Today begins a full two weeks of Hellboy Essential Collection previews! Sorry, but there’s no need to scroll down today; I’m not previewing a card, just everything you get in the heavy-as-rocks slipcase. Inside said slipcase are two—count ’em, two!—UDEck cases, each one holding a 60-card preconstructed deck. It’s the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense vs. the Thule Society in a battle for the very continuation of life as we know it.
Within the two decks you will find 55 new cards among the total of 120 total cards. (No, that doesn’t mean that every card is repeated 2.18 times.) There are a couple of cards that you really only need one of, and some that you need three or four of. For the most part, cards are at least duplicated, so if you want a full playset, a second box or some trading will get you there quite easily. Note that I didn’t say the total of 120 cards was the “grand total” card count—that’s because each box comes with a set of five parallel foil cards, making the grand total 125 cards per box. There are eleven different five-card foil packs, so a Hellboy collector will easily be able to figure out which packs he or she still needs to complete a foil set. The five cards in each pack will always appear together, though the packs are randomly distributed in the Hellboy release.
The Hellboy Essential Collection will be legal for tournament play in all three of our primary Constructed tournament formats: Golden Age, Silver Age, and Modern Age. It will even be legal in time for the upcoming Pro Circuit in Sydney. It does not count as one of the four or eight sets in Modern Age or Silver Age, respectively, so it won’t bump out a set that would normally be legal in these formats. Hellboy will rotate out of Silver Age and Modern Age along with the Marvel Team-Up set.
What collection would be complete without an original art lithograph, 100 of which are signed by Mike Mignola himself? These 5” x 7” prints (suitable for pinning up in your cube) will show the world that you are not someone with whom to be trifled.
Leaving a paper trail is something to be avoided on general principle (except at the Pro Circuit), so these handy endurance trackers are great for your kitchen table games. Each tracker is themed to one of the two teams, is made of durable plastic, and doubles as a ninja throwing star should you lose (not likely).
The rulebook. A thing of Paul Ross–Certified ™ beauty. While Hellboy-themed to be sure, it is truly the first comprehensive Vs. System rulebook to be found this side of the internets. In full color and with a full glossary, this is the one book you’ll want to have within arm’s reach of every game of Vs. you play from now until Alpha Flight (sorry Jeff). Don’t remember the rules for transferable? In there. Don’t remember what happens if you want to replace a resource but have no cards in your deck? In there. My name at the top of the credits page? In there.
There are quick-start guides, and then there are the very quick. This one’s so quick we don’t even bother with the first three turns of the game. Who wants to see an incredibly exciting turn 1, “attack direct for 2,” when there are occultists, slimy monsters, and big, red dudes waiting to fight it out? Sometimes seeing how the game is supposed to look during a mid-game turn is more valuable than a demonstration of how to put a character from your hand into play.
Beyond what you see above, this collection promises to give you some of the best art in the industry, some of the best card names in the industry, and enough Hellboy action to choke a graphic novel. The time period covered in the cards spans the entirety of the series to date, from Hellboy’s “birth” through his leaving the team behind. You’ll find characters and events from the B.P.R.D. comic book as well.
Each of the preconstructed decks features two themes. The cards you draw will usually set you off on one path or the other, though they merge easily, often, and to great benefit. With two themes per deck and most cards being two-ofs, game variance promises to be high for a great deal of replayability.
The Thule Society highlights KO’ing stunned characters and an Army theme. Instead of a score of 1-drops like a typical Army deck, the team features a curve of Army and Army-support characters. Going off curve is certainly possible and may be the correct choice in many cases, however. As for the KO theme, you’ll see that soon enough (okay, Wednesday and Thursday).
The B.P.R.D. features Hellboy’s story arc and an equipment theme. The B.P.R.D. have a long and . . . interesting . . . history with their equipment. You’ll have as much fun as they do, I’m sure. As for the Hellboy story arc theme, I’ll let Mr. Humpherys tackle that one tomorrow in the first of nine days of card previews.
Tomorrow's Preview: