I've really enjoyed participating in this contest and reading the submissions by others. I worked on mine with two friends. They're a bit wordy, and not in separate documents, just pasted below. They err on the higher side of complexity and difficulty, and I'm not quite sure if the numeric balance on the powers is right. I put some design considerations and variations below each, since they were included with my entry. Enjoy.
VILLAIN SUBMISSION: ANOMALY
Villain Name: Anomaly (Scourge of the Multiverse / Scourge of the Negaverse).
Design Concept: Anomaly is a villain that requires the heroes to fight on two separate planes of reality, the Multiverse and the Negaverse, dealing with the invasion of Anomaly's minions in each in order to successfully stop Anomaly from destroying the Multiverse and the Negaverse. The deck uses a flipping mechanic that turns cards face-down and face-up to delineate whether they are available to the characters at any given time. Face down cards do not have any keywords or rules text, and can only be targeted by cards that specifically reference face down cards. Players may look at face down cards at any time.
Story: The destruction of Baron Blade's first Terralunar Impulsion Beam left a small tear in reality that went unnoticed by the heroes. Over time, this tear, feeding on the energies of the Multiverse around it, grew larger and stronger, developing into a sentient Anomaly. Anomaly knew only hunger, and searched through all realities for realms upon which it could feast and grow stronger. Anomaly uses its energy to create void beasts that it sends into each reality it invades so that they may feast upon the energy there and make Anomaly stronger. Having grown strong enough, Anomaly has finally turned its insatiable hunger on the Multiverse and the Negaverse, two realms to which it is closely connected.
Villain Description: Anomaly is a whirling vortex siphoning life energy out of any universe it inhabits. It tears through the fabric of space and time, creating a portal into alternative realities. Anomaly [Scourge of the Multiverse] is pictured as a purple/black tear in the sky over Megalapolys, with people underneath scared and pointing up at it and with a vortex pointed towards the left of the card. Anomaly [Scourge of the Negaverse] is a green/black tear in the sky over a destroyed and ruined cityscape, with dead bodies littering the ground and with a vortex pointed towards the right side of the card.
Villain Card Mechanics: Anomaly starts the game with the [Scourge of the Multiverse] side up. Anomaly has 100 HP. Anomaly [Scourge of the Multiverse] side reads:
Setup: At the start of the game, place the environment deck to the left side of the Villain Character Card. Choose a second environment deck and place this environment deck to the right of the Villain Character Card. Each player puts a copy of the "In the Multiverse" card face up in front of their Hero.
Villain and Environment cards to the left of the Villain Character Card are considered "In the Multiverse". Villain and Environment cards to the right of the Villain Character Card are considered "In the Negaverse". Cards "In the Multiverse" cannot be targeted or affected by cards "In the Negaverse". Cards "In the Negaverse" cannot be targeted or affected by cards "In the Multiverse". Anomaly is considered "In the Multiverse" and "In the Negaverse" at all times.
Play cards from the Villain deck to the left of the Villain Character Card. If 7 - H minions are in play "In the Negaverse", Anomaly is immune to damage. At the end of the Villain Turn, Anomaly deals each hero target H-1 energy damage. Anomaly reduces damage from targets "In the Negaverse" by 2. Only play environment cards from the environment deck "In the Multiverse". Environment cards in play "In the Negaverse" act as normal, abiding by the rules above.
Anomaly [Scourge of the Negaverse] side reads:
Villain and Environment cards to the left of the Villain Character Card are considered "In the Multiverse". Villain and Environment cards to the right of the Villain Character Card are considered "In the Negaverse". Cards "In the Multiverse" cannot be targeted or affected by cards "In the Negaverse". Cards "In the Negaverse" cannot be targeted or affected by cards "In the Multiverse". Anomaly is considered "In the Multiverse" and "In the Negaverse" at all times.
