Super Heroes have captured the imagination for nearly a century, and their unique special abilities and powers make them uniquely suited to the collectible card game genre. Over the last decade, several serious attempts have been made to create an engaging card game simulating heroic battles between mutants and monsters and marvels and madmen. This guide will walk you through some of the most popular and enduring of these collectible card games, including:

• OverPower
• WildStorms
• Versus (Vs.) System
• Teen Titans

OverPower (1995-1998)

OverPower was a simplified hero combat card game. Each player had four Hero cards, and seven Mission cards in addition to their deck. There was a strategy element in that you could wager Mission cards on the outcome of a particular hand, or players could simply opt to pummel one another. The Hero cards used a basic grid system involving Energy, Fighting, Strength, and later Intellect, and used Power cards to simulate basic attacks. These cards could be combined with Universe cards, allowing their heroes to combine their powers or to use weapons from the environment like a Taxi Cab or a Bus. Also, each hero had character-specific Special card attacks that allowed each character to use their own special abilities. OverPower had a brief wave of popularity, and enjoyed several sets and many cards hidden in various publications and lunch meats before fading into obscurity.

Debut (1995)
OverPower originally debuted with six premade starter decks and booster packs. Booster packs contained the cards found in the starter decks as well as other cards not available in the starter, including the more popular and powerful Marvel characters like Wolverine, Iron Man and Spider-Man and had 39 heroes and 351 total cards in the set. 

PowerSurge (1995)
PowerSurge was released in booster packs also featured Marvel characters. PowerSurge added a Special cards to the characters from the debut set, as well as adding new characters like Ghost Rider, Daredevil and Mr. Sinister and had a total of 21 heroes and 249 total cards in the set.

Mission Control (1996)
Mission Control was available in booster packs and added popular second-string characters like Nightcrawler, Quicksilver and Black Widow. Mission Control also added the Event card, allowing special new abilities dependent on the set of Mission cards a player used. It had a total of 10 heroes and a total of 142 cards in the set.

Batman/Superman (DC) (1996)
The Batman/Superman set saw the addition of DC Comics heroes and villains into the OverPower card game, and came in both starter decks and boosters with a distinctive DC card back. Batman/Superman also introduced the Intellect power, allowing more cerebral villains like the Joker and Lex Luthor to stand shoulder to shoulder with more physical villains like Doomsday, as well as making a distinction between Heroes and Villains. Batman/Superman also introduced the Ally Universe card, allowing characters like Lois Lane and Alfred Pennyworth to affect the battles. The set featured 30 heroes from Gotham and Metropolis, as well as 6 hologram variants from the Batman Holo Foil series, and had a total of 346 cards in the set. 

IQ (1996)
IQ printed all of the Marvel characters from the debut series, Powersurge and Mission Control with the more accurate power grids, and added the Intellect power. It also included 8 new characters like White Queen and Shadowcat for a total of 78 heroes and 279 cards in the set.

Justice League (1997)
Justice League brought the rest of DC heroes like Wonder Woman and Flash into OverPower. Justice League also brought the Event card into DC OverPower, as well as introducing the Double Shot Universe card. Justice League contained 20 new heroes, with a total of 197 cards in the set.

Monumental (1997)
Monumental was sold in starter decks, and introduced the idea of teams battling, introducing Hero cards the Inhumans, Alpha Flight, and the X-Babies, reprinted  promotional Hero cards from the Onslaught storyline. Monumental also introduced the Location card, giving bonuses to certain collections of Heroes. There were 22 Hero cards in Monumental, and a total of 289 total cards in the set.

Classic (1997)
Released characters like Bullseye and Dracula and introduced the Artifact Universe card. Classic saw the release of 22 new characters and 10 variants, with a total of 215 cards in the set.

 

Image (1997)
Image was sold in starter decks and boosters with a distinctive Image card back, and brought select Image characters like Grift, Savage Dragon and Spawn into OverPower.  There were 19 heroes in the Image set, and 4 foils from the Marvel vs. Wildstorm trading card set, with a total of 222 total cards in this set.

X-Men (1998)
X-Men focused on Marvel’s mutant characters, introducing favorites like X-Man and Maverick, and added the Aspect card. The set introduced 26 new Hero cards, as well as 16 variants, with 200 total cards in the set. 

