Mr11

I win pretty consistently with this strategy so I know that it works. When playing this game the only form of player interaction is via denying cards to other players or exchanging of gold. Players will often want to deny you cards based on what they see that you already have. The trick to winning is to not stand out in any one category but rather get a good number of points in EACH category.

I very rarely end up with 0 points in more than one category and only rarely in even one category. By doing this players do not really have an obvious way to shut you down. In contrast, if you are going for a “green” strategy players will know and want to deny you science cards. If you are going all military…well who am I kidding, you will lose if you do that, but there are other strategies that stand out that are easily identified so stay away from them and keep your opponents guessing as to what will hurt you the most!

There can be times where Kick cards end up in the line-up, namely when the Anti-Monitor is flipped from the Super-Villain stack. In this scenario we have implemented a house rule that says if any player wants to buy a Kick from the Kick stack they may only do so if there are no Kicks in the line-up. This is done in order for the line-up to not become clogged and slow the game down.

Power

For each Villain you buy or gain during your turn, draw an extra card at the end of your turn.

Introduction and Notes

Wonder Woman’s theme is obviously to buy villain cards, which is good because there is no shortage of villains in the main deck. Note the following as it pertains to her power:

a) Super-Villains are villains and thus count for her power.

b) The power modifies the number of cards you would normally draw at the end of your turn. The rules state you draw 5 cards at the end of your turn, Wonder Woman instead draws 5 + X where X is the number of villains you bought (with power) or gained (through some other means) that turn.

c) Wonder Woman’s power acts like a bank in the sense that each time a villain is bought or gained you add the ability to draw one extra card at the end of the current turn. This is different than it being a check at the end of the turn where you count up the total number of villains you bought or gained and then draw that many cards. This is important because of Captain Cold who says you have to turn your Super Hero face down. While Wonder Woman is face down all villains you buy or gain do not trigger her ability and thus do not net you extra cards (including Captain Cold if you defeated him during your turn).

Buying Villains

Buying villains is obviously going to be your main strategy, but which villains to buy? Over the course of the game if you were given the same line up and power total your choice of what to buy should be different.

a) Early Game: If you can buy a villain that gives you more power then choose that over a villain that gives you less

b) Mid to Late Game: Later in the game when your deck has either been partially pruned of the starting cards or the ratio of starting cards to cost 2 or greater cards is small enough then the cards you draw will be better. That means that drawing extra cards means a lot more than it did earlier in the game so buying multiple smaller villains in order to a) get more VP (potentially) and b) draw more higher powered cards due to her ability is actually better than buying one Doomsday. This is not a full fledged switch in strategy but rather being aware of the fact that buying the most expensive villain isn’t always the best choice later on when getting multiple 3 cost villains could be better.

Maximizing Damage (or how to properly play villains that interact with other players)

It is important to realize that many of the villains damage your opponents in various ways (Bane, Poison Ivy, Scare Crow, Harley Quinn, Suicide Squad (if you get 3 in the same hand)) so not only will you be drawing extra cards but you will be slowing down the pace of your opponents as well.

Since you will have multiple effects that act on your opponents, order is of extreme importance. Here is a guide to how to play certain villains.

Harley Quinn
An example would be how Harley Quinn interacts with other cards. Harley Quinn is not a really powerful card, but is easily under utilized. Here are 2 examples:

a) If you have Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn, always play Poison Ivy first in order to ensure you don’t sabotage your Harley Quinn.

b) If you have a Bane and a Harley Quinn, always play the Bane first because your opponents may not have a Punch or Vulnerability in their discard pile and are likely to discard one from their hand to Bane.

The Joker
You have to gauge when to play the Joker based on the current state of your opponents hands (i.e. do they have less cards than they should), but in general it is best to LEAD with the Joker as the first card you play in a turn. You don’t want your opponents to have any information about your hand before they make their decision to allow you to draw a card or not. This is true not only because it is strategic but also because you want to introduce as much chaos and doubt as you can because it’s the JOKER!!!

Brainiac
Brainiac allows you to play a random card from each players hand. The more cards a player has the higher the chance you will choose a starter card. So if you have a Bane in your hand, play it before Brainiac in order to get the junk out of their hands and up your chances of choosing a good card.

Utility Villains

A few villains allow you to do some unconventional things that are of use.

Cheetah
Cheetah is a great card because it is a 2 cost card that allows you to repeatedly get a 4 cost or less card each time it is played. The main deck has a large number of cards that are 4 or less so this is a must take.

The Riddler
The Riddler costs 3 power for each time you use his power but the majority of the cards in the main deck are 3 or more (a VAST majority of them). This means that a small percentage of the time you will get something less than what you paid, a fair amount of time you will get the same as what you paid and a large amount of time you will get better than what you paid (the starting deck has 56% of the cards of cost 4 or greater). The main problem with the Riddler is that you don’t know what you are going to get so the cards may or may not fit your strategy, however when you hit you hit big, taking cards from other players as well as they will now never hit the lineup.

