...Because it's more fun to be the Bad Guy. >=)
Really, I think about this game way too much... but it's fun, too. I spend a lot of time imagining ways to make existing Villains harder, or trying to think of new Villains with their own challenges. All of it just for fun and for the game design practice. To that end, here's a few ideas I fleshed out for some Villains.
To key out how my text lists work, I broke down the summaries as if they were pages on the website. The Cards are represented by a number in brackets [x], which is the number of that particular card in the deck. Then, the Type/Keywords, Hit Points, Card Name, and Card Text in one order or another. Sorry that they're not in a consistent order, I just don't feel like editing each of the 100+ lines to be uniform right now. Card Text is always last, though. Finally, a total number of cards in the deck is in brackets at the bottom.
First, The Cadre:
THE CADRE
Aliases: The Cadre
Age: 1 yr
Height: Various
Weight: Various
Hair Color: Various
Eye Color: Various
Birthplace: Various
Power Source: Various
Group Affiliation: The Cadre
Occupation: Criminal Organization
First Appearance: -
The lineup:
Baron Blade (Criminal Mastermind, Cadre General)
Plague Rat (Beast Lieutenant, Cadre General)
Spite (Manic Soldier, Cadre General)
Ambuscade (Assassin Elite, Cadre General)
Omnitron 3 (Sentient Devastator, Cadre General)
HP: *
SETUP: The Cadre begins play with Baron Blade in play. Then, draw 2 cards from the Villain Deck.
GAMEPLAY: Draw 2 Cards on the Villain Turn. The Cadre is defeated when all Cadre Generals are defeated and in the Villain Trash.
ADVANCED: Draw H Cards on the Villain Turn, with a minimum of 2 Cards.
[2] ONE-SHOT: "Jailbreak" Put all Cadre Generals from the Villain Trash back into play immediately. Then, shuffle the Villain Trash back into the Villain Deck and draw 2 Cards from the Villain Deck.
[1] 90 HP "Baron Blade" (Criminal Mastermind, Cadre General) At the end of the Villain Turn, all Heroes take 2 irreducible Energy Damage. / If Plague Rat is in play, Baron Blade's Damage is increased by 1. / If Spite is in play, Baron Blade's Damage is increased by 1. / If Ambuscade is in play, Baron Blade's Damage is increased by 1. / If Omnitron is in play, Baron Blade's Damage is increased by 1.
[1] 60 HP "Plague Rat (Vengeful Beast, Cadre General)" At the end of the Villain Turn, all Heroes take 2 Toxic Damage. / If Baron Blade is in play, Plague Rat's Damage is increased by 1.
[1] 70 HP "Spite (Manic Soldier, Cadre General)" At the end of the Villain Turn, all Heroes take 2 Melee Damage. / If Plague Rat is in play, Spite's Damage is increased by 1.
[1] 50 HP "Ambuscade (Assassin Elite, Cadre General)" At the end of the Villain Turn, all Heroes take 2 Projectile Damage. / If Spite is in play, Ambuscade's Damage is increased by 1.
[1] 80 HP "Omnitron 3 (Sentient Android, Cadre General)" At the end of the Villain Turn, all Heroes take 2 Lightning Damage and 2 Fire Damage. / If Baron Blade is in play, draw 1 extra Villain Card on the Villain Turn.
[4] 6 HP "Blade Battallion" (MINION) At the end of the Villain Turn, the Blade Battallion deals the Hero with the Highest HP 1 Melee Damage.
[2] 20 HP "Rampager Mech" (MINION) At the end of the Villain Turn, the Rampager Mech deals all non-Villain Targets H plus 1 Projectile Damage.
[2] 12 HP "Living Force Field" (EQUIPMENT) Reduce all Damage dealt to Baron Blade by 1.
[2] 8 HP "Backlash Wave" (EQUIPMENT) When Damage is dealt to Baron Blade, the Source dealing the Damage takes 1 Irreducible Energy Damage.
[4] 6 HP "Toxic Rat" (MINION) At the end of the Villain Turn, the Toxic Rat deals the Hero with the lowest HP 1 Toxic Damage.
[2] "Toxic Sludge" (ONGOING) All damage dealt by Plague Rat is increased by 1.
[2] "Infectious Bite" (ONGOING) Play next to a Hero. At the beginning of that Hero's Turn, this Card deals that Hero 2 Irreducible Toxic Damage. Discard H Cards from that Hero's Hand to destroy this Card.
[1] "Compound 533" (ONGOING) Increase Damage dealt by Spite, Ambuscade, and Plague Rat by 1.
[1] "Compound 534" (ONGOING) Decrease Damage dealt to Spite, Ambuscade, and Plague Rat by 1.
[2] "Compound 609" (ONE-SHOT) Spite Heals H plus 2 Hit Points.
