Heroes of Metro City is a Super Hero Deck Building game.

Title: Heroes of Metro City

Year Published: 2013

Designer: David Boostrom, James H. Waller

Publisher: 3Some Games Inc

Players: 2-4

Game Time: 60+ Mins

Set-up Time: >5 Mins

Ages: 12+

Theme: Super Hero

Mechanic: Deck Building

How to win: Defeat the Arch-enemy.

Game Description

Heroes of Metro City is a deck-building card/board game in which each player represents a super-powered Hero of his own design who must stop their Archenemy’s nefarious plan to destroy Metro City. Devastate your enemies with thousands of possibilities and choices for your character. The base game includes over twenty explosive Power cards and many iconic Energy Sources, and a randomized subset of these will be selected for each game. It’s an exciting array of possibilities for your customized super-powered Hero.

Heroes of Metro City Set Up

First, you need to build up Metro City. The buildings of Metro City are made up of stacks of cards for you to buy.

You can use the suggested set-up, choose piles or use the randomiser cards. The Origin Story and Spark of Energy cards will be there every game. You select 2 more stacks of Energy cards and 8 stacks of Power cards (3 of which must be Melee and/or Ranged).

The Minion, Villain and Archenemy are shuffled with the top card of each stack turned face up.

Each player takes 5 Origin Story cards and 5 Spark of Energy cards to start their deck. Now players get to pick from powers on the table to get their character going.

Player 1 has 5 Plot Points to spend on any number of cards from the stack. Player 2 has 6, Player 3 has 7 and Player 4 has 8. Once players have picked their cards, they shuffle them all together to build their deck.

Then players choose a name to write on their Hero board.

Each player draws 5 cards and the game begins…

Heroes of Metro City Game Play

The game is played over 6 Phases.

1 – Reinforce Enemies

If a Minion or Villain was defeated in the last turn, the top card of that stack is turned face up.

2 – Activate Powers

Players can slot Energy cards onto their player board and activate Powers if they have the Energy requirement.

3 – Battle Enemies

If the Damage from your Powers is equal to or greater than the Life value of the Archenemy, you can defeat them to win the game.

If it is only enough to defeat a Minion or Villain, you can gain that card and add it to your deck, or discard it to the rubble pile.

4 – Story Development

Plays can use Plot points from cards in their hand to buy one card from those available.

5 – City Destruction

Any undefeated Enemies now attack Metro City with the Police and Military helping you out. Roll a D12 that matches the colours of the surviving Enemies and hope you roll over a certain number (Depending on the player count).

If the Roll is over and the good guys save the day. Roll under and that Enemy will activate, usually removing cards from the stacks in Metro City to the rubble pile.

On your turn, you can make a ‘Heroic Sacrifice’ by removing a card from your hand to the Rubble Pile instead if it’s the same type as the one the Enemies are destroying.

6 – Clean-up

Put Powers and cards from your hand in your discard pile. Put any slotted Energy cards from your player board into your discard pile too, if you want, you don’t have to.

Drawback up to 5 cards, play continues left.

Game End

If the Archenemy is defeated, the player that delivered the blow wins.

If the Archenemy uses their City Destruction Power and there are no cards available to Destroy, and the active player can not save the day with a ‘Heroic Sacrifice’, the Enemies win.

Heroes of Metro City Round-Up

Let’s start with setting up your character. Being able to take cards and choose a name for the current game is great. It’s a lot of fun.

There’s also a point to it. Some cards give you a bonus for having a certain name so it’s not just a gimmick. For example, ‘Affinity with Nature’ is an Energy card that provides 2 Energy. When it is used to activate a Power if that player has an Animal in their name they get to draw a card. Thematically this is pretty cool.

The theme is great with terms like “Origin Story’ used for those initial plot points and ‘Spark of Energy’ for that first feeling of Super Power.

Downsides

The cards themselves are great. Not only the artwork but the cards have nice visible boxes showing you which phase of the game the card is activated in. This is a great idea and works really well.

The City Destruction and Heroic Sacrifice portions are quite odd though. More often than not you can ditch a card from your hand as a ‘Heroic Sacrifice’ and as anyone knows removing cards from your deck in a deck-building game is all-powerful. It’s easy to do and can actually help shape your deck in the long run.

Heroes of Metro City Rating

It’s good and more than just a deck-building game.

I give it 7/10

Initial Review September 2013

I backed this game on Kickstarter over a year ago. In that time deck building games have grown a lot and there are TONNES of them. I was really looking forward to this but I was worried that in the year from Kickstarter end to Kickstarter delivery; this would be lost in the pile of other deck-building games.

Thankfully, unlike Pixel Lincoln, this one still works really well.

To win, you need to hit the Arch-enemy once. If the Bad Guys try to destroy something but can’t because there is nothing left, they win.

Once you have chosen your powers you then use the dry wipe board to name your Hero… this is pretty important and not fluff.

Some cards give you a bonus if you have a certain ‘thing’ in your name. For example, ‘Affinity to Nature’ gives you a bonus if you have an animal in your name. I chose a life drain Power card, hence the name “Drainy”.

So this leads to lots of laughs before turn one.

It was fun. VERY hard but fun. The Arch-enemy had 8 health and between us, I think we dealt 6 at the most. I’m looking forward to playing this one again, lots.

Shame the Deck Protectors from the Kickstarter are being shipped later as the card stock is that kind of card that scuffs and whitens quite easily.

But, having said that, good game, lot’s of fun and one that will be in my collection for a while.

Jesta ThaRogue