Saturday, February 11, 2006

New Legion CCG later this year

There's a new Legion-themed Collectible Card Game (CCG) coming out in the fall, part of the "Vs." universe.

First press release is from Upper Deck, with a Winter 2006 release date:

Also igniting the Vs. System in 2006 are power-packed booster and starter sets for the critically-acclaimed DC Comics TCG. This year’s releases include the Superman Starter Set (May), a two-deck pack featuring favorite characters from the Superman universe; the Infinite Crisis (May) booster set, which features some of the most heroic and darkest characters in the DC universe, new game mechanics, and feature heroes such as Captain Marvel and Dr. Fate to the Vs. System; the Legion of Super-Heroes (Winter) features the teen sensations that protect the United Planets from the perils of the future; and the popular DC Comics holiday collector sets (Fall) featuring new and exclusive cards for the DC Comics TCG.

Metagame.com has more:
I'm proud to announce the next eagerly awaited addition to the Vs. universe. The teen sensations from the future, the Legion of Super-Heroes, are from all over the galaxy. They've banded together to protect the United Planets from a multitude of galactic threats. The Legionnaires, led by their founders Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, and Live Wire, work together with Superboy and Supergirl to fight against such evil foes as the Fatal Five, the Legion of Supervillains, and the eternal menace of Darkseid.

There are a few discussion threads on the new set at Vsrealms, including one here. Meanwhile, this thread lists a couple hundred possible cards (Legionnaires, villains, equipment, and unaffiliated characters). Aside from those listed above, it's apparently "known" that there will be a Flight Ring as an equipment card.

If they go by past sets, there will be 220 cards in the set: 110 common, 55 uncommon, and 55 rare. Be prepared to open your wallet for this one: using several different card series on the TCGPlayer.com site for comparison (using a JLA set as an example), the commons go for 25-50 cents each, uncommons about 50 cents to $1.50 each, and rare up to $20 (with most of these in the $4-$6 range) if you were to buy them individually. Yikes!

I'll admit to knowing nothing about how the game is played, so if someone cares to add a comment, go for it.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The game is fairly simple for anyone with a game-playing background or experience with other CCGs.

Characters are played from a hand of cards (as in poker) to play, where they attack and defend against an opponent's characters. Locations and equipment cards modify the effects of the game, and "plot twist" cards are ongoing or one-time-use effects.

The system has been licensed to both Marvel and DC Comics, and are compatible. You could play your Legion deck against a friend's Spider-Man deck, for instance.

The game system is a few years old at this point, so various complications and wrinkles in the game are already established. (The game designers feel it necessary to introduce a new game mechanic each time they release a new set.)

I'm looking forward to it. The costs, as you point out, can vary - I know shops where commons are free, while most places charge a minimum for all cards. A box of 24 boosters (15 cards per booster) retails for around $80 and can be found for less at wholesale sites. (Those wishing to avoid all costs are advised to check VS. player sites featuring card inventory programs and online gameplay programs - no costs, art and card text for all cards, and a way to play with friends online.)

--matt