Something has happened to love. Over the course of history, it’s gotten distilled. Sanskrit has 96 words for love; ancient Persian has 80; Greek has 3; and English has only 1. Modern man continues to experience an infinite variety of emotional states, but a single 4-letter word has taken them all upon its back.

 

That is a heavy responsibility for such a little word. Love is strong; it does not shy away from the challenge. Love is alive today in every place on Earth. We can even find it flourishing in Vs. System.

 

Vs. System is a trading card game blueprint that builds its walls with myth. Comic book superheroes provide the most powerful and longest-lasting myths of history’s Modern Age. Our pulp-based heroes and villains do not command our worship, but they do command our attention.

 

If we want to remember what it was like to honor myths as deities and partners, we simply need to look to Ancient Greece. During that age, people didn’t just play on the kitchen table with cardboard representations of their heroes—they interacted with them directly.

 

Although we have, for the most part, lost our belief in the power of mythological gods and goddesses, we still derive hours of entertainment from our modern imaginary superheroes—and they still get frisky when it comes to love. Bizarre love triangles and crazy couplings abound in both the Marvel and DC Comic universes.

 

Justin “Latuki Joe” Brady plays Vs. System at Vintage Stock in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. He had a lovely idea for a new format that exploded into his head like this:

“Valentine's Day. A day all about love. Why shouldn't VS players celebrate together, as well? Oh, right . . . A lot of us are men. Still, the day was created to exploit couples for financial gain. Why shouldn't we do the same?”

And so, the Valentine’s Day format was born. Justin will be playing it in his Hobby League this week, and you should give it a try too.

 

The Valentine’s Day format is unofficial and strictly casual, but boy, is it fun. You must only use characters that have appeared as part of a couple in a comic book. If you can bring in the issue where the couple appeared, they are legal for the format. Justin compiled an excellent roster with the assistance of the VsRealms community forums, but a truly complete list will never be possible since new romance sprouts in the comic myths every week.

 

Here are some of the pairs that have hooked up in the books. You can include any printed versions in your Valentine’s Day deck:

 

Marvel Comics

 

Mr. Fantastic + Invisible Woman
Human Torch + Lyja
Human Torch + Crystal
Shadowcat + Colossus
Jean Grey + Cyclops
Scarlet Witch + Vision
Daredevil + Elektra
Spider-Man + Mary Jane Watson
Jarvis + Aunt May
Mystique + Destiny
Magneto + Rogue
Iceman + Polaris
Cyclops + Emma Frost
Hank Pym + Wasp
Hawkeye + Black Widow
Iron Man + Black Widow
Hawkeye + Karla Sofen ◊ Moonstone
Songbird + Beetle
Atlas + Dallas Riordan
Psylocke + Archangel
Wolverine + Jean Grey
Daredevil + Typhoid Mary
Invisible Woman + Sub-Mariner
Havok + Polaris
Spider-Man + Black Cat
Scarlet Witch + Wonder Man
Invisible Woman + Dr. Doom
Vivisector + Phat
Wolverine + Elektra
Kingpin + Vanessa Fisk
Daredevil + Black Widow
Quicksilver + Crystal
Dr. Octopus + Aunt May
Thing + Alicia Masters
Silver Surfer + Alicia Masters
Forge + Storm
Wyatt Wingfoot + She-Hulk
Sabretooth + Mystique
Hyperion + Power Princess
Golden Archer + Lady Lark
Cloak + Dagger
Thor + Enchantress
Daredevil + Echo
Carnage + Shriek
Professor X + Moira MacTaggert
Banshee + Moira MacTaggert
Gambit + Rogue
Wolverine + Mystique
Wolverine + Storm
Wolverine + Carol Danvers
Storm + Black Panther
Captain America + Scarlet Witch
Dazzler + Human Torch
Dazzler + Longshot

Spiral + Longshot

 

DC Comics

Tim Drake + Spoiler
Dick Grayson + Koriand'r ◊ Starfire
Dick Grayson + Barbara Gordon
Dick Grayson + Huntress
Dinah Laurel Lance + Oliver Queen
Dinah Laurel Lance + Ra's Al Ghul
Batman + Talia
Batman + Catwoman
Superboy + Cassie Sandsmark
Donna Troy + Kyle Rayner
Donna Troy + Roy Harper
Kyle Rayner + Jade
Hal Jordan + Carol Ferris
Katma Tui + John Stewart
Superman + Lois Lane
Superman + Maxima
Superman + Amazing Grace
Superman + Lana Lang
Wally West + Raven
Raven + Beast Boy
Big Barda + Mister Miracle
Batman + Wonder Woman
Bane + Talia
Ultraman + Superwoman
Owlman + Superwoman
Elongated Man + Sue Dibny
Joker + Harley Quinn
Cassandra Cain + Connor Kent
Alan Scott + Harlequin
Lana Lang + Superman
Katar Hol + Shayera Thal
Captain Atom + Maxima
Guy Gardner + Ice
Valkyra + Orion
Pantha + Red Star
Kyle Abbot + Whisper A'Daire
Beautiful Dreamer + Big Bear

 

 

Each couple gets a bonus when they are in play together. Most couples have an additional love interest or two that could get in the way of their happiness—or simply make things more interesting. That deserves a bonus in itself. All bonuses are flexible in this format. Your local play group can decide for itself how best to reward your favorite cardboard couples. Each couple you control could receive +1 ATK / +1 DEF while you control both characters. They could power each other up with every attack like Nth Metal. Each “third wheel” could give an extra +3 ATK / -3 DEF. You could even give each couple the search abilities of Hank Hall ◊ Hawk and Dawn Granger ◊ Dove so they could find each other in the dark night of the deck. Explore the possibilities of love in Vs. System in any way you see fit.

 

Love fits in many different places, and it is not only about romance. Sanskrit teaches us a wide variety of possibilities: love for all people, love for the planet itself, and love for many things that we take for granted today. Vs. System makes us all brothers in arms, even if our weapons are merely printed on paper.

 

 

Rian Fike is also known as stubarnes, and he knows that all true happiness is the byproduct of love. He also knows that the Vs. System community is overflowing with it. You can contact him directly at rianfike@hattch.com.