Wildstorms: The Expandable Superhero Collectible Card Game (1995-1997)

Wildstorms was a more complex superhero card game that sought to include elements of teamwork into a larger strategy game. A single card signified all of a character's abilities, and characters were each assigned a point cost to level the playing field for a player using weaker characters against a player using powerhouses. Characters were played at a battlesite, and when a player earned enough points by KOing an opponent's characters, they were entitled to win a prize which helped them in their ongoing campaign. Wildstorms initially featured characters from Jim Lee's Wildstorm Universe, from teams such as WetWorks, StormWatch, and the WildC.A.T.s, and saw expansion sets that included many other Image characters, and even a few Marvel and independent characters.

Wildstorms used Plot Twists and Combat cards to add variety to battles and allow for in-game changes to the normal mechanics. Equipment cards could be given to characters to enable ranged attacks, or to add better combat values. Character cards were extraordinarily intricate. In the upper right hand corner were three combat values, C standing for Close combat, R standing for Ranged combat, and D standing for Defense. The characters were also given a value inside a colored circle for abilities such as Tech, Energy Blasts, Thrown Objects or Psi. Beyond this, there were several lines available to describle specific individual abilities that could not be so easily quantified. At the bottom left of the card was a Team affiliation box, so you would know what teams they could provide teamwork within, and at the bottom right was a point value, which gave the cost for deck building, putting the character into play, and the points earned when the character was KOed by an opponent.

Limited (1995)
Limited, also known as the Black Border Premiere, was the original release of Wildstorms. It was available in starter decks and booster packs. Rare chase cards could only be found in the boosters, and were signified by a gold foil team icon near the bottom left corner. Limited cards have a black border, and a copyright date of 1995. The release had 112 regular characters, 15 chase characters, and 365 cards total in the set.

Unlimited (1996)
Unlimited was a reprint series of Limited, available in boosters. Unlimited cards are generally regarded by collectors as less valuable, and can be distinguished from their Limited counterparts by their white borders, and a copyright date of 1996. It had 374 cards in this set, with nine new cards added, most notably chase cards involving characters from the Deviant (DV8) team.  

Conflict (1996)
Conflict also debuted in a series of boosters, and featured expansion into the Wildstorm universe, including many dead or disgraced characters left out of the initial release. Conflict cards had a black border, and the words “Conflict Expansion” in their copyright information. The most sought after cards from the Conflict series are chase cards involving the women Gen 13, Angela, Avengelyne and Glory, featuring photographs of live models in the costumes of the characters. There are 44 new characters, nine chase characters, and a total of 152 cards in this set.

Image (1996)
The Image Universe expansion saw the addition of characters from Spawn Alley, the Savage Dragon’s Chicago, CyberForce and Top Cow, home of the Witchblade and the Darkness. The set was also sought after because it had cards from Marvel’s Heroes Reborn universe, including the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, and the Incredible Hulk, including many related cards, all chase. These cards have a black border, as well as a 1996 copyright date. The image card set focused on characters, with 134 regular and ten chase, out of a total of 216 cards in the set.

Best of Wildstorms (1997)
This set was released only in randomly assorted starter decks featuring reprints of powerful cards from previous series, mainly limited, and even some chase cards. Best of also offered adjusted and more accurate character scales and ratings, as characters in the original Limited series were often underpowered compared to the Conflict and Image sets. Best of was also unique because it was the first set that did not offer chase cards. It focused on WetWorks, WildC.A.T.s, Stormwatch, Gen 13 and DV8, the core teams of the Wildstorm universe at the time. These cards featured a white border, and included “Best of Wildstorms” in the copyright text. There were 76 characters, and a total of 200 cards in the set.

Legends (1997)
Legends offered reprints of cards from the previous collections and new cards, notably the members of Stormwatch Black, as well as adding a solitaire dimension to the game. The cards are mostly incompatible with the other sets, as they have a blue backing unique to the legends set. There were a total of 290 cards in the Legends release.

