As lead designer of Infinite Crisis, I got to write the first preview for the set, and now I’ve taken the responsibility of writing the last one. It was very difficult to decide which cards to reveal and which ones to leave for a surprise at the Sneak Preview tomorrow, but I hope at this point that you’re all as excited as I am about what’s in store. Who knows—maybe if you’re good, I’ll include an extra preview in this article.

Now, on to the card . . .

Adrian Chase ◊ Vigilante represents the old guard of Checkmate. In order to flesh out the team more fully, we included a lot of characters from the 80’s comic book era, and Vigilante is one of the cooler ones. He also introduces the last new keyword from Infinite Crisis: backup. 

Backup powers are activated abilities that must be used during the build phase. Many backup effects make other characters more powerful, so backup allows you to combine the abilities of multiple smaller characters to make one character stronger. This mechanic fits Checkmate perfectly, because it allows the non–super powered members of the team to combine forces when taking on their enemies.

I knew what power I wanted for Vigilante as soon as I saw his art. This is one of my favorite pieces in the set, and it imparts the flavor of Vigilante guarding from the rooftops and seeking revenge on anyone who dares to stun one of his allies. In the comics, Adrian Chase was a district attorney who was building a case against the mob. When his investigation got too deep, the mob planted a car bomb that killed his wife and child. Enraged and crazed by the loss of his family, Adrian donned the Vigilante mask and proceeded to mete out his own form of justice. Vigilante is one of only two costumed operatives who have been utilized by Checkmate. (Hint: The other one also appears in this set.)

Vigilante’s power represents his sense of justice—if you hurt one of his friends, he’ll hurt you. This is more than just flavor, however. The huge potential power of letting your smallest character stun any attacker is not to be underestimated. Vigilante is reminiscent of Sinestro, Green Lantern of Korugar, who was a real powerhouse from the Green Lantern set. While Vigilante isn’t quite as powerful as Sinestro, he is able to influence the board a full two turns earlier, creating difficult attack decisions for your opponent. In addition, Vigilante’s power works even if he becomes stunned during combat, so unlike with Sinestro, you can be secure that Vigilante’s power will be effective.

As with all of the backup powers, Adrian presents you with a difficult choice. Since he is a concealed character, you will often be inclined to attack with him instead of exhausting for his effect. This kind of tension creates interesting decision points in the game and helps balance out Adrian’s powerful ability. But, as always, it’s a lot more fun to cheat the disadvantage rather than to play around it. After all, why not get your free stun and then attack as well? Try teaming-up Checkmate and JSA to get access to the powerful location The Rock of Eternity, which allows you both to use your backup characters and then attack with them!

Even without teaming-up, Infinite Crisis introduces ways to help you get the most out of Vigilante. He works much better when you can control which of your characters are visible and which are hidden, and Checkmate has such a tool in Rook Control.

With Rook Control, you can move Vigilante into the visible area and use his power on himself while simultaneously protecting one of your more vulnerable characters. Rook Control highlights another one of Checkmate’s chess themes, allowing you to “castle” one of your kings into the hidden area for protection. Checkmate makes excellent use of locations as a resource, and even single copies of narrow-purpose locations can be very valuable for the team when searched for by cards like Ahmed Samsarra, White King.