Vs System 2PCG: The Marvel Battles

Vs System 2PCG: The Marvel Battles never became the headline competitive LCG, but that does not make it any less useful as a card game for a regular group. Upper Deck took the old VS, removed a fair amount of friction, and rebuilt it around cleaner rules that also suit online play rather well. It is not a revolution. It is a sensible reconstruction.

The core is light without being vacant. The rules have been streamlined and the cards reworked, so getting started does not feel like sitting an exam, yet deck construction still asks for some attention. This is not nuclear physics, but neither is it a matter of shuffling heroes together and hoping for the best.

The interesting decision is how far to intermingle the different hero teams. The obvious combinations reveal themselves quickly; the less superficial synergies emerge once those teams start crossing over, and the decks acquire a proper identity. It does not pursue the extreme density of a heavyweight competitive LCG; it offers enough to investigate without requiring one to reside permanently in a spreadsheet.

The practical attraction, for me, was being able to build eight decks in an afternoon from the core set and four expansions, then keep them in rotation for a good while. That is honest value for money in a category which often demands continuous investment merely to remain playable. At two players it is a very entertaining light LCG; at 2v2 it appears to be at its best.

Updated session

The later games did not overturn the first impression; they confirmed it. The group grew from two players to three, and deck construction moved beyond the first obvious mixes, uncovering more combinations without sacrificing accessibility. The value proposition remains intact, while the prospect of a full 2v2 game has become more convincing still.