DC Deck-Building Game: Crossover Collection 2

[i]JSA:[/i]

More generic than the other Crossover expansions. On the flavor scale, this is more Maryland spicy than Indian spicy.

Except for [url=https://boardgamegeek.com/image/2495146/dc-comics-deck-building-game-crossover-pack-1-just]Power Girl[/url], that is. As far as I can tell, she's the product of two balloons mating with a Goodyear blimp.

[i]Arrow:[/i]

Shuffled into the [i]Heroes Unite[/i] base set, this expansion led to my highest score ever in any 2-player DC Deck-Building game: 115 points. An outright embarrassing win due to a near-monopoly of super villain kills and an excess of endgame VP bonus cards.

This mini-expansion has a highly specific focus (manipulating cards placed under your Super Hero card), so to maximize its impact we use the following set-up:

• only the [i]Arrow[/i] super villains and super heroes are used

• all other expansion cards (e.g., [i]JSA[/i] and [i]Legion[/i] Crossover cards) are removed from the main deck

• before swapping in the 14 main deck [i]Arrow[/i] cards, 14 cards are randomly swapped out

This set-up guarantees that the expansion has a reasonable effect on the game.

Is the expansion itself interesting? Yes, I think so. Nothing overwhelmingly awesome, but it's an ambitious departure compared to [i]JSA[/i]. I'd go so far as to say that this expansion has single-handedly motivated me to keep buying Crossover packs - and I haven't even seen the TV show.

[i]Legion:[/i]

My comic lore is fuzzy, but I don't recall the Legion being able to slow time - though invariably that's what happens. Our first attempt (2 player) took almost two hours.

This expansion draws out the game, for two reasons: (1) more mental processing is needed if one or more Time Travel cards are in the line-up (particularly the complicated ones) and (2) constant attacks weaken each player's ability to defeat Super Villains.

A helpful side effect of this expansion is that, in a multiplayer setting, the would-be losers can lock hands in a circle of disappointment and strangle the leader. Cerberus engine deck-builders are notorious for runaway victories, and hammering a power hog with consecutive Super Villain attacks allows for some catch-up. The leader can't defend against all attacks, even with the best of luck.