Well, they say there's no better way to learn something new than by just doing it, so here's my first attempt at making a custom set!



The Justice League Dark gets to put their name on the box for brand recognition, but I've tried to focus on all magic related characters that I want to try my hand at. I've also added in a couple extra things in the form of familiar Bystanders and Generic Items that will be better explained later on. So, who all made the cut?

Main Theme: Justice League Dark

Subthemes: Shadowpact, Sentinels of Magic, Injustice League Dark

Chase Theme: Quintessence

Commons:
001. Zatanna
002. Zombie Brute
003. Wonder Woman
004. Shade, The Changing Man
005. Detective Chimp
006. Vampire Duchess
007. Kirk Langstrom
008a. Swamp Thing
008b. Swamp Thing
009. Black Orchid
010. Sorceress
011. Frankenstein
012. Doctor Fate (Khalid Nassour)
013. Illusionist
014. Madame Xanadu
015. Sorcerer

Uncommons:
016. Enchantress
017. Ragman
018. Tempest
019. Solomon Grundy
020. Giovani Zatara
021. Nightmare Nurse
022. Demon
023a. Doctor Occult
023b. Mr. E
024. Amethyst
025. Angel
026. Sargon the Sorcerer (Davit Sargon)
027. Papa Midnite
028. Raven
029. Bloodwynd
030. Floronic Man

Rares:
031. Circe
032. Rose Psychic
033. Nightshade
034a. Doctor Fate (Hector Hall)
034b. Doctor Fate (Kent Nelson)
035. John Constantine
036. Jason Blood
037. Blue Devil
038. Deadman
039. Zauriel
040. Nightmaster
041. Black Alice
042. Pia Morales
043. Sentinel
044. Arcane

Super Rares
045. Morpheus, King of Dreams
046. Shade
047. Animal Man
048. Manitou Raven
049a. Spectre (Jim Corrigan)
049b. Spectre (Hal Jordan)
050. Sebastian Faust
051. Eclipso

Chases:
052. Phantom Stranger
053. Ganthet
054. Hera
055. The Wizard Shazam
056. Highfather

Special Objects
s001. Ruby of Life
s002. Helmet of Fate
s003. Helmet of Fate
s004. Trident of Lucifer
s005. Sword of Night
s006. Starheart
s007. Heart of Darkness

Generic Magical items
m001. Magic Sword
m002. Magic Ring
m003. Magic Wand
m004. Magic Scroll
m005. Magic Armor
m006. Magic Boots
m007. Magic Cape
m008. Magic Helmet
m009. Magic Tome

Familiar Bystanders
f001. Owl Familiar
f002. Bear Familiar
f003. Wolf Familiar
f004. Snake Familiar
f005. Cat Familiar
f006. Bat Familiar

Fair warning to anyone who sees this before all the dials are posted. As of writing this, I currently have only the first 15 commons, the generic objects, and familiars (mostly) dialed (though I might add more of those as I go along), but the rest of the setlist is subject to change based solely on a whim. "Distribution" in this set would have 1 generic magical item and 1 familiar bystander per booster.

I'm really excited to be working on this, and if all goes to plan I'll begin posting dials on Monday! I'm looking forward to getting this out there, and feedback would be incredibly appreciated all the way through this project!

#f001 Owl
Team: No Affiliation
Range: 0
Points: 5
Keywords: Animal, Mystical

8 9 16 1

FAMILIAR: Mastermind, but may only target an adjacent friendly character with the Mystical keyword. Unique Modifier - While adjacent to only one friendly character with the Mystical keyword, once per turn, you may add 1 to the result of any roll made by that friendly adjacent character.

Design Notes: Yeah I broke. I was gonna wait til Monday, but I'm too excited to get some of these ideas out there. First up is the Owl familiar. The goal with these is to create some supportive bystanders. Each animal has a different effect, some of which are just combat support. Familiars only work with a single magic user at a time, and the one they are partnered with has the option to take on any damage they would have taken with Mastermind to keep them hanging around a little longer.

#m006 Magic Boots
10 Points
EQUIP: Any
UNEQUIP: Drop
EFFECT: Sidestep. Movement +1. If the equipped character already can use Sidestep, Charge. // Effect: Magic Boots may be equipped to a character with the Mystical keyword during Force Construction by paying their point cost. Otherwise at the beginning of the game, you may replace one of your starting objects with Magic Boots.

Design Notes: Next is a really nice pair of boots! The idea with these objects (and I hope I got the wording right) is that they can be equipped to a magic user prior to the game starting by paying the points for it, or have them available for anyone to use after the game starts by sacrificing one of your standard objects.