[1] "Angel Dust" (ONE-SHOT) Spite deals all non-Villain Targets H plus 2 Melee Damage, then deals himself H minus 2 Melee Damage.
[1] "Overpower" (ONE-SHOT) The Hero with the Lowest HP must either Discard their entire Hand, or Spite deals that Hero 2 Irreducible Melee Damage and may not use any Powers nor Play a Card on their turn.
[2] "Plasma Rifle" (EQUIPMENT, LIMITED) Play next to Ambuscade. At the end of the Villain Turn, Ambuscade deals the Hero with the Highest HP H minus 1 Energy Damage.
[2] "Ablative Armor" (EQUIPMENT, LIMITED) Play next to Ambuscade. Reduce all Damage dealt to Ambuscade by 1.
[2] "Targeting Scope" (EQUIPMENT, LIMITED) Play next to Ambuscade. All Damage dealt by Ambuscade is increased by 1.
[2] "Flamethrower" (EQUIPMENT, LIMITED) Play next to Ambuscade. At the end of the Villain Turn, Ambuscade deals all non-Villain Targets 2 Fire Damage.
[2] "Paralyzer Dart" (ONE-SHOT) Ambuscade deals the Hero with the Highest HP 2 Toxic Damage. That Hero cannot Play Cards nor Use a Power on their Turn.
[2] "Compound 613" (ONE-SHOT) The next Damage that Ambuscade deals is increased by H.
[2] "Adaptive Armor Routine" (ONGOING, LIMITED) When Omnitron 3 takes Damage, it is Immune to that Damage Type until the end of the Villain Turn.
[2] "Energy Cannon" (EQUIPMENT, COMPONENT) At the beginning of each Hero's Turn, Omnitron 3 deals the Hero with the Highest HP 1 Energy Damage.
[1] "Self-Sabotage" (ONE-SHOT) Destroy all Components immediately. The next Damage Omnitron 3 deals is increased by the number of Components destroyed in this manner times 2.
[2] "Security Drone" (EQUIPMENT, COMPONENT) At the beginning of each Hero's Turn, the Security Drone deals the Hero with the Lowest HP 1 Energy Damage.
[2] "Repair Drone" (EQUIPMENT, COMPONENT) At the beginning of the Villain Turn, all Villain Targets recover 1 Hit Point.
[2] "The Master Plan" (ONE-SHOT) Play the Top Card of the Villain Trash. Then draw H plus 1 Cards from the Villain Deck and play them.
[54 total]
Backstory: The humiliation of defeat can be a powerful motivator. Following Baron Blade's second defeat at the hands of the Freedom Five, he realized his strategy needed to be adapted... alone, he was unable to deal with their combined, so he resolved to recruit aid to his cause. After a brilliantly executed escape from prison, Baron Blade sought out other villains brought low by the Freedom Five, and contacted those with goals compatible with his: Ambuscade, assassin extraordinaire... Spite, manic maniac... and Plague Rat, abomination of the underworld. After helping them escape their own individual confinements, Baron Blade happened upon classified data files and pieces of the old Omnitron project during a raid on one of Dr. Stinson's labs. Intrigued, he de-engineered the project, found it to be sophisticated - if not terribly advanced - and rebuilt the project anew.
Discovering that a rogue component of the old Omnitron had given its aid to the Freedom Five, Blade saw it as a perfect opportunity to help exact his revenge. Together, they became The Cadre, a confederation of some of the world's most infamous villains bent on the destruction of the Freedom Five. Separately, they may have been easily felled... but together, they only became stronger.
Will Baron Blade's thirst for revenge this time be quenched...?
My thinking there was, "These guys ain't very tough at all unless they get lucky... let's put 'em all together and make a supergroup that can actually stick around a little bit." Plus, supergroups are just fun. =p
Death Angel:
DEATH ANGEL
Aliases: Death Angel
Age: Timeless
Height: Unknown
Weight: Unknown
Hair Color: Varying
Eye Color: None
Birthplace: Unknown
Power Source: Infernal
Group Affiliation: Unknown
Occupation: Unholy Abomination
First Appearance: Before recorded time
HP: 616
SETUP: Shuffle the Villain Deck, and play the top card.
GAMEPLAY: Play the top card of the Villain Deck at the start of the Villain Turn.
ADVANCED: At the end of the villain turn, DEATH ANGEL deals all Heroes 1 irreducible Infernal Damage.
[1] ONE-SHOT: "Fallen Angel" The Hero with the highest Hit Points has their HP reduced to 1. This effect ignores damage immunity. Afterwards, remove this card from the game.
[1] ONE-SHOT: "Redeemed Devil" The Hero with the lowest Hit Points has their HP increased to full. This effect ignores any limiting effects. Afterwards, remove this card from the game.
