Upper Deck Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game

I love this game! Lots of fun and replay value. My biggest knock is that it usually is fairly easy to win if the players cooperate. But there are some instances where it is also very difficult to win as well. Never really played many Deck-builder type games, except Magic:The Gathering, but that is a different kind of game. The art is nice, but only one picture/character, just framed differently. However, that does not take away from the loads of fun I have had so far playing it. Once you get the cards separated and filed with the numerous dividers they give you, setup can be fairly quick. The Cardstock is good quality as well. But like any card, high use will breakdown the cards after a while. It is a simple and complex game at the same time. Simple to learn how to play, but the variety that can happen in each game with the different heroes makes you have to figure out which hero powers will work together well as you build your deck. For Upperdeck's 1st foray into actual gaming over sports cards, they created a gem! I even played a game with the expansion(Dark City). It really adds a lot more flavor and variety to an already very solid game, while it increased the difficulty a bit as well. For an example of what you will get. A typical 4-player game will have: A villain deck of 3 Villain groups(8 cards in each), 2 Henchmen groups(10 cards each), Plus some bystanders(typically 8ish) and the scheme twist cards (5-8ish); you also have 5 Master Strike Cards representing the Mastermind attacking since the MM isn't in the Deck. Shuffle all of the above together. Depending on the scheme(The way the Evil Mastermind wins), the bystanders and Twist cards can vary. The Mastermind is in a separate pile with his 4 cards. Then there is the Hero Deck, Pick 5 heroes(out of 15 total heroes) and shuffle them up. Play starts from there after you flip the top 5 heroes onto the playing board(into the HQ). The Scheme can also affect the number of heroes in the deck and in one scheme, some heroes are in the villain deck as well. There is also Wound cards that you can acquire that take up space in your deck. Each player starts with 8 recruiting SHIELD Agents(1 point) and 4 attacking SHIELD Troopers(1 point). Shuffle them and draw 6. On your turn, flip the top card from the villain deck onto the board. Make a recruiting/attacking chain with the cards in your hand. Attack if you can, then recruit one of the heroes(if you can) from the HQ. You can also recruit a Maria Hill SHIELD Officer Recruiting card(2 points). You will play your whole hand, so at the end of your turn draw 6 again unless a defeated villain cards says otherwise. Then repeat. Sounds simple, but there is far more entertainment value to it in the variety of game set-ups with the 7 different Villain groups, 4 different Henchmen Groups, 4 different Masterminds and 8 different schemes. There will be a point when you have done it all, but you will have played A LOT of games before you get there. But that is also why they have a plan for an alternating small expansion or big set every 6 months or so(To make money of course like any other game.)

