enough power in your current hand to defeat them.

For instance, let's say you defeat a villain. You put the villain in your discard pile (eventually it will become part of your deck), and then reveal the next villain in the stack. The newly-revealed villain will have a First Appearance Attack, which can vary wildly. Take Captain Cold as an example. He takes your Superhero, and their ability, out of play until he is defeated. Depending on your hero and their ability, the effects of this can vary. For someone who is using Wonder Woman, this hurts significantly, as her ability is whenever a villain is bought or gained from the lineup, she gets to put another card in her hand for the next turn. When you get used to that and it's suddenly gone, it feels like Buffy moving to UPN all over again.

(sigh)

It was never the same after that.

Back to the game: there are also location cards, which highlight memorable landmarks of the DCU, such as the Watchtower, Batcave, Floronic Man’s Chinese Takeout Spot (best lo mein in the city from what I hear), etc, while also granting extra benefits. Once bought and cycled through your deck, they stay permanently drawn for the rest of the game.

There are other variables to the gameplay, and even other modes that you can use once you get bored with the core mechanic, which you can peruse here. Ultimately what matters is that the game is extremely enjoyable to play, whether it be with two people or 5. The game moves at such a brisk pace that you can easily fit 2 to 3 games into a 60 minute time span. That doesn't mean it gets tiresome. After numerous games there were still cards that I hadn't seen yet, and most of the heroes you can choose from alter your strategy just enough to keep things interesting. I actually preferred this to Legendary, and that surprised me. I've always been more of a Marvel fan, truth be told, but the game itself just flowed better and was easier to pick up and play.

I’ll be reviewing the Crisis Expansion soon, but in the meantime tell me what you thought of the game and why!