#001 Zatanna
Real Name: Zatanna Zatara
Team: Mystics
Range: 6
Points: 65
Keywords: , Celebrity, Justice League, Justice League Dark, Mystical

12 10 18 1

10 10 17 1

8 10 16 2

8 11 17 2

9 11 18 3

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

A TRICK I LEARNED FROM DAD: When you place your characters at the start of the game, you may turn Zantanna to click 5. If you do, this game turn her dial counter-clockwise when she is damaged and clockwise when she is healed. This trait can't be ignored.
LATROP: Phasing/Teleport, Zatanna may carry up to 3 friendly characters that share a keyword with her.
NEHTGNERTS YM SDNEIRF: Probability Control, Free: Choose one to last until your next turn: Enhancement or Empower

Design Notes: For our first character of the set we start things off with the Mistress of Magic herself, Zatanna. I love the Zatara family gimmick of being able to play the dial forwards or backwards. Beyond that, Zatanna is your run of the mill magic user with some support front dial and some hefty damage loaded up back dial. You'll notice pretty consistently throughout this set that I'm much more of a fan of shorter more dynamic dials than longer ones with consistent stats and powers. I understand the appeal of both, but this is just my preference.

Side note, it was weirdly difficult sometimes to find solid images of the 2018 Justice League Dark designs on their own.

#003 Wonder Woman
Real Name: Diana of Themyscira
Team: Wonder Woman
Range: 0
Points: 85/50
Keywords: Amazon, Justice League, Justice League Dark, Mystical, Trinity, Warrior

9 11 18 4

9 11 18 3

8 10 17 2

l l l l l l

8 10 17 2

8 10 16 2

7 9 16 3

7 9 17 2

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

WITCH-MARKED: DOUBLE POWER: Once per game, deal Wonder Woman 1 unavoidable damage. For the rest of the game, Wonder Woman has the Mystics Team Ability and FREE: Modify Attack and Damage +1, but at the end of your turn, deal Wonder Woman 1 unavoidable damage.
I THINK IT'S TIME FOR A MORE PHYSICAL APPROACH: Charge, Flurry

Design Notes: So...when I started working on this set we hadn't just had an entire set dedicated to Wonder Woman, but I did my best to make this one feel unique. I wanted to do something with the Witch-Marked idea they used in Tynion's JLD run, but wasn't sure how to properly show it. I hope Diana gaining some more Mystical oomph while damaging herself does a decent job of getting that across for those who read the comic and makes her a little more distinct from other Wonder Women for those who don't have the full context. The Witch-Marked trait could probably be more powerful to be more accurate, but she is still a common after all.

#005 Detective Chimp
Real Name: Bobo
Team: No Affiliation
Range: 0
Points: 30
Keywords: Animal, Detective, Justice League, Justice League Dark, Shadowpact

8 10 16 2

8 9 16 1

8 8 16 1

7 8 15 1

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

JIM LEFT THE MANTLE TO ME: Detective Chimp Detective Chimp may start the game with [JLD] #s003 Sword of Night equipped (at no cost).
I AM VERY MUCH A SMART APE WITH SOME CUTLERY: Leap/Climb, Precision Strike. When Detective Chimp is given a MOVE action and moves 4 squares or less, after resolutions CLOSE as FREE.
I LIKE MY LAWS OF NATURE TO STAY WHERE THEY BELONG: Outwit, Perplex. FREE: Choose an opposing character with the Mystical or Monster keywords or the Mystic Team Ability within 4 squares and line of fire and a power (standard or special) they can use. The chosen character can't use that power until your next turn.

Design Notes: Next up we've got the simian sleuth, Detective "Bobo's your uncle" Chimp. I feel kind of bad leaving him with yet another short low-costed dial, but in all honesty, I'd feel weird giving him much more than just a few clicks. He is just a smart ape with some cutlery after all. I gave him starting BCF to represent him with the Sword of Night he inherited from Jim, but he also comes with the potential to equip the sword itself (Which I'll show off a little later on; 10 imaginary points if you can take a wild guess who that comes with). His trait is pretty straight forward and just serves as a way to help him get out of tight spots. When I read the quote I used for his damage power in comic, I knew exactly what I wanted from this dial.

Side note: Anyone know any good Detective Chimp stories aside from his appearances in Justice League Dark? I love the character but I have a hard time tracking down stuff with him.

#007 Unique Kirk Langstrom
Team: No Affiliation
Range: 0
Points: 20/80
Keywords: Animal, Gotham City, Justice League, Justice League Dark, Monster, Scientist

7 6 16 0

7 6 15 0

l l l l l l

11 12 17 3

10 11 17 3

10 11 16 2

10 10 16 2

10 10 16 2

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

I HAVE SO MUCH MORE TO OFFER THAN JUST LOSING MY MIND: 20 Points Only: (autonomous), Support, Outwit and KO him when he passes the blue line.
I HAVE A BATCH OF THE CLASSIC FORMULA NOW: STOP. Hypersonic Speed. For the rest of the game Kirk Langstrom has the Batman Enemy Team Ability, , Battle Fury, and cannot be healed above this click.
I WAS ONCE A RESPECTED SCIENTIST: Perplex, but only to target other characters. When Kirk Langstrom uses it, if the target shares a keyword with him, you may instead modify the value +2 or -2.