[2] ONE-SHOT: "Lake of Fire" All Heroes may use a Power now. Then, all Heroes discard one card from their hand, and take 5 irreducible Infernal damage. This effect ignores damage immunity. Afterward, remove this card from the game.
[3] ONE-SHOT: "Taunt" All Heroes draw a card now.
[3] ONE-SHOT: "Demoralize" All Heroes must discard a card now.
[3] ONE-SHOT: "Withering" All Heroes must destroy one Ongoing or Equipment card now.
[3] ONE-SHOT: "Nightmare Visions" Death Angel deals the Hero with the Highest Hit Points 2 Psychic Damage, and the Hero with the lowest Hit Points 1 Psychic Damage.
[3] ONE-SHOT: "Infernal Judgment" Death Angel deals the Hero with the Highest Hit Points 1 irreducible Infernal Damage.
[3] ONE-SHOT: "Punish the Weak" Death Angel deals the Hero with the Lowest Hit Points 1 irreducible Infernal Damage.
[4] ONE-SHOT: "Possession" When this card is revealed, the Hero with the Highest Hit Points attacks the Hero to his or her immediate left for 2 irreducible Melee Damage. Then, that Hero must discard one card from his or her hand, and is dealt 1 irreducible Psychic Damage by Death Angel.
[26 total]
Backstory: Faith is a powerful weapon, and in the hands of the Evil, it can make even the meek into monstrous demons. Possessed by a tainted artifact, the human who once shared the body of Death Angel has ceased to exist, replaced by a monster driven by a cold rage and bitter thirst for destruction. Rumored by those in the Church to be the root source behind Apostate's infernal powers - and possibly the Devil himself, or at least an approximation - Death Angel made his appearance shortly after the fall of Apostate, personally bringing his vision of destruction to the Earth in lieu of his subject's abject failure. Working alone, Death Angel is nevertheless a force unlike any ever seen, more resilient than the mountains themselves. It will take an inhuman effort by the Heroes to bring down this monstrosity...
The idea here was to make a Villain that can stick around a long time and make for a long game, meanwhile giving the Heroes a legit run for their money. It's also not possible to obliterate someone like Death Angel in a half dozen rounds or so, which our group has managed to pull off sometimes. This guy, you need to plan ahead a bit and be prepared to manage your resources rather than recklessly ram your head into him.
And a little tidbit about the Hit Points number: 616 is the earliest recorded mention of the Beast's Number. Somehow it got changed to 666 and that number stuck, but 616 is the actual earliest mentioned figure for the Number.
Bastion:
BASTION
Aliases: Marcus Steadman
Height: 6' 1" / 10' 4"
Weight: 182 lb./853 lb.
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Brown
Birthplace: New York City, New York State
Power Source: Technology ("Bastion" armor suit)
Group Affiliation: None
Occupation: Villain
First Apperance: n/a
HP: 100
SETUP: Shuffle the Villain Deck, then reveal from the top of the Villain Deck until 4 playable Equipment Cards are revealed. Put them into play, then reshuffle the Villain Deck. Then draw the top H cards of the Villain Deck to complete setup.
GAMEPLAY: At the start of the Villain Turn, play the top card of the Villain Deck. At the end of the Villain Turn, Bastion deals every Hero 1 Melee Damage.
ADVANCED: Reduce all Damage dealt to Bastion by 1.
[2] EQUIPMENT (LIMITED): "Flamethrower" HIT POINTS: 8, At the end of the Villain Turn, deal all Heroes 1 Fire Damage.
[2] EQUIPMENT (LIMITED): "Lightning Gun" HIT POINTS: 8, At the end of the Villain Turn, deal all Heroes 1 Electric Damage.
[2] EQUIPMENT (LIMITED): "Minigun" HIT POINTS: 8, At the start of the Villain Turn, deal all Heroes 1 Projectile Damage.
[2] EQUIPMENT (LIMITED): "Rocket Pack" HIT POINTS: 8, At the end of the Villain Turn, deal all Heroes 2 Projectile Damage.
[2] EQUIPMENT (LIMITED): "Frost Wavegun" HIT POINTS: 8, At the end of the Villain Turn, deal all Heroes 1 Cold Damage.
[2] EQUIPMENT (LIMITED): "Plasma Rifle" HIT POINTS: 8, At the start of the Villain Turn, deal the Hero with the lowest Hit Points 1 Fire Damage.
[2] EQUIPMENT (LIMITED): "Railgun" HIT POINTS: 8, At the start of the Villain Turn, deal the Hero with the Highest Hit Points 2 Projectile Damage.
