Its all in the cards
Anyone who knows me will tell you that I have a great love for comic books. While I have my favorite characters in Magneto, Batman, Captain America; I love the genre so that I will absorb almost any thing comic related. So, when I was asked to check out the new collectable card game (CCG) DC Dual Force, I moved faster than Barry Allen to accept the invitation. As a fan of CCG’s like Marvel Snap I was curious if the DC counterpart was going to play as fast as Snap; it doesn’t. In fact, DC Dual Force plays more like the tradiontial CCG games like Hearthstone and Legends of Runeterra which I am 100% down with as it turns out.
DC Comics has partnered with Cryptozoic Entertainment and Yuke’s (yes, the wrestling game Yuke’s) to deliver their very first digital CCG in DC Dual Force. DF features a multitude of characters from throughout the DC Universe. Big names like Batman, Superman, Harly Quinn and Lex Luthor among others function as Leaders and are at the heart of deck building. Each of these leaders belong to one of the 5 color coded factions; Tactics, Might, Energy, Anarchy and Tyranny. Players are also allowed the freedom to be able to use villain and hero leaders simultaneously; meaning If you want to have Superman who is a Might hero paired with Harley Quinn who is an Anarchy villain which players are free to do.
MSRP: Free
Platforms: PC
Price I’d Pay: Free
Each of the leaders have a special ability which will charge each turn until it can be used, the number of turns required vary depending on the leader. Each of the abilities are the base of players decks and will enable them to build upon this foundation. Superman for instance will become invincible and receive seven attacks, which works well for his style of Might. On the other hand, Batman’s ability enables him to choose between 3 gadget cards which have a cost of zero. In typical Batman style his gadgets include Batarangs which can cause 1 damage, or a card that will return an opponent’s card back into their hand.
Players will start with both of their Leaders in the back corners on the 3×2 grid board. A player can then play two cards per turn, be it a Minion or Action card. Unlike Blizzard’s CCG which sees players earn mana to play cards in DC Dual Force players will earn currency from bronze, silver and gold with cards all costing one of these resources. Players will begin with 1 bronze, until turn two in which they will earn another. By turn 3 players will have a silver and by turn 5 a gold. Players will find there are various cards that will allow more of these currencies to be earned per turn. The grid systems allow for longer games as leaders cannot be attacked if there is a minion in front of them. While there are some cards that have one of many traits, in this case the Hidden trait allows for cards with it to ignore other traits like Guard or a protected minion and attack the leader directly. In order to secure a win players will need to destroy both of the opposing leaders.
DC Dual Force has a very good tutorial system in place that will ease players into the basics of gameplay. Launching with the usual host of multiplayer ranked and unranked matches what surprised me most is the robust single player component that lies within. Offering a free and paid track Dual Force gives players comic book adventures to play through. These short, one-off stories allow players to replay a comic book story from DC’s extensive 80-year library. Some of these include the New 52 (listen, explaining the whole New 52 stuff to a non-comic fan would take all day, just know that this was a version of the heroes you’ve heard of) retelling of how the Justice League formed, or the introduction of Jamie Reyes and how he became the Blue Beetle. Each of these single player experiences rewards players with new cards, currency to purchase new packs of cards and an emote or card back. And with 80 years’ worth of heroic tales there won’t be any shortage to material.
Like most CCG’s DC Dual Force is a Free-2-Play game, which means that there is a cash shop and rewards system in place. For $9.99 US, players can subscribe and in addition to being able to play the gold tier comic adventures, they will also receive an extra daily award just for logging in. These items range from card variants, currency emotes and other goodies. Unlike some other CCG’s I’ve played over the years Dual Force doesn’t feel pay to win. They offer multiple ways to earn currency for packs and will even give you some just for logging in as a daily reward. I think the only things that are locked behind a pay wall is the mini sets for Green Arrow and Shazaam. These cost about $5 bucks but gives players the complete set which includes a new leader. Id love to see some sort of alternate activity that will allow for players to unlock these cards.
DC Dual Force is off to a pretty solid start with a large and varied roster of leaders with more on the way, the first being The Batman who Laughs. With a strong PvE element I can’t recommend this game enough, especially for those that are comic fans and fans of CCG’s. Being able to see some of my favorite comics like the pivotal Flashpoint storyline in motion on screen felt really cool and the kid in me ‘Squeeee’ed’ in delight. There is a pretty fair system in place to acquire new cards which leads to a healthy pool of players in the multiplayer ranked and unranked lobbies. I am having a blast with DC Dual Force and it has turned into a game I play daily for at least a match or two in multiplayer but it’s the PvE playable comics which is the big draw for me.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