Versus System (2004-current)

The Versus System plays on what could be described as a simplified Wildstorms combat system. Each character has a team affiliation, a combat and defense value, the possibility of ranged or flight abilities, a text-based ability, and a cost. Characters are placed in either the front or back rank. Ranged characters can attack back row characters that do not have a character in front of them, and characters with range and flight can attack protected characters. Various abilities are handled in the Versus System with multiple cards per character, only one of which can be in play at a time. Characters from the same team can use teamwork to boost their attacks. The game also uses the tested resource dynamic to give the game a build-up, rather than favoring whichever player draws the more powerful character first. Also, the players themselves can be attacked, and half 50 life, and every time a character is injured, that character’s cost is subtracted from its player’s life Depleting an opponent’s life is the ultimate goal of the game. The Versus System also introduced a unique way of producing chase cards: every card in the entire set could be found in foil variants, coming in both gold and silver varieties. One advantage of the Versus System is that it is a current game, and is still being produced, and still being actively played at tournaments. Also of note, all Versus cards use the same generic card backing, allowing intercompany decks to be played.

Marvel Origins (2004)
The debut set of the Versus System, the set included the X-Men, Brotherhood, Fantastic 4, Doom, and Sentinels teams. This release is generally considered the strongest, most notably for the Curve Sentinel deck.

DC Origins (2004)
This set featured Gotham Knights (Batman and his allies), the Teen Titans, the League of Assassins and the Arkham Inmates. This set added the inclusion of identities for characters, most notable in the fact that there are three different Robins. 

Marvel: Web of Spider-Man (2004)
This set had a small debut alongside the Spider-Man 2 movie in theatres, and featured characters from the Spider-Man universe. It was officially released after DC Origins. It featured the teams Spider Friends and the Sinister Syndicate. The fact that there were only 2 teams in the release, and that the characters were generally weaker than the two previous releases, has been sighted as a weakness of this set.

DC: Superman, Man of Steel (2004)
This set featured Team Superman, Revenge Squad, New Gods and Darksied’s Elite. The release of the Man of Steel set also saw the beginning of the “Modern Age” category of tournaments. In these, only the last two releases of a brand (Marvel or DC) could be used in tournaments. 

Marvel: Marvel Knights (2005)
This series featured characters from the Marvel Knights, Crime Lords, Underworld, and X-Statix. This set saw a slight upturn in the power of cards, as well as a doubling of common cards.

DC: Green Lantern (2005)
This set had only the Green Lantern team as a force for good, versus three villain teams: the Emerald Enemies, Anti-Matter team, and the Manhunters.

Marvel: Avengers (2005)
This set released three hero teams and one villain: Avengers, Squadron Supreme, Thunderbolts, and the Masters of Evil.

DC: Justice League of America (2006)
This set featured the JLA, JLI, Secret Society, and the Injustice Gang. Several characters from previous sets were now given new cards, such as Batman and Superman, to take their place amongst the Justice League. This set also introduced the dual team affiliation and the ally mechanic.

Marvel: X-Men (2006)
This set featured the X-Men and Brotherhood from Marvel Origins, as well as introducing the Morlocks and the Hellfire Club. It also introduced mutant powers into the game featuring three varieties: physical, mental, and energy.

DC: Infinite Crisis (2006)
This set followed the recent comics cross over of the same name. It introduced the JSA, Shadowpact, Checkmate, Villains United, Secret Six, and Crisis. It also introduced the “Magic” category for non-characters, as well as the 7-point Champion cards, whose devastating effects could only be used if not combined with a plot twist.

Announced Sets:

Marvel: Heralds of Galactus (2006)
This set is scheduled for a July 2006 release. The set is reported to include the Heralds of Galactus, the Inhumans, the Kree, and introduce more cards for Doom. Rumors abound that it will also include the Skrull and the Infinity Watch.

DC: Legion of Superheroes (2006)
This set is scheduled for a December 2006 release. The set is reported to include the Legion of Superheroes, Legion of Super-Villains, the Fatal Five, and include updates for the Teen Titans and Darkseid’s Elite. 

Hellboy
Slated for an early 2007 release.

Teen Titans

 The Teen Titans game seems to be engineered similarly to the Versus System, but taking into account that it is based upon a children’s cartoon adaptation of a comic book, it is extremely simple in its game play. Rather than having offensive and defensive scores, the characters feature a single power rating. Character cards come in a variety of classes, one being basic, and four being a much more powerful veteran version of the character. Location cards give specific bonuses, and the object of the game is to earn 15 hero points.

Teen Titans, Go!

The initial release featured the Teen Titans and Slade’s Army. It utilized Skillz cards to boost the character ablities found on their individual cards.

Enter Titans East

Obviously, this set introduced the Titans East. It also made use of the gadgets dynamic, making characters like Robin and Speedy more functional.