Clay Face
Clay Face is a good card depending on what you have in your deck. He can make it easier to get 3 Suicide Squads in one turn. He can copy very large powered cards (including Parallax, thus giving 4x power in that turn). Consider buying him mid to late game, but if you buy him early then be prepared to copy a punch.

Other cards

Princess Diana of Themyscira
This card is feast or famine because it gives you no power. I have no idea what the designers were thinking here, I mean really. That being said, if you can get this card AND a Bat Signal then you can be in good shape. Even if this card only nets you one villain each time it is played it is still a good card, you just have to be prepared to be disappointed when there are no villains in the line up.

Arkham Asylum
This card is your gold mine, buy it instantly. There are very few cards in the line-up that you will prefer over this card as it will likely net you one extra card every turn.

Summary

Overall Wonder Woman is a strong pick, no matter the number of players. The key to playing as Wonder Woman is to buy lots of villains each turn and to cripple your opponents so that they are forced to buy cards that are sub-par for their strategy.

Power

You may put any cards with cost 5 or less you buy or gain during your turn on top of your deck.

Introduction and Notes

Aquaman is arguably the most powerful hero in this game. There are 2 reasons for this:

a) He is not tied to any card type, giving him flexibility

b) He has the ability to put a vast majority of the purchasable cards in the game immediately on top of his deck. This means that not only can you get cards sooner, but you can utilize cards that allow you to draw a card in a more efficient way than other heroes.

Buying cards with cost 5 or less

If you have enough power to buy a card with a cost higher than 5 you really need to consider the size of your deck. Early on in the game this is a no brainer, but later in the game the chances of you getting that card by the end of the game (depending on how many
cards are left in your deck) could be small. The ability to put any card of cost 5 or less on top of your deck is amazing because it means you will immediately get that card on your next draw so consider this with each card that you buy.

Master of Locations

Locations
Locations are already great for all other heroes but for Aquaman they are the best cards because he will guarantee he will get them on the turn after he buys them. Always buy locations unless the location has very little value to your current deck strategy AND if it has little value to the rest of the players. The other good part is that because you are not tied to a card type you can really buy any location and make it work for you, so buy the one that hurts your opponents the most.

Swamp Thing
Swam Thing is an amazing card if you have a location (since he basically becomes a Super Strength) and given that you are the Master of Locations you probably will have one so take as many Swamp Things as you can.

Utility Cards

Aquaman’s Trident
Aquaman’s Trident seems to not be needed by Aquaman due to his inherent power but it is a great pick even given this. The reasons for this are:

a) You can deny your opponents the ability to put cards on top of their deck

b) You can now put a card on top of your deck on almost every turn, even if the card you buy is more than a cost of 5. This is especially useful when defeating Super-Villains

Cards that allow you to draw more cards
Cards that allow you to draw one or more cards can be used with great effect if they are used after you buy or gain a card with a cost of 5 or less. The flow goes something like this, play some cards and get some power, buy a card with a cost of 5 or less and put it on top of your deck, then play a card that allows you to draw the card you just put on top of your deck and then play that card. This is especially useful if you buy a card that allows you to search through your discard pile like Robin or Bat Signal. Also, Two Face requires that you choose even or odd, if you just put a card on top of your deck then you will know its cost and can choose correctly every time :).

Summary

Overall, Aquaman is ALWAYS a solid pick. He will ramp up the fastest every game and sort of plateau around the middle where other heroes will start to take off. It is important that you make big moves early when you have the advantage, so choose your cards wisely in turns 1-6.

Green Lantern appears to be an undervalued hero to many but he has a lot of potential if you get the right cards. The key to playing Green Lantern is buying multiple different low cost cards (basically the opposite of The Flash) mixed in with some drawing abilities.

1. Any card that allows you to draw a card is great. Kid Flash is, in my opinion, a better card for Green Lantern than it is for The Flash. The reason being that it a) Satisfies 1/3 of his ability and b) gets you another card that can potentially satisfy more of his ability. Cards that are best to satisfy this are: Kid Flash, The Penguin and the Batmobile. Remember: always lead with the Penguin so that you keep 0 cost cards in your hand in order to satisfy his cards effect. Locations should also be sought after, but this is true for ALL heroes as Locations are naturally the highest sought after cards in the game due to their rarity and consistent output.

2. The cost to power ratio of cards should always be considered, but even more so for Green Lantern. You want to buy as many different cards as you can so don’t fill up on Kicks if you have any other option in the lineup that gives you 2 or more power and a cost of 3.