[3] EQUIPMENT: "Kevlar Plating" Reduce all Melee and Projectile Damage dealt to Bastion by 1. If Bastion takes 5 or more Damage at one time, destroy ONE Kevlar Plating, then reset the counter.
[3] EQUIPMENT : "Energy Shield" Reduce all damage dealt to Bastion by 1. If Bastion takes 5 or more Damage at one time, destroy ONE Energy Shield, then reset the counter.
[2] EQUIPMENT (LIMITED): "Ammo Drum: Hollow Points" Play under the Minigun if it is in play. Increase the Minigun's damage by an additional 1 point.
[2] EQUIPMENT (LIMITED): "Ammo Drum: Incendiary Rounds" Play under the Minigun if it is in play. Incease the Minigun's damage by an additional 1 point.
[2] EQUIPMENT (LIMITED): "Ammo Drum: Tracer Rounds" Play under the Minigun if it is in play. Damage dealt by the Minigun cannot be redirected under any means.
[2] EQUIPMENT (LIMITED): "Ammo Drum: Explosive Rounds" Play under the Minigun if it is in play. All damage dealt by the Minigun is changed to Fire, and is now irreducible. Increase the damage dealt by the Minigun by 1.
[2] EQUIPMENT (LIMITED): "Ammo Drum: Armor-Piercing Rounds" Play under the Minigun if it is in play. All damage dealt by the Minigun is now irreducible. Increase the damage dealt by the Minigun by 1.
[2] EQUIPMENT (LIMITED): "Sensor Pack" HIT POINTS: 8, Damage dealt by Bastion to a specific target cannot be redirected under any means.
[2] EQUIPMENT (LIMITED): "Nanotech Medical Bots" HIT POINTS: 16 , At the start of the Villain Turn, Bastion heals 2 Hit Points.
[2] EQUIPMENT (LIMITED): "Jetpack" HIT POINTS: 8 , Bastion plays an extra Villain Card per turn.
[2] EQUIPMENT (LIMITED): "Temporal Folder" HIT POINTS: 8 , All Heroes must choose 2 of the following on their turn: A) Play a Card, B) Use a Power, or C) Draw a Card.
[2] EQUIPMENT (LIMITED): "Genetic Resequencer" HIT POINTS: 8 , Increase Melee damage dealt by Bastion 1.
[2] ONE-SHOT: "Stimpack" Bastion regains 10 Hit Points, then destroy this card.
[2] ONE-SHOT: "Battlefield Repairs" Reclaim all destroyed Equipment cards from Bastion's Villain Trash, and put them back into play.
[2] ONGOING: "Reclamation Shield" HIT POINTS: 16 , All Damage that would be dealt to Bastion is redirected to the Reclamation Shield instead. While the Reclamation Shield is active, Bastion heals 2 Hit Points at the start of the Villain Turn, and when Bastion is targeted by a Hero Power, he heals an additional 1 Hit Point upon being targeted. When the Reclamation Shield is destroyed under any means, reclaim all destroyed Equipment cards from Bastion's Villain Trash, and put them back into play.
[44 total]
Backstory: Not all Heroes are born alike. At one time, Marcus Steadman was a brilliant scientist and innovative weapons builder, and in fact was in charge of the R&D program that developed the armor suit worn by the Indestructible Bunker: the Personal Armament Exo-Chassis YS-1300t.
But, as the saying goes, all work and no play makes Marcus a dull boy. Obsessed with his work and finding perfection, Steadman found and even convinced himself of existing flaws in the YS-1300t, and drove himself nearly to madness attempting to perfect the design. When the US Army finally pulled the plug on an updated version of the YS-1300t due to budget constraints, Marcus finally snapped, taking a prototype version of his upgraded suit with him as he ransacked the Los Alamos development lab where he was stationed.
Under the assumed name "Bastion" - the code name for his pet upgrade project - a destructive and violent crime spree ensued, where Steadman committed the various standard villainous acts: bank robbery, electronic money laundering, grand larceny of military equipment. With Bastion on the loose, the Freedom Five was called in to bring him down, capture him, and bring him to justice.
The idea here was a counterpart to Bunker, with many more options. Honestly, in my mind this is closer to what Bunker should be, rather than what he actually is; a suit that big should be loaded with weaponry that can clean the table in one or two rounds flat (except for the main Villain). Plus, who doesn't like a Good Guy Gone Bad angle?
That's all I got for now. I've got more ideas in the hopper, but they're not fully developed yet. One in particular is a Ridiculously Hard Villain that makes Voss look like a cupcake (30+ minions that can crash the board in one or two rounds and deal total damage into the twenties to thirties to the entire board collectively), and another two with no Hit Points and a special win condition.
I've also got ideas for Heroes, but I don't know if they fit the Sentinels Multiverse well.
But that's it, though. Flame away, gents and ladies.