Deathstroke Deemed (Almost) Too Bad for Cryptozoic Entertainment's DC Comics Deck-Building Game!

In 1993 the world of collectible card games (CCGs) or trading card games (TCGs) burst onto the hobby gaming scene and built a large and dedicated CCG community that is thriving to this day. CCGs combined the character-based and statistical elements of traditional tabletop/pencil-and-paper roleplaying, the strategy and head-to-head competition of traditional card games, and the collectability factor of trading cards. The object of a CCG is to assemble a collection of cards by purchasing assorted packs of random cards, then to choose a limited selection of those cards into specialized decks used to battle/duel with an opponent. Beginning with Magic: The Gathering (1993), designed by American mathematician, Richard Garfield, CCGs exploded in popularity with many other games hitting the market including the mega-popular Japanese games Pokémon (1996) and Yu-Gi-Oh! (1999).

Spinning off from CCGs was a related card game genre known as a deck-building game in which, unlike CCGs, the ultimate goal of the game is to acquire cards to construct the deck during gameplay, rather than defeating an opponent in a duel like a CCG. On November 30, 2012, Cryptozoic Entertainment launched the DC Comics Deck-Building Game that took full advantage of the still vibrant card-gaming community and the newly rebooted "New 52" iteration of the DC Comics Universe. Types of cards featured in the game are DCComics Super Hero, Starting Cards (either Punch or Vulnerability), Weakness, DC Comics Super-Villain, Villain, Location, Villain with Attack, Hero, Super Power, Equipment, and Super Power with Defense. The DC Comics Deck-Building Game base set included 214 game cards, 7 "oversized" hero cards, and the game rulebook.

Cryptozoic Entertainment's DC Comics Deck-Building Game base set
Image Source: cryptozoic.com

The video below gives a crash course on how the game works.

Since its 2012 debut, there have been several expansion packs that have introduced cards for new characters and new variations of existing characters. For example, there are four versions of just Deathstroke, but depending on the type of game one is playing, be it a private game or competitive tournament play, you may or may not be able to use Deathstroke. The card below is legal to use in any type of game setting.

However, if one is playing in a sanctioned tournament, there are 605 cards that are banned in competitive play. According to dcdeckbuilding.com, cards can be banned for any of the following reasons:

• They were intended for a different game mode
• Super Villains that are replaced with their Impossible Mode versions
• They are too powerful and unbalanced
• Lack of impact on the game

All three of the Deathstroke cards posted below are currently banned from competitive play by dcdeckbuilding.com.

Perhaps Cryptozoic Entertainment can make a friendlier version of a Deathstroke card so that he can participate in competitive play, but then again playing by the rules of others just wouldn't be Deathstroke's style.