Cryptozoic has released four different versions of their popular DC Deck-Building Game, the DC Deck-Building Game
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It’s fun to be bad! In the DC Comics Deck-Building Game: Forever Evil
Cryptozoic provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review.
This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the site.
Matt Hyra is a veteran game designer, having worked on a variety of games before moving to Cryptozoic where he was given the challenge of developing a DC Comics deck building game. The recently released second major expansion is an indication of the success of the series thus far and in Matt’s ability to put together a functional and fun game. We got the chance to talk with him about his latest release – Forever Evil – where the bad guys finally get their chance to shine.
Graphic Policy: Are you a fan of comics? And if yes, how does that affect how the theme was chosen for this game?
Matt Hyra: Yes! I’m a DC guy and have been since high school. I also enjoy some small press titles as well.
The themes are chosen to explore new cross sections of the DC Universe, game mechanics, and game flow. When we started thinking about playing as the bad guys, the Forever Evil storyline was just starting up. So that was a great moment of synergy.
GP: What goes into designing a game like this and how long does it take?
MH: A stand-alone game takes about a year from start to finish. There is a lot of trial and error. We usually decide on the types of characters we want to feature first. Then we come up with game mechanics that fit those characters. Then a lot of playtesting.
GP: What are some of the challenges in interpreting a comic universe into a deck building game?
MH: One challenge is thematics. In order to keep the games infinitely replayable, we can’t just hand a Batman player a 40-card deck full of Batman-themed cards. You have to add a random and wide variety of cards to your deck to keep the game fresh.
GP: Is it hard to balance what fans expect out of certain characters versus the need of the game dynamics?
MH: Some comic characters have powers that are difficult to translate into the game. Other times we are forced to just focus on one aspect of a character.
GP: It seems to be popular recently to want to play as the “bad guy”. What do you think about this phenomenon?
MH: We like it! Mechanically, it’s no different than playing as a Super Hero. But with Forever Evil, which just released last week, we could have a lot of fun with it. And the players are liking the new play patterns.
GP: What can we expect to see in future expansions? Tie-ins to the movies maybe? And any characters that you would like to see in the future?
MH: You can expect to see Crossover Packs. These small “booster” packs allow you to sub in a new set of Super Heroes and Super-Villains, plus a few new main deck cards… and that changes up the game about 50% with minimal effort. The first Crossover comes out in early 2015 and features the Justice Society of America.
Crisis Pack 2 will also be out very soon!
As for movies, that is a separate license that we don’t have.
As for characters I would like to see… probably Mr. Mxyzptlk. Just because he would allow us to do something really crazy.
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
Cryptozoic Entertainment, Warner Bros. Consumer Products, and DC Entertainment have announced the third installment of the successful DC Comics Deck-building game franchise, Forever Evil. Fans can play the game as the most infamous Super-Villains in the DC Comics universe.
This highly anticipated expansion to the DC Comics Deck-building game line offers up new tactics, more dangerous Attacks, rugged Defenses and dozens of unique ways to challenge opponents. Forever Evil also introduces Victory Point tokens to the DC Comics Deck-building Game. Now earn Victory Points throughout the game. Strategize as a favorite Super-Villain, then turn the tables on the Justice League and other Super Heroes. The Forever Evil Super-Villain theme takes the treachery to all new heights. It’s fun to be bad!
Forever Evil can be played as a standalone experience right out of the box. It is also fully compatible with the original DC Comics Deck-building Game and the second DC Comics Deck-Building Game, Heroes Unite for even more complexity of play.
The DC Comics Deck-building Game: Forever Evil will be available in December of 2014 at the suggested retail price of $40.00
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