DC Deck-Building Game: Arkham Asylum – Shadows Expansion
DC Deck-Building Game: Arkham Asylum – Shadows Expansion Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 8 Oversized DC Character Cards
- 8 Unique Starter Cards
- 18 Nemesis Cards
- 18 Main Deck Cards
- 1 Randomizer Card
- 1 Multiverse Divider
- 2 Oversized Team Coffer Cards
- 4 Turn Order Cards
- 1 Rulebook
Oversized Characters
We recommend each player uses a Character from this expansion (or the Arkham Asylum base game), but you are free to mix these Characters with those from other games. Each Character in this expansion has a unique Starter card that replaces a Punch in their Starter deck. Look for your Character's name to the right of the card type on the unique Starters. If you are playing with a Character from a different set, draw 2 unused unique Starter cards and choose one of them for your Starter deck.
Nemesis Cards
The new Nemesis cards can be used to create their own Nemesis stack or mixed with the Nemesis cards from the base set you are playing. Follow the Nemesis stack setup rules for the base set you are using. Note that the blue-backed Nemesis cards should only be used as the final Nemesis in the stack.
Reminder: The terms Nemesis, Super Hero, and Super-Villain are interchangeable on standard-sized cards. Abilities that affect Super-Villains also apply to Super Heroes and vice versa.
Victory Point (VP) Tokens
When you gain 1 or more Victory Points (abbreviated as VPs), gain the designated amount of VP tokens and place them on your Character. If you don't have a base game with VP tokens, you can use dice or coins as substitutes. The amount of VP tokens you have is public information. If an ability causes you to lose VP tokens, but you do not have enough, lose as many as you can. You cannot go into negative VP tokens. At the end of the game, VP tokens you still have will add to your score.
Bribing Cards
A Bribe card has a "Bribe banner" in the middle of the card. This banner tells you how many VPs it costs to Bribe the card while it is in the Line-Up. During your turn, you may pay the VP cost listed in the Bribe banner on a card in the Line-Up to Bribe that card. When you Bribe a card, play it, but put it above the Line-Up instead of into your play area. You will resolve all abilities of the card as if you had played it from your hand. The Bribed card is no longer part of the Line-Up, so you may not buy it this turn. You are considered to control the Bribed card while it remains above the Line-Up. If the Bribed card is Ongoing, you may use its Ongoing ability this turn. At the end of your turn, put all the cards you Bribed that are still above the Line-Up on the bottom of the main deck in the order you Bribed them.
2 vs. 2 Team Variant
This game mode has two teams of two players battle it out across the streets of Gotham City. Teammates should sit next to each other so they can compare hands and discuss strategies and put their Team Coffer card between them. You can choose to have both teams play as only Super-Villains or Super Heroes or allow a mix of Super-Villains and Heroes on each team. Similarly, you may choose to have each team's Nemesis stack be only Super-Villains or Super Heroes or embrace true chaos and have them be a mix of both.
Setup
Turn Order: Deal out the Turn Order cards so that the players on one team have the numbers 1 and 3 and the other team's players have the numbers 2 and 4. The team with the odd numbers will play first.
Character Selection: Deal each team 3 Characters for the players to choose from. Players may reference each Character's unique Starter card to help with their selection.
Nemesis Stack: Each team creates a Nemesis stack with one Nemesis each of Levels 1, 2, 3, and 4 and places their Nemesis stack on their side of the other card stacks. Nemesis cards should be in ascending order from top to bottom with Level 1 on top and Level 4 on the bottom.
Starting VP: The team going second starts with 1 VP on their Team Coffer card.
Gameplay
Players will take their individual turns based on the number on their Turn Order card. This will have teams alternating turns. You are free to ask your teammate for advice on which cards to buy or destroy, but each player has the final decision of what they do during their turn.
Attack cards you play only affect the players on the opposing team. Players can only defeat Nemesis cards from their team's Nemesis stack. When you defeat a Nemesis card, the next Nemesis's First Appearance — Attack only affects you and your teammate. If a Nemesis has a Stack Ongoing ability, it does not affect the opposing team.
Each team has their own Team Coffer card that lists abilities they can use during the game by placing one of their VP tokens onto the Team Coffer card.
- The first ability can be used during your turn to pass the next card with cost 7 or less you would gain to your teammate's discard pile. The player that is passed the card is the player that gains the card. The active player does not trigger any "when gained" abilities from the card they passed, but their teammate does trigger any "when gained" abilities from gaining that card.
- The second ability can be used at any time to allow your teammate to use one of their Defense cards to have you avoid an Attack. Note that this does not cause both players to avoid the Attack. Two Defense cards are needed in order for both players to avoid an Attack. The player that owned the Defense card resolves any reward text on the used Defense card.
Note that you cannot use the ability on the Team Coffer card if you do not have any VP tokens. VPs on the Team Coffer cannot be lost or stolen, but can be used by either player to Bribe cards during their turn. A player may use a combination of their own VP tokens and VP tokens from their Team Coffer to Bribe. VP tokens on the Team Coffer count toward your end of game score.
End Game
The game ends at the end of the turn when either Nemesis stack is emptied, or when the Line-Up cannot refill to 5 cards. Each player counts their VPs like normal, then each team's score is determined by adding together each player's individual VPs plus the VPs on their Team Coffer card. The team with the higher total VPs wins. If VP totals are tied, use the normal tiebreakers to determine which team won.
Weakest Link Team Mode
For players who want even more of a cooperative challenge! This variant uses the same rules as the 2 vs. 2 Team Mode, but changes how the winning team is determined. When players are counting their VPs, divide the VP tokens on the Team Coffer card between each player on the team. If there is an odd number, it goes to the player on the team with fewer VPs. Each team's score is equal to the VPs of the player on that team with the lower total VP value. Compare those scores and the team with the higher value wins. If there is a tie, teams compare the total VPs of the other player on the team before checking normal tiebreakers.
Specific Card Clarifications
Bane (Character): You have to play a Weakness to use its return to stack ability.
Bane (Nemesis): You cannot use the ability of a Character while they are face down, but you are still that named Character.
Flaming Blade: Cards destroyed by Super-Villain Attacks occur before your turn starts and won't trigger this card's ability.
What if I gain -1 VP? If an ability would cause you to gain a negative amount of VP tokens, you do not gain or lose any tokens. Treat negative gains of VP tokens as 0.