Every other Friday I run a Vs. Hobby league. I noticed that our gaming shop had the starters (no other shop in town seems to have them) so a friend and I picked up a starter each, plus a few extra packs after the tourney. We stopped and grabbed some beer and a few slices of pizza, then cracked open the MUB starters to give it a go.

The first game took a while, easily lasting 10 rounds (the beer probably wasn't helping our understanding of the sometimes-vague rules doc). After we played that first game we opened up the packs and spent a few minutes swapping out cards here and there to make them a little more custom.

Once you get a hang of the rules I thought the game was fast and actually quite a lot of fun. There is enough strategy there that you can build some themed decks. I don't know if I'll try to collect the set, but I will likely buy a booster here or there. I can see tossing down a game or two of this before or after my regular Vs games for some quick fun.

MUB is a good time and worth playing, but Vs. shall ever be my dark mistress!

I think that's what most of my local VS players are finding.

There is some resistance because she's not as hot as their long time girlfriend but after a few dates, they appreciate the lack of drama and attention she requires.

Give MUB a try... she's a good time.

I really like it too.

I've been looking for a new TCG to get into since SWpocketmodels let me down with all their distribution and quality management issues.

MUB is affordable, has great art, and the card design is simple yet easily strategic at the same time.

My only worry currently is whether or not the game will continue to get support from UDE in the form of set expansions or prize support (OP? is that what it's called?).

The moment I hear any news about UDE having prize support at hobby stores/tourneys, then I will make the committment plunge and buy more booster boxes to flesh out my collection.

I like this game too since the games are quicker than most other games. I'm seriously hoping UDE adds some kind of support for this.

UDE traditionally has done a better job than other companies (i.e. Wizards of the Coast) to support their products. The recent letdown in Vs due to the DC debacle was more on WB's end than UDE's. Other than that, they tend to stand by their products.

I might have to go down and grab a few more packs.

I've thought about it some.

Here are some things that would keep me buying more MUB (in order of importance).

• MUB Expansion Set Press Release
• Organized Play and Prize Support
• UDE point cards included in card packs
• More detailed rulings and game play explanations

Since I am fairly new to VS (I've got the Hellboy set but no one sells or plays in my area), what are Point cards?

Also, is Organized Play the same as tournaments? If so, I would think MUB is more suited for Hobby League (if I understand the concept) where gaming is more casual to make it kid friendly which is the target demographic.

I played my first game last night with my son who turns 10 this month. He also plays Chaotic and has played Pokemon with his friends (not sure they really played to the actual rules) so he is familiar with using action/interrupt cards. He actually beat me which was nice, to be honest. He didn't read all the card text (mostly those you can only play on defense/intercept) so he had some do-overs but he still played well.

So, I like this game mostly because I am a superhero fan (if it has superheroes in it, I'll try it). I'll probably buy some boosters as we both have a starter deck and show him how to build decks around his heroes. I'd like to teach him VS but, to be honest, VS seems so complex that I'm not sure I'm even ready to play...

Point Cards are packaged in boosters/boxes/starters released by Upper Deck(UDE). You make an account online at their website and enter in the code from the point card. You collect points to redeem free stuff like promo cards and tokens and binders.

It's like the coca-cola/coke rewards program.

To me, Organized Play is anything. Official Tourneys or Hobby Leagues. Both tend to get prize support, which is what I really mean by OP --- sponsorship by UDE for playing in group environments.

MUB is definetely more Hobby League setting (currently at least), which I wouldn't mind at all. MUB has potential to get Tournament status if more expansions, gameplay additions, and rule updates are added.

I run a Vs. System hobby league and would certainly not mind running an Ultimate Battles league for younger players. Ideally I would like to run them at the same time. As the younger players get good at it, they may grow interested in MUB's older, sexier sister. If not then at least we're all playing and having fun. And...if I ran them at the same time I could play whichever game had an odd number of players to even things out. Everybody wins! :D

Thanks for the explanation.

I agree. I am not one for tournaments or super competitive gaming but I would certainly enjoy some UDE supported OP of MUB or VS.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I do believe that UDE does support VS system. Currently I believe there are tournaments. Not sure if there is prize support though. VS veterans will have to regale us on that.

I don't play VS except on DS. (=

Sorry, I meant I wish that there was support in my area. :)

a friend of mine that works at target told me about these cards and I immediately got myself into getting a starter deck and after a few games I got myself a booster box (online). what can i say, i liked the game a lot and the art kicked arse.

with 2 starters and a booster box, I managed to make 2 equally very strong decks with separate heroes and strategies; deck 1 is Hulk, Thing, and Venom and the strategy is power fighting. deck 2 is Ironman, Nightcrawler, and Dr. Doom and the strategy is mind fighting. I would like to make a Speed deck eventually after i get a few more cards.

all in all, i think this game is great, there is a lot of room for house rules in case you aren't happy with the rules they give you. it is an easy game to learn, and it has a lot of possibilities for different deck strategies.

That's what I said here: http://obsidian3d.blogspot.com/