The DC Comics Deck Building Game: Forever Evil represents the third expansion of the original game, and the second which is playable by itself.  The mechanics of this game is very similar to those games which have preceded it.  There are only with some slight changes to make it a bit more confrontational, but that also fits with the villain themed story.  Players can play as a number of villains – Harley Quinn, Lex Luthor, Black Adam, Black Manta, Bizarro, Deathstroke, Sinestro and Bane as the promo card – but this game can also be easily tied into the original in the series to create all kinds of new combinations.

As a comics deck building game, this is invariably compared to Legendary for Marvel, but with this addition it has likely overtaken its competitor.  If there is a drawback to Marvel it is that it is somewhat constrained by the mechanics of the series.  Thus while they released their only villain themed expansion earlier this year, it didn’t really fit as well with the original.  The DC Comics version is much more wide open.  Thanks to the Crisis expansion, a similar mechanic to Legendary is there, but this is not necessary either, as players can determine what they like best about the mechanics and suit it to their own desires.  For the first time in either of the two series, by combining this expansion with previous ones, players can play hero vs. villain, but still the other options are there for hero vs. hero or villain vs. villain.  If there is one criticism of the mechanics here it is the second rate importance given to some of the iconic villains of the major heroes.  Wonder Woman specifically is given a bit of secondary status.  Her main villain, Cheetah, remains as only a drawable card in the original game, and no other major villain of the hero shows up in any other game, despite Cheetah being featured prominently enough on the cover.  With the inclusion of such obscure character as Atomica having the same status, this kind of reduces the importance of some of these foes.  This is likely to correct itself though as the game is getting a number of expansions in the near future.

Perhaps the best indication I can give of the playability of this game comes from my wife.  She is a fan of board games but doesn’t really know so much about comics.  Despite that, after playing once she saw the variety of options available and wanted to play again.  This all around appeal is one of the hallmarks of this game, and puts it on equal ground with other deck buildings games such as Legendary and Dominion, as even for those that are not as interested in comics will enjoy this.

Game Designer:  Matt Hyra

Score: 8.8