This right here is an introduction to a preview article. We’ve all seen them before. They are usually two to three sentences in length and serve as a short segue into spoiling a brand new card. They can be longer, but that usually depends on the size of a writer’s ego. Most people skip them, and I assume that most of you already have skipped this one. You’ve scrolled down to check out the new card and you probably love it. And you should; it’s pretty darn cool. Enthralled by its brilliance, you will continue down the page without another thought about this inconsequential intro. But, being the completists that you are, you may have returned to read the rest of this introduction. If you are one of those people, you’ve not wasted precious seconds. It is here within the second and third paragraphs that I will lay out for you the meaning of life and your divine purpose within the cosmos.

Go ahead and take a peek. Read the rest of the article, and then come back for enlightenment and cake.

The American Heritage Dictionary defines destiny as “The inevitable or necessary fate to which a particular person or thing is destined; one’s lot.” Acceptance can be described as the act of assenting or believing. Therefore, one could say that the act of “accepting your destiny” is actually accepting belief in the inevitability of fate. Destiny could further imply purpose by referring to the reason for which something exists or is done, made, or used. So, if one were to believe in the concept of destiny, one would have to believe that one has a predetermined purpose to fulfill and that perhaps a higher power is responsible for deciding that purpose and setting those cosmic wheels of destiny in motion.

Now what the heck does all that have to do with a Vs. System card? I don’t know. I wasn’t a philosophy major, but I suppose we could use today’s preview card as a metaphor for our respective lives. Perhaps we could say that in joining the morally questionable Rasputin, we are giving in to fate and accepting our predetermined role in life. This could be bad, or it could be good. Perhaps your parents always wanted you to become a doctor or a lawyer, and maybe you always wanted to be a rock and roll star or a professional hockey player. But your father was a doctor and so was your grandfather before him. So, you give in to their dreams and give up on yours. You accept the destiny that has been laid out for you.

Or, you can chuck it all and rebel. Join the circus, or go abroad and help starving kids in Africa, or even quit your day job and compete professionally on the Vs. System Pro Circuit! In essence, you have the power to reject your predetermined life path and make your own way, rather than be ruled by the expectations and preconceptions of others. That’s what I believe Hellboy is at its core—a manifestation of the virtue of rebellion. Hellboy’s whole life is written in the metaphoric stone. He is the “Beast of the Apocalypse.” His denial of purpose and his pretense at being a man, a human, can easily be viewed as insane. The guy’s a big red demon with two horns and a giant stone hand! How on Earth could he ever hope to be accepted as a man? The same way any of us hope to become more than we were born to be—determination fueled by sheer will.

In the end, I suppose, Accept Your Destiny is an evil card played by sneaky people. Although it may be a powerful card in any Thule Society deck, be wary of that power, for it seeks to corrupt you. Or maybe I’m reading too much into this. Anyway, this introduction/conclusion (hah, tricked you!) is over. You should probably scroll down and stare at the super cool card some more.

Incidentally, my ego is enormous.

Today’s preview is a little gem we like to call Accept Your Destiny. This is not just an interesting quote pulled from the Hellboy mythos; there are actually some quite intriguing concepts behind it.

Denying His Purpose

“Be not too quick to refuse your destiny, creature. I alone know the secret you have sought so long. Whence you came, and why. So think a while, creature. Consider the role you were summoned to play. Stand beside me. Let me harness the power you hold unknowing in your right hand . . . or die.” – Grigori Rasputin

Rasputin spoke those words to Hellboy in their very first encounter beneath Cavendish Hall in the classic Seed of Destruction storyline. He was referring to the role Hellboy would play in the inevitable apocalypse: the release of the Ogdru Jahad, the Seven Gods of Chaos whose sole purpose is to return to Earth and destroy humanity. You see, within Hellboy’s right hand, The Right Hand of Doom, lies the key to the end of the world and Project Ragna Rok.

It’s all in the card text if you know where to look:

As an additional cost to play Accept Your Destiny, exhaust a Thule Society character you control.

KO target stunned character and gain endurance equal to its cost.

In order for Hellboy to embrace his destiny, he must first pay a cost. The cost within the story is to shed his humanity and join forces (exhaust a Thule Society character) with Rasputin. Once that cost is paid, Hellboy would sacrifice the world (KO target stunned character) and gain tremendous power (gain endurance equal to its cost) through the Ogdru Jahad.

The card’s effect is simple and to the point—a very powerful KO effect with a nice endurance gain bonus. Additionally, because the card does not specify the target as friendly or opposing, you can use it on your own characters. When used in conjunction with the 4-drop Grigori Rasputin, True Father, you achieve a nifty little synergy where one card will “pay” for the other. As explained above, this is all very thematic. The designers worked very closely with Mike Mignola in order to achieve this level of authenticity.

In the comics, Hellboy would have none of it. He denied Rasputin, and in so doing, he denied his destiny. He refused to be anyone’s pawn, be they demon or angel. He resolved to be his own man and forge his own destiny, something only the most heroic among us will ever successfully achieve.

Of course, it doesn’t have to be that way. That’s the beauty of Vs. System; it doesn’t have to be like in the comics. Rasputin doesn’t have to die. The world can end. Very soon, all you Thule Society fans will be able to force “destiny” on those overpowered Hellboy 4-drops and teach your opponents who the true masters of the world are.