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.

Deathstroke From 1995's SkyBox DC Power Chrome Legends '95

In the midst of the nonsense that was the 1990s "extreme," in 1995 DC Comics and Skybox released the 1995 SkyBox DC Power Chrome Legends '95 trading card set. Utilizing the same technology that brought us the super-rad Chromium comic book covers, Skybox incorporated chrome into steroid-inspired artwork that was ubiquitous prior to the soon-to-implode comic book market. Images of a sealed box and unopened packages of this set are posted below.

Of particular interest to this blog was card #47, which featured everyone's favorite assassin: Deathstroke the Terminator. In addition to the unnaturally massive physique and the mandatory 90s open-mouth snarly face was, what is either visible breath from being in the cold or smoke billowing from his mouth, which no doubt came from the red-hot 90s rage, which apparently literally burned within him. Card #47 front and back images are posted below.

Art by Sergio Cariello

Art by Sergio Cariello

But wait, that's not all the 90s extreme Deathstroke-related goodness offered by the SkyBox DC Power Chrome Legends '95 trading card set. Card #78 blessed us with the special gift of the DC New Blood, Gunfire, who naturally was also sporting mandatory the open-mouth snarl face. Card #78 front and back images are posted below.

Art by Ed Benes

Art by Ed Benes

Just looking at the radical, kick-ass goodness that was the SkyBox DC Power Chrome Legends '95 cards, one can almost hear the faint creaking of the comic book market about to collapse under the weight of its own die-cut, chromium covered awesomeness. EXTREME!!!

Deathstroke In 1996s SkyBox DC Outburst: Firepower Trading Card Set

In 1996, SkyBox released the DC Outburst: Firepower trading cards. As evident from the packaging image below, these cards were the first trading cards starring the heroes and villains from DC Comics that was fully embossed. Deathstroke was featured on card #36 decked out in his "second blue period" costume. Images of a factory-sealed box, two unopened packs, and card #36 front and back are posted below.

A factory-sealed SkyBox DC Outburst: Firepower box of trading cards

Superman version of the unopened
DC Outburst: Firepower card packs

Batman version of the unopened
DC Outburst: Firepower card packs

DC Outburst: Firepower Trading Card #36 front

DC Outburst: Firepower Trading Card #36 back

Dare the Terminator Related Cards from 1996's SkyBox Amalgam Card Set

The year 1996 brought us a unique time in American comic book history. DC Comics and Marvel Comics, the two largest comic book companies in the entire world, not only came together for an inter-company publishing event but for a short time, they actually merged their fictional universes to form the Amalgam Comics Universe. In conjunction with a series of co-published comic books, DC, Marvel, and partner SkyBox produced a set of trading cards based upon the Amalgam Universe. Posted below are images of all of the cards related to Dare the Terminator, Amalgam Comics' merging of Daredevil and Deathstroke the Terminator.

Card #34 Catsai front
Art by Scott McDaniel

Card #34 Catsai back

Card #35 Dare front 
Art by Scott McDaniel

Card #35 Dare back

Card #57 Femmes Fatale front
Art by Scott McDaniel

Card #57 Femmes Fatale back

Card #62 The Big Question front
Art by Scott McDaniel

Card #62 The Big Question back

Card #86 Lethal, Deadeye, Wired front
Art by Scott McDaniel

Card #86 Lethal, Deadeye, Wired back

Amalgam Classics Power Blast Card #5 of 9 front
Art by Barry Kitson

Amalgam Classics Power Blast Card #5 of 9 back

The Terminator's 1987 DC Comics Backing Board Card

In 1987, DC Comics had a rather novel merchandising idea to solve a self-inflicted problem. Batman had undergone a popularity renaissance due to the astronomical success of Frank Miller's DC magnum opus, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (1986). DC wished to capitalize on the renewed demand for the character (a demand, which hasn't "Wayned" since. PUN!!!). Non-sports trading cards had also jumped in popularity by the mid-1980s, thanks in no small part to the Topps trading card company's wickedly sickening Garbage Pail Kids cards. But DC had a problem exploiting their characters in trading cards because they were legally barred from using Batman, or Batman-related characters. In the 1960s, DC had licensed the character's image for trading cards exclusively to Topps. Therefore, DC faced the prospect of launching a trading card set without being able to use one of their hottest properties (something that DC actually did in 1992 and 1993). What was DC's solution to this tricky situation? Thinking "outside of the box" by thinking inside the box...the acid-free comic book storage box that is.

