By Guglio
The REAL Kryptonite Ring
We’ve all experienced the fabled “Batman versus Superman” nerd debate. In fact, we had one on these very forums. It involved a lot of heated back and forth keywords, including, but not limited to, “the first superhero,” “no weaknesses,” “his villain is a guy,” and the big one: “Preparation.” It is the crux of the infrastructure that holds the Pro-Batman argument together like super glue. You’ve all heard the term every now and then – Batman using his super computer to gather information on his foes, his master plans that allow him to win every fight regardless of power levels, etc. When the Design team went into our own Batcave to develop some cards for this here Final Crisis set, things started to happen.
First, Batman R.I.P. is not directly tied to Final Crisis. While it’s true that the actual “death” of Batman occurs in its pages, the story line really takes him back to his old friends and new enemies. At first the Gotham Knights were a small team, consisting of 20 cards to rival the size of another affiliation in the set. Then, as the New Gods and other less important teams were shipped out, the size started to increase. We found we couldn’t just rely on old Gotham Knights themes to coast us through the team. We needed something bigger, better, and to match the comics, something that really fit Batman’s mantra.
I’m sure you’ve seen the previous cards by now. In Darkseid’s Elite, the Charge keyword was used to represent the gradual decay of the Apokoliptian host bodies. While they were more less being “charged” by negative powers, Batman laughs at Darkseid when he usurps the keyword for his own purposes (mirroring an event that takes place in Final Crisis #6, except with a certain weapon). Confused, bewildered and excited? I hope so.
Batman R.I.P. takes the reader through a bizarre journey when the Black Glove attempts to destroy Batman through mind and body mutilation. They believe the concoction of a special keyword and crystal meth can stop The Dark Knight. But they were wrong. Batman takes to the streets armed with a “back-up personality” designed specifically for events like this and his trusty (?) partner Bat-Mite to stop the Black Glove in its tracks. Clearly, Batman has prepared for everything. I present the Batman of Zur En Arrh!
And boom goes the dynamite! Thought Batman was mean before? This card has clear ties to the DOR Batman, Caped Crusader, who could “double stun” opposing characters. Batman, Zur En Arrh accomplished a similar feat. The Gotham Knights player will aim to have a completely face-up row of plot twist or location cards with charge counters. Even one charge counter counts as a “charged” resource, meaning Batman’s hitting for around 4-5 extra endurance whenever he strikes. There are a few differences, though. Unlike the Caped Crusader, Zur En Arrh is concealed, meaning you can plan your attacks a bit better on off initiative. He also has 2 more points of ATK and 1 less of DEF, because he’s so aggressive. But wait, wasn’t I talking about preparation?
Straight up negation is a thing of the past for Batman. Now he plans to stop you before you even play the cards! Worried your opponent might bust out a Savage Beatdown? Lock it down! Pathetic Attempt? Lock it down! Mobilize? LAWK IT DOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWN! “But wait Guglio” you say, “You can’t Lock Down any of those cards. See, Lock Down has a threshold cost of 2, which means the earliest you can play it is turn two! And all three cards can be played before you’ll have enough counters to stop it!” If this is you, I pat back you on the back because ordinarily you’d be true. But not this time, because Batman was able to lock down things with this handy tool:
See? Batman comes prepared. His trusty tool, the Bat-Radia (which really actually didn’t have a use until that very moment in time in the story) can give your well laid plans a bit of a boost. Also, because a card without the charge keyword can have charge counters anyways, you can always stick a counter on a card without Charge to make your perfect row.
As you can see, the Gotham Knights come well equipped this time around to fight off the hordes of Apokolips and other villains in the Final Crisis set. Lay the ground work, assemble your team and then let the fireworks go as you soar into battle with Batman and his contingency plans! But wait, look to the skies for the Bat-Signal of more preview cards coming to you via way of Shadowtrooper Express, and enjoy the rest of previews for the Day Evil Won!
Zip lining Away,
Gugs
The charge mechanic, especially in the form of locations/equipment/ongoing plot twists seem like a great way to show off Baman’s preperation. You are rewarded for putting plans “into play” as soon as possible.
Hmmm…It seems that equipment should be unique and limited to once per turn. Especially if there are more ways to speed up Charge counters.
later,
Kj
It IS limited to once per turn. There’s nothing in the game that readies equipment.