When Upper Deck announced that they would be reviving my beloved VS System I was very excited. It was my first and only true love when it came to collectable card games, and I had run a local scene in my city for over five years, including keeping it alive for almost two years after the game had been cancelled.
So when a friend brought the new VS 2PCG core set out for us to try the other day I was cautiously optimistic. As there were four of us we tried a 2v2 game. It didn't take long to get sorted out and look over the cards. Superficially they look almost identical to the old cards, but in terms of game play this is a very different game.
I admit that it was only a single play, but I really disliked the change to resources. It felt so similar to Magic the Gathering to me in that the colours for resource felt like basic lands. That in itself is not a bad thing, but it soured me on the game almost immediately, as I truly dislike having to include cards that are basically dead in order to run my deck. Especially since unlike Magic where I can use those basic lands every turn, here I'm restricted to using that card once per game. Certainly I could build around that requirement and use characters with powers that are always active...but that's not really the point.
The focus on having a main character rather than an endurance total is a change that works with the new game, and I am willing to try it again a few times. Unfortunately the lack of any DC material is a killer for me as I prefer their characters over Marvel. Rumours abound that Aliens and Firefly might be forthcoming in expansions but that likely isn't going draw me in.
Naming the game "VS" does it and the old game a bit of a disservice. Sadly I don't think the new version of VS was made for me, which is perfectly fine. I likely wasn't the audience Upper Deck was aiming at capturing, and I'm lucky enough to have thousands of old cards and opponents to play that game with.
VS System is dead, but she lives on in my heart. RIP.
So when a friend brought the new VS 2PCG core set out for us to try the other day I was cautiously optimistic. As there were four of us we tried a 2v2 game. It didn't take long to get sorted out and look over the cards. Superficially they look almost identical to the old cards, but in terms of game play this is a very different game.
I admit that it was only a single play, but I really disliked the change to resources. It felt so similar to Magic the Gathering to me in that the colours for resource felt like basic lands. That in itself is not a bad thing, but it soured me on the game almost immediately, as I truly dislike having to include cards that are basically dead in order to run my deck. Especially since unlike Magic where I can use those basic lands every turn, here I'm restricted to using that card once per game. Certainly I could build around that requirement and use characters with powers that are always active...but that's not really the point.
The focus on having a main character rather than an endurance total is a change that works with the new game, and I am willing to try it again a few times. Unfortunately the lack of any DC material is a killer for me as I prefer their characters over Marvel. Rumours abound that Aliens and Firefly might be forthcoming in expansions but that likely isn't going draw me in.
Naming the game "VS" does it and the old game a bit of a disservice. Sadly I don't think the new version of VS was made for me, which is perfectly fine. I likely wasn't the audience Upper Deck was aiming at capturing, and I'm lucky enough to have thousands of old cards and opponents to play that game with.
VS System is dead, but she lives on in my heart. RIP.
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