3. Think about other cards that don’t allow you to draw a card but rather get a card into your hand in another fashion or allow you to play another card, even if temporarily.

a. Examples of cards that get you another card into your hand: Robin, Bat Signal, Super Girl and Man of Steel. Super Girl in particular is phenomenal for Green Lantern because if there are still Kicks in the Kick pile then you know you are playing it to get 2 power, 1 VP and fulfilling 2/3 of your ability.

b. Examples of cards that let you play another card temporarily: X-Ray Vision, Starro, Emerald Knight, J’onn J’onzz.

4. Defense cards are great for everyone, but any defense card that also nets you another card can be good. Early on this will hurt you in general because playing a defense card means you lose a card that can satisfy part of your ability and potentially getting one or more 0 cost cards which means you lost the chance to satisfy your ability. Get Defense cards, but be mindful of the number of cards in your hand that can satisfy your ability and make an educated guess as to whether you can satisfy it still if you defend an attack.

5. Destroy cards are great for everyone, just like Defense cards, but it should go without saying that the more starting cards (cost 0) you can get rid of then the higher the probability you will satisfy your ability.

6. Deny, deny, deny. Due to the fact that Green Lantern isn’t tied to any one card type you are free to buy whatever you want so make the most of this by denying cards to other players that they need for their strategy.

The point is, don’t underestimate the usefulness of a potential +3 power per turn (mid to late game) as well as the ability to not be tied to a specific card type. The ability will not kick in until probably around turn 7+ but if you set things up right then you will be good to go.

It is important to understand that when X-Ray Vision is played that the chosen card is removed from the top of the deck from which it was shown when it is played, then put back after it is completely resolved. This is important in cases where the chosen card is either an X-Ray Vision, Clay Face or Starro. When any of these cards are chosen then they will reveal (or discard in the case of Starro) the card that is now on top of the deck that the chosen card was taken from (i.e. the card that was below the chosen card).

This doesn’t happen that often but it can happen so be ready for it!

Batman is all about equipment and unlike Superman he gets a bonus for ALL equipment he plays, not just different equipment. There are a number of cards that you will want to keep an eye out for as well as they help to augment your equipment arsenal.

1. Equipment: If you see it, buy it. Period. The only time to not buy an equipment card is if there is a card that is a) Very/Extremely beneficial to the first or second person to the left of you OR b) You have enough power to buy an uber card (like Man of Steel, Lobo, J’onn J’onzz, etc.) that would be better than the equipment you could buy.

1. Getting the Batcave goes without saying, but the Titans Tower location keys off of cards with a cost of 2 or 3 and a majority of the equipment are of cost 2 or 3 (exceptions being Cape and Cowl, Green Arrow’s Bow and Bat Signal). Netting an extra card every turn is a fantastic strategy for any character, but these two locations are your best bet.

2. Robin is another card that should always be highly sought after, especially if you can get a hold of a Bat Signal. Keep in mind that you can buy cards mid turn and then play other cards so you can buy an equipment from the line up, place it in your discard pile then use Robin to get it and play it this turn. If it is a Bat Signal even better as you can now go get a hero…if that here is Robin you can then get another equipment, etc..

3. Batman is, in my opinion, probably the most unbalanced hero in the game. By unbalanced I do not mean is is overpowered, what I mean is that with 2-3 players he is great, with 4-5 players he feels weak. The reason for this is the cost to benefit ration on most equipment and the number of characters that can benefit from them. The Flash, Aquaman, Green Lantern and Cyborg can all benefit from equipment cards without them being a detriment to their strategy. In a 5 player game you have 4 other players which not only want to deny you the equipment but you also have 4 other players that will want to actually use it. Equipment is a hot commodity and the more players you have the harder it is to come by. The moral of the story is, if you are choosing heroes, consider how many players there are before choosing Batman.

4. The Dark Knight is a great card, but like Princess Diana you need a Bat Signal to make this really worth while. If you get both then you are in a good spot to be able to more than one card for free (assuming the line-up has any equipment) as you can use your Bat Signal to get The Dark Knight on turns where there is equipment in the line up.

The moral of the story is that Batman can be very powerful, but his dependence on a resource that is highly sought after makes him harder to play (not impossible, just harder in this player’s opinion) than other heroes in the 4-5 player realm, he is a sure bet in 2-3 players though.

Power

You go first. The first time a card tells you to draw one or more cards during each of your turns, draw an additional card

Introduction and Notes

It seems that most people think that the Flash is under powered, but I would like to submit that he has a good chance of winning each game, provided you know what to do.

The key to winning as the Flash is to have a lean deck with high power cards and a few cards that allow you to draw a card. Other characters could use this strategy but due to the Flashes ability it is stronger for him than others because of his power (more on that in a bit).