I can't stop playing this. I got all the expansions and the replay value is unlimited. This can be played solo just as good as multi-player and the games are fun and challenging; it all depends on how you set up the game randomly. This game is for fellow comic book geeks and collectible trading card fans. The Good: -Addictive fun with the gameplay, abilities, and randomness. -Great art, board, and colors. -Can't say enough about this game- it's worth the price and deep. I could go on and on about all the great features, but I want to be brief here because I will combat the criticism of this game at the end. Things You Should Know - I had to go to boardgamegeek.com for clarifications and interpretation of rules; there is a need to be a lawyer sometimes when it comes to how some cards act with each other. - It's hard to teach and may be inaccessible to people who are complete newbies. I'd recommend watching actual games on Youtube. - To get the best experience, but plastic sleeves and all the expansions. - The game is long to set-up and put away, possibly 15 minutes. - Games can last 45-60+ minutes. - The box is tough to store the cards in if you want to find cards, which may increase set-up time to 20-25 minutes. Here are my counterpoint to some negative comments here: 1) "No theme": Actually the whole game is themed within a rule-based card game. I always feel I am in the Marvel Universe and all the characters act as they should act. Stan Lee would have loved to come out with a game like this back in the Silver Age. 2) "Buy Sentinels of the Multiverse": No, I'd rather buy a solo/multi game with Marvel's official license, thank you. 3) "No challenge": True Legendary gamers laugh at this. The rulebook comes with 10 additional challenges and clearly some heroes are weaker than others or don't synch well. Clearly some villains and schemes are harder. You can challenge yourself in infinite ways. 4) "Bad quality of cards": But sleeves. 85% of gamers do. Why aren't you? 5) "Only 3 or more players is fun": Hogwash. Trust me and thousands of others who play solo or with 2. 6) "Not really a cooperative game": Well, it's not a strictly competitive game either; the board is fighting the players, so by default players can team up by discussing what characters to recruit or how to deal with wounds. Some cards do allow you to KO other player's cards. Why get so stuck with labels? 7) "Cards aren't sorted when first opened": Who cares? It's a one time thing. 8) "Generic artwork": This was fixed for the expansions, which show different poses for the 14-hero cards. The actual artwork is fine, though, just not varied in the original game. 9) "Way too many symbols": This may also be true, but they allow for combos and a deep game. I don't see why this contradicts the theme; Iron Man could be ranged and tech. 10) "Need more dividers and a better way to organize them": Agreed; which is why people have homebrew systems using things from around the house. 11) "Not a party game": Sorry Legendary isn't as pretentious as Pathfinder, but teenagers and geeks in their 40s do have meet-ups for Legendary. 12) "It's not Dominion, Thunderstone, or Quarriors": More with the pretentious snobbery. Who cares? I'm a comic book fans and like the Marvel license. 13) "The price is high": Between the printing costs and license, it's actually cheap. 14) "Starts off slow": Yes, it does, but then the game builds to an exciting middle and climax. Patience, anyone? 15) "Villains don't escape in solo": Yes, they can. 16) "Not an enjoyable/strategic game": Hundreds of Amazon reviewers disagree. 17) "It's a gateway DBG": More pretentious snobbery. What if I don't like Dominion or Ascension's themes? What if I like comics and want to stick with this one? Am I allowed, sir, or must I be called simple-minded? 18) "Cards are hard to read": Agreed, some could be tough if you have bad lighting or vision like I do. 19) "Schemes are disappointing": Nah, they're fun and try their best to relate to the gameplay + theme. Only the Cosmic Cube doesn't relate well, but I think it was designed to train new players.

Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game is a fun deck building game for two to four players I added to my collection a few months ago and I really enjoy it. This is the first game I've bought in the deck building genre. Players start with a deck of poor quality SHIELD member cards who can either provide buying power for better cards or attack power to defeat villains that get revealed most turns. The aim is for each player to build up their deck with synergistic super hero cards to be able to accumulate enough damage to defeat the super villain. This all has to happen before the game runs out of villains to throw at the players and before other possible defeat conditions are met, such as villains leaving the city with enough innocent bystanders. The games difficulty level can vary wildly based on the number of players, the selected mission, super villain and available heroes available to recruit. This flexibility also keeps the game fresh, though. I would recommend 3 players as the best number to reduce down-time, as there's little to do between turns. I also find that 4 player games can also be considerably more difficult as players have weaker decks for longer, making it easier for villains to escape the city, often contributing to or directly triggering the end of the game. When preparing a game, the villain deck is built based on the number of players present, so can result in a hefty setup time when running a spontaneous game, especially if randomly determining which heroes and villains to use. The rules are very easy to pick up and the game has good art work. I'm disappointed that every instance of every super hero has identical art with a different coloured border though. Unique art for each instance would have been a nice touch. The box comes with a high quality plastic insert and plenty of cardboard dividers to organise cards. There's even space left over for expansions, though I sleeved my cards with 100 micron thick sleeves, which has taken up almost all the available space. I feel that this is necessary, as I suspect that the basic cards in every starting deck will probably get worn and be obvious when reshuffling the decks over and over again per game. Nevertheless, I'm happy that my sleeved set fits so well. I'm a bit worried about what might happen to my well organised cards if I carry the box on its side with the insert, so I'm not confident on portability if carrying the game somewhere. Over all I really enjoy this game. Building a deck of heroes with good synergy is good fun and game's theme is solid. I wish there was a little more interaction with other players though, but this doesn't spoil it. I would definitely recommend this game but would recommend preparing the hero and villain decks and the mission in advance of planned games.

J’ai acheté ce jeu pour mon fils de 25 ans. Il l’adore et pourtant il est très critique. Les informations en anglais n’ont pas semblé le rebuter...