DC's deal with Topps covered products defined specifically as trading cards; individually produced and cut trading cards. What the deal did not cover were backing boards, which were made from acid-free, glossy cardboard and used to support a comic book inside of a sealable storage bag. So in 1987, DC Comics Backing Board Cards were created allowing DC to get in on the trading card market using Batman and Batman-related characters, all while not violating their agreement with Topps. Sold in packs of three backing boards, the key to this not-card series was that the card images were printed on comic book backing boards, but ones that looked an awfully lot like a small, uncut trading card sheet. Because the consumer had to cut the images out of the backing boards (along conveniently present dotted lines) to turn the boards into "something resembling" trading cards, technically, DC was not selling actual trading cards at all. The backing board cards were popular enough that a second series was released in 1989. Luckily for DC, Topps' exclusive rights to Batman expired by 1994.

An uncut backing board from 1987's DC Comics Backing Board Cards
Image Source: Cosmic Teams.com

So, what's all this business and legal mumbo-jumbo got to do with Deathstroke? The first set of backing board cards in 1987 included a card for the Terminator, as Deathstroke was commonly known at the time. Most of the individual card images featured in the set were from stock artwork that DC used for things like t-shirt designs or children's' birthday or Valentines' Day cards. The Terminator's card #44 utilized recycled artwork by Deathstroke's co-creator, the legendary George Pérez, that he originally produced for the Terminator's Who's Who profile. The nicely cut front and back Terminator card images are posted below.

Deathstroke card #44 front image
Art by George Pérez
Image Source: The Trading Card Database

Deathstroke card #44 back image
Image Source: The Trading Card Database

The Ravager in 1995's Skybox DC Villains: Dark Judgment Card Set

After the success of 1994's DC Master Series Trading Card Set, the following year, Skybox released another set of fully painted trading cards with the DC Villains: Dark Judgment card set. The set consisted of a cover card, 88 villain cards, and one checklist card in addition to a 3 chase card sets. Card #17 featured Wade DeFarge, Slade Wilson's hate-filled half-brother as well as the third version the Ravager. Front and back images of the Ravager card, painted by D. Alexander Gregory, appear below.

Deathstroke in 1994's Skybox DC Master Series Trading Card Set

Luckily for trading card collectors in 1994, the Walmart ripoff set wasn't the only DC card set released that year. Skybox also put out the DC Master Series, which featured fully painted artwork with gold foil embossed lettering. Deathstroke was the spotlight for card #63; the front and back of which are featured below.

Artwork for Deathstroke's card was painted by Dave Devries. Pictured below is Devries' original pencils for the card's design.

Deathstroke in 1994's SkyBox DC Stars Card Set

To paraphrase a classic line from Star Wars, "Walmart. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy." Ok, Walmart may not be that bad, but then again many employees past and present beg to differ. Walmart sucks and 1994's SkyBox DC Stars Card Set is just one more reason why. It seems that Walmart wanted in on the comic book properties' highway to hell that was the comic book boom and crash of the 90s. But, they weren't just on the highway, they were in the Walmart exclusive merchandise lane of the highway.

Walmart wanted a DC Comics card set that would only be sold in their fine stores so they had SkyBox "create" the DC Stars Cards set. This Walmart exclusive set featured a whopping, count them, 45 cards. But the best part was that there was absolutely no original art commissioned for the cards. Skybox simply recycled artwork from the then only two-year-old DC Comics Cosmic Cards set as well as artwork from the three-ring binder formated Who's Who series from the early 90s. The results were just as worthless as one would imagine they would be. Deathstroke was unfortunately featured on card #30, which was made from recycled his Cosmic Cards artwork. All of Slade Wilson's Walmart exclusive trading card "glory" is pictured below.

The two Deathstroke cards juxtaposed here shows the retreaded artwork. The 1992 DC Cosmic Card on the left and the 1994 DC Stars Card on the right.

Deathstroke's DC Stars Cards card #30 front and back.

 

Deathstroke and Gunfire in 1993's SkyBox DC Comics Bloodlines Trading Card Set

Ok, just to drive yesterday's Gunfire feature even farther down everyone's throats, here is some Bloodlines 90s extreme merchandise (I had to use the word "extreme" when talking about the 90s, it's the law). To promote the 1993 storyline, Skybox released a set of DC Comics Bloodlines trading cards. This set featured not only the heroes who debuted in the storyline, but the heroes in whose titles they debuted, the Bloodlines parasites, and different happenings within the storyline. The set featured 79 regular cards and two checklists with a normal art side on the front, but the back was a single piece of a larger image.

Card #40, called "Lock and Load!" features Deathstroke fighting the alien parasite Venev.

Card #41 spotlights Gunfire in the aptly named card, "The Heat of Gunfire!"

Card #42 spotlights our "heroes" together in, you guessed it, "Deathstroke & Gunfire!"

Card #68 features Gunfire in a character profile care.