Going First

Going first is underrated but when you really evaluate this ability it does in fact help. The reason being that during each round of buying you have first shot at the best cards. Also, because you are first that means that you are the first player to be able to utilize cards that have already been purchased. Luck can still play a part here if there are no good cards to buy, but you should theoretically always have the first shot at Ra’s Al Ghul as well as many other high powered cards that may be out there.

Power Cards

Always choose to buy fewer cards that give you more power each than buying more cards that give you less power each but the same combined power. This goes back to the idea that you want your deck to be small and full of cards that give you lots of power, your victory points will come from buying powerful cards (including Super-Villains).

Let me give you a simple example, lets say that you have a choice to buy Poison Ivy or a Kick. Poison Ivy gives you +1 power and a potentially nice power while a Kick gives you +2 power. Choose the Kick because you want more power, it’s that simple. Nothing is worse than playing as the Flash and getting 9 cards in a turn just to have…8 power (assuming a Vulnerability or 2). Especially early on since you will have the first shot at every round of buying you want to maximize your power so that you get the best cards.

Cards to be on the lookout for: Swamp Thing (if you have a location), Super Strength, Heat Vision, Lobo, Green Arrow’s Bow, Doomsday, Gorilla Grodd, Solomon Grundy.

Draw Cards

Locations
All locations should be a must buy for the Flash but those in particular to watch out for would be:

a) Titans Tower because many cards you will want for drawing extra cards are of cost 2 or 3.

b) Fortress of Solitude because many cards you will want to buy for power/draw cards/destroying cards are Super Powers

c) Bat Cave because many cards you will want to buy for power/draw cards/destroying cards are Super Powers

Kid Flash
Kid Flash is an OK card but to be honest belongs more in a Green Lantern deck than a Flash deck. There are much better cards that allow you to draw a card than this one. If you are lacking in cards that allow you to draw a card and want to pick one up, that’s fine, but don’t centralize your strategy on this.

The Penguin
The Penguin is a great card for drawing because it allows you to cycle 2 cards in your deck. The way this plays is draw 2, discard 2, then draw 1 for the Flash’s power. Remember to always play The Penguin first so that you don’t get stuck discarding something better than the worst of 2 cards in your hand (which will likely be Punches and Kicks).

The Batmobile
This card is fantastic in almost any deck but for the Flash is even better simply because if you get a junk hand and this card then you can play it first to draw 6 cards instead of 5. Some could argue that buying this card goes against my rule of buying cards with higher power, however the purpose in buying this card is for the utility, not the power. Keep an eye on your deck and think about what you have left. If your hand isn’t phenomenal and you have a Batmobile in your hand, take the chance at getting a better hand of 6 cards if you think it is possible.

Super Speed
Super Speed is a solid pick for the Flash because on your turn it is better than a Kid Flash and off turn it nets you 2 cards AND allows you to defend an attack. Get maybe 2 of these tops in your deck.

Black Manta
Defeat this Super-Villain if you can, +3 power and draw 2 cards (taking the Flash’s power into account) is amazing.

The Fastest Man Alive
I know it sounds weird to say that the Kid Flash isn’t that great of a card and then to turn around and say the Fastest Man Alive is, but it usually turns out to be true. The reason being you want the smallest number of cards in your deck so if you can have a card that allows you to draw 2 cards or a card that allows you to draw 1 card, always choose the one that allows you to draw 2.

Lex Luthor
Again, defeat Lex if you can, drawing 4 cards is just nuts.

Two-Face
Two-Face can be hard to hit with, he isn’t that great of a card but IF you end up with him in your deck just remember to choose even or odd based on:

a) Which you think you have the highest probability of hitting given all the cards you have purchased

or

b) Which cards you would absolutely NOT want to get trashed, choose the opposite of that (so if you don’t want Man of Steel to get trashed on accident then choose odd).

Also remember that you can use cards like Power Ring or Nth Metal to look at the top card of your deck so always do that before playing Two-Face.

Destroy Cards

For starters, as a rule of thumb, always destroy starter cards. You will be adding more power to your deck via the cards you buy and starter cards provide you with no VP and just clog your deck with lesser power.

Nth Metal
Nth Metal is a hit or miss kind of card. Sometimes it’s great, other times not so much. Getting one early on is super beneficial, as the game progresses not so much. If you can get one early on I would consider it (even though it doesn’t give you much power).

Heat Vision
Buy, buy, buy. Heat Vision is an amazing card for any deck, but more so for the Flash. Buy it every time.

Lobo
The same as Heat Vision, if you can buy this card do so. I can’t say much more because it is just so awesome.

Summary

Is the Flash hard to win with? Maybe. Can it be done? Yes. Consistently? Also yes. You need to hone your deck and focus on making it as lean as possible and then the power will flow each turn as you are drawing multiple extra cards, all of which give good power.