Last year as I was browsing through my emails, I came across one from Cryptozoic Entertainment that they fired up a Kickstarter for their next sets in DC Deck-Building Games - Injustice, DC Bombshells, a new Multiverse Box, and Rivals - Flash vs. Reverse Flash. I immediately ran to back these next expansions, and after many months of delays, I received it in early April.
DC Deck-Building games are fairly easy to learn and are especially great if you like card games and love DC characters and comics, and have people to play them with. The other great part about them is that players can mix and match their sets to vary their experience while playing DC DBG. Injustice is yet another set that can be played on its own or mixed up with other expansions, but for this review, I played with just the Injustice and DC Bombshells expansion.
In terms of power, Injustice overall is a bit on the weak side. Most of this particular DC DBG set is focused on attacking and defending against other players. For the most part, this expansion is meant to be played competitively, and to that effect, it shines. It feels like playing the actual Injustice video game with a Health Tracker, Charge Meter, and card effects that are more focused on attack damage. Defenses in the Injustice set are more useful, and with the ability to lose health from card effects, it becomes much more detrimental to use those defenses to lower or altogether stop the receipt of damage.
If your goal when playing is to focus on damaging the other player(s), then Injustice works well. However, if you are looking to defeat bosses, power is harder to gain. Which is where mixing other expansions into the Injustice DC DBG comes in handy.
Injustice has some other great elements that the base game doesn't have that make the experience feel just different enough to make is a worthy set to check out. The box the cards come in is already better than how previous sets were organized, which was a good sign the moment I opened the brand-new expansion up. Injustice not only comes with oversized Health Tracker & Charge Meter cards but includes new Starters such as Heavy Punches, and instead of Kicks, it has Flying Kicks. Both Flying Kicks and Heavy Punches cause damage to other players. Weakness cards in the Injustice set have an effect that allows players to return them to the Weakness stack if destroyed. Weakness cards, when drawn, also deal one unavoidable damage to the player who plays it from their deck and returns to the Weakness stack. This helps keep the Weakness stack well-supplied throughout gameplay.
Other cards and effects introduced into gameplay in the Injustice DC DBG include:
Meter Burns & Charges - Cards with these effects allow players to charge their Charge Meter or 'burn' points on their Charge Meter for additional effects.
Super Moves - Each character in the game comes with a Super Move that players can burn some of their Charge Meter to use. This is in addition to the effect Characters already come with.
Clash Cards - These cards get shuffled into the main deck, and when they appear in the Line-Up, players have to resolve the Ambush ability of the card. Players can burn some of their Charge Meter to avoid effects. Clash Cards are better to play with after playing at least one or two rounds of the Injustice set without them.
Arena Cards - Arena Cards are particularly fun to play with. Changing them as each boss is defeated allows players to add effects to cards in the Line-up. These range from damage players have to take should they try to buy an affected card or increased costs and much more.
KO'd Effects - If a player gets knocked out, they must take a KO'd token. On the flip side of that KO token is an effect that makes the game a bit more challenging for your suffering. These effects are best left for playing in Impossible mode after one or two games of the Injustice set without them.
Overall, I would say the Injustice set itself is fantastic. The art on the cards look great, and the overall experience of the gameplay was like playing a longer version of the video game. Really well done. I almost want an Injustice 2 version or smaller future expansion to add on some of the Injustice 2 characters, particularly Black Canary, but that's a personal favorite. Regardless, Injustice DC Deck-Building Game is a solid set for anyone looking to expand their collection or for advanced to intermediate deck-building game players who want to get into DC Deck-Building with a cool theme.
The 10th Anniversary Kickstarter edition included foil cards. I am worried about the quality of these cards in terms of longevity, as foil cards sometimes tend to bend over time. However, they look beautiful. Other Kickstart exclusives included an extra set of Starters with different art, a Kickstarter 10th anniversary Character card, thicker Knockout Tokens, wooden markers, dual-layered oversized Health Trackers, and other exclusive Character and Main Deck cards.
As for DC Bombshells, the artwork is fantastic. If you loved the DC Bombshells comic run, these are a great addition to any of your DBGs. They add a decent amount of power and bombshell attacks to gameplay. I recommend adding them to Injustice for additional power, especially if you're playing with multiple other players. The DC Bombshell character cards are decently useful, though I will say Wonder Woman and Stargirl, when operated well, definitely give an advantage. I also recommend doing a playthrough with Bombshell villains. *The DC Bombshells expansion is currently unavailable for sale or preorder, but you might bump into a pack at your local board game retailer.
Get your copy of DC Deck-Building Game Injustice on Cryptozoic Entertainment's website or find one at your local tabletop gaming retailer.