Design Notes: I was so so curious when I found out Man-Bat was going to be a part of the JLD. I was raised on Batman and his rogue's gallery (hence the profile picture), and Kirk was one I was always interested in seeing more of. So when I find out this is Kirk trying to gain redemption for all the things he's done as Man-Bat, I was hooked. The panel where he so sadly talks about how he used to be a respected scientist and believes he can offer so much more to the world than what he has was surprisingly touching to me. This dial was really meant to represent him from the early comic and that scene in particular. It took me forever to get the wording down, so I hope I did it right; but essentially, for 20 points you get a Kirk Langstrom support-y Bystander, and full dial you get a bit of that and a whole lot of Man-Bat. This way he can fit on your JLD or Batman Enemy teams.

Is there a way to code in the autonomous symbol on it's own? :a-autonomous: doesn't seem to work.

Whoa! Jazzed for this set! I've always been interested in DC's horror heroes as I'm a big fan of Marvel's horror characters, but I've never found a great avenue in. I wanted to read Justice League Dark, but my first shot with the New 52 run didn't strike me as creepy or violent enough. I'm not sure if Shadowpact, the 2018 JLD, or DCeased would work for me. What's your take on them?

Off the cuff, I very much dig your Man-Bat dial! It's got great specificity and options. I also appreciate the Zatanna and Wonder Woman dials. Admittedly, I don't know enough about Zatanna, and have been curious why/how Wonder Woman wound up on JLD. The flexibility of Zatanna's reverse dial rules, and "Witch-Marked" offers fantastic strategic choices!

Thanks so much! I was pretty nervous to start posting these, but as soon as I did I got such a huge burst of excitement and energy to get through these dials. If you're looking for DC horror, more than anything I recommend 70s to 80s titles like Saga of the Swamp Thing (which will definitely get brought up tomorrow when I finish up the 2018 JLD lineup unless I get too excited again and post the dials tonight). I'm not a massive fan of Alan Moore in the slightest, but it was Saga of the Swamp Thing that really got me reading comic horror in the first place. Neil Gaiman's time on Sandman was also a really fun time. Both series fall pretty heavily into a lot of the edgy early Vertigo trappings, but I still very much enjoy them for what they are.

The issue with a lot of DC horror seems to be a lack of commitment. Most of their titles are fun but feel like regular superheroes in horror-ish situations. Shadowpact, from what I remember since it's been a minute since I read it, was fun just from how dysfunctional the team was. They were just a far far worse Justice League Dark, and that's what the appeal was from me. You didn't have spell slingers like Zatanna and Jason Blood, you had no-name guys Nightmaster and Ragman. That said, if you're looking for some more modern horror, I thoroughly enjoyed the most recent Hellblazer run. It was unfortunately cut very short and the ending shows it, but they went to some very dark places in that comic. It gets a little ridiculous at parts and can be pretty ridiculously heavy handed with it's theming at times, but I would've enjoyed reading more from that team.

No need for nervousness! These are all very slick dials!

Haha you're preaching to the choir with Saga of the Swamp Thing and Sandman. The former is one of my favorite runs ever, if not my favorite altogether, and it's been super influential for me. I think it's still my high bar for comics, and I judge juuuuuust about everything against it, which is probably why it's so hard for me to find awesome superhero horror comics.

It's unfortunate that it seems like outright action-horror comics aren't as in vogue as they were in the 80s & 90s (90s Marvel horror is my fave era) and that slightly-spooky-magic-fueled superhero comics are more the thing. In a way, I get it. Broader audience.

Someday the big two will get seriously back into action-horror. Someday.

I do know DC started dipping it's toes back into comic horror in 2018 with the Sandman Universe comics, but I haven't really gotten the chance to check out any of those stories other than Hellblazer so no idea how they are quality or content wise. Who knows, those might be the start of a return to the genre.

#m005 Magic Armor
10 Points
EQUIP: Any
UNEQUIP: Drop
EFFECT: Toughness. Defense +1. If the equipped character already can reduce damage for any reason, they may reduce penetrating damage. // Effect: Magic Boots may be equipped to a character with the Mystical keyword during Force Construction by paying their point cost. Otherwise at the beginning of the game, you may replace one of your starting objects with Magic Boots.

Design Notes: How about a nice suit of armor to compliment those Magic Boots you purchased the other day? The latest design from our blacksmiths not only protects your soft fleshy mortal hide, but it also possesses an enchantment that allows you to better resist powerful blows. Not a bad bargain eh?

#f006 Bat
Team: No Affiliation
Range: 0
Points: 5
Keywords: Animal, Mystical

5 10 15 1

FAMILIAR: Mastermind, but may only target an adjacent friendly character with the Mystical keyword. Unique Modifier - While adjacent to only one friendly character with the Mystical keyword, once per turn, you may add 1 to the result of any roll made by that friendly adjacent character.

Design Notes: I'm not sure how much if anything at all I'll put in the design notes for these Familiars, other than what's on their click they're all pretty much identical. That said, here's a bat.

Looks good but needs a new Black Alice and Zauriel

Thanks I'm glad you like the lineup! Zauriel is actually already on the list at #040, but I can totally add Black Alice to the list!