Been loving the card game

Legendary gehört zu einem meiner Lieblingsbrettspiele. Es trumpft mit einem gut gestalteten Spielbrett und noch besser gestalteten Spielkarten auf. Es sind alle bekannten Marvel-Helden vertreten. Die Palette reicht von Wolverine über Captain America bis hin zu Spider-Man insgesamt 15 verschiedene Helden mit je 14 verschiedenen Karten. Auch eine Auswahl von 4 Superschurken (Dr.Doom, Red Skull, Loki und Magneto) und deren Handlanger sind im gewohnter Comic Aufmachung dabei. Deweiteren die liegen dem Spiel 8 verschiedene Schurken-Ziele bei die sich in jeglicher Hinsicht unterscheiden und ein komplett anderes Spielgefühl liefern. Legendary spielt sich im Grunde wie jedes Deckbauspiel. Zu beginn erhält man seien 12 Startkarten und spiel immer mit einer Kartenhand von 6 Karten. Mit den Karten werden neue Helden aus dem Hauptquatier (HQ) rekrutiert oder Bösewichte aus der Stadt vertrieben. Ist der Nachziestapel leer mischt man alle Karten des eigenen Ablagestapel und zieht auf 6 Karten nach. Ab diesem Zeitpunkt werden zuvor rekrutierten Helden mit in die Hand gezogen und können ihre Spezialfähigkeiten einsetzten um weitere Mitglieder des Heldenteams zu rekrutieren Bösewichte zu besiegen oder sogar den Superschurken anzugreifen. Das Spiel kann auf drei Weisen zuende gehen: 1. Der Superschurke erreicht sein Ziel und die Helden haben verloren 2. Der Bösewichtstapel ist leer die Helden haben zwar den Superschurken nicht besiegt aber die Stadt gerettet; unentschieden. 3. Der Superschurke ist besiegt und die Helden haben gewonnen. Was das ganze so besonders macht ist die Kooperative Auslegung die die Gruppe von Spielern zusammenarbeiten lässt. Wer solte welche Karte rekrutiern oder welchen Bösewicht angreifen. Und am Ende kann die Gruppe auf einen triumphalen Sieg zurückblicken. Da es aber viele Spieler gibt die sich mit einem gemeinsamen Sieg nicht zufrieden geben können am Ende noch Siegpunkte für besiegte Bösewichte und Superschurken vergeben werden, da jede Karte einen Punkwert aufgedruckt hat. Somit können auch kompetitive Spieler auf ihre kosten kommen. Ein besonders Feature ist das Solospiel das sich mit wenigen Einschränkungen genauso wie das Spiel mit bis zu 5 Personen spiel. Einziger negativpunkt den ich vergeben muss der aber keinen abzug von Sternen rechtfertigt ist der variable Schwierigkeitsgrad. Im Spiel allein oder zu zweit ist es kaum eine Herrausforderung mit drei bis vier Personen lässt es sich gut spielen aber bei fünf Personen wird es echt schwer zu gewinnen. Deshalb werden in unserer Spielegruppe gewisse Hausregeln vereinbart die das Spiel in jeder Konstellation anspruchsvoll aber nicht unmöglich machen. Bevor ich zu meinem endgültigen Fazit komme möchte ich noch darauf hinweisen das das Spiel in Englischer Sprache ist. Das ist zwar einen Hürde aber eine kleine. Die Regeln sind in gut verstänlichem Englisch geschrieben und nicht schwerer als oben beschrieben. Auch die Kartentexte lassen sich leicht lesen und verstehen. Man sollte aber am bessten eine Person haben die gut im Englischen ist und den Mitspielern Karteneffekte erklärt und die Regeln beibringt. Ich kann diese Spiel allen empfehlen die auf Superhelden stehen und gerne Deckbauspiele spielen. Auch für Spieler die gern ein kurzes Kooperatives Spiel haben wollen ist es empfehlenswert. Spielern mit keinen oder schlechten Englischkenntnissen rate ich vom Kauf ab.

Lo stiamo provando ed è davvero divertente. Basta poco per capire le regole e non vediamo l'ora di sperimentare tutti i personaggi.