Play cards from the Villain deck to the right of the Villain Character Card. If 7 - H minions are in play "In the Multiverse", increase all damage dealt by Anomaly by 3. At the end of the Villain Turn, Anomaly deals each hero target 1 Irreducible Toxic Damage. Anomaly reduces damage from targets "In the Multiverse" by 2. Only play environment cards from the environment deck "In the Negaverse". Environment cards in play "In the Multiverse" act as normal, abiding by the rules above.
In the Multiverse Cards: During setup, each hero has a copy of "In the Multiverse" placed in front of them. This card says "In the Negaverse" on the back. The cards use a flip mechanic to delineate which reality the hero and their equipment/mechanical golems/ongoing effects are in. This card reads as follows:
"In the Multiverse": This hero is considered "In the Multiverse". Facedown cards in front of the hero are considered "In the Negaverse" and have no keywords or other text. On their turn, the hero may skip their play or power phase in order to turn over all cards in play in front of the hero, including this card.
"In the Negaverse": This hero is considered "In the Negaverse". Facedown cards in front of the hero are considered "In the Multiverse" and have no keywords or other text. At the start of the heroes turn, the hero deals themself 1 irreducible psychic damage and plays the top card of their deck. The hero may skip their play or power phase in order to turn over all cards in play in front of the hero, including this card.
Villain Deck:
General: The Villain Deck would be comprised primarily of Minions. The Minions would be damaged focused, but would have a bevy of abilities that allow for travel between the two realities. Examples include (but may need adjustment for balance):
Void Ripper (3 copies, Picture: A large, clawed void creature hurling Haka through a portal as Visionary watches in fear)
Minion, HP 7
When Void Ripper comes into play, the hero target with the highest HP flips over all cards in front of them. At the end of the Villain Turn, the Void Ripper deals the hero target with the lowest HP H toxic damage.
Void Shifter (3 copies, Picture: A void creature dissipating as a blast of fire from Ra passes through its body)
Minion, HP 9
When Void Shifter enters play, flip the Villain Character Card
When Void Shifter is dealt damage, move the Void Shifter to the other side of the Villain Character Card. At the end of the Villain Turn, Void Shifter deals the hero target with the highest HP H-2 damage.
Void Thief (2 copies, Picture: A long legged void creature pouncing on Expatriette, Prejudice in his claw above his head)
Minion, HP 4
At the end of the Villain Turn, Void Thief deals each hero target 1 toxic damage. Each hero must flip over one face up ongoing, equipment, or mechanical golem card Any hero that did not flip over one face up ongoing, equipment or mechanical golem card takes 3 toxic damage.
When Void Thief is destroyed, each hero may take one face down card in front of them into their hand, then each player may play that card.
Void Constructor (1 copy, Picture: A large amorphous void entity spraying parts of itself onto Void creatures engaged in combat with the heroes)
Minion, HP 12
At the end of the Villain Turn, Void Constructor heals the Villain Target with the lowest HP for H + 1. Void Constructor deals toxic damage to itself equal to the the HP it heals (does not count over-healing, if Void Constructor heals no damage, it deals no damage to itself)
When Void Constructor is destroyed, reveal cards from the Villain Deck until a minion is revealed. Put that Minion into play to the "In the Multiverse". Reveal cards from the Villain Deck until a minion is revealed. Put that Minion into play "In the Negaverse".
Void Snatcher (3 copies, Picture: A winged void creature carrying Unity in its claws through a portal)
Minion, 5 HP
When the Void Snatcher enters play, the hero target with the lowest HP flips over all cards in front of him, then the Void Snatcher moves to the other side of the Villain Character Card.
At the end of the Villain Turn, the Void Snatcher deals the Hero target with the lowest HP 2 toxic damage.
Void Rift (2 copies, Picture: A rip in the sky that is pouring out void creatures as Absolute Zero is blasting it with a ray of frost)
Ongoing
When Void Rift enters play, flip the Villain Character Card.
At the start of the Villain turn, a hero may reveal the top card of their library. If it is a one shot, the hero may discard it to destroy this card. If it is not a one shot, the hero takes 2 irreducible energy damage.
At the end of the Villain turn, reveal the top 2 cards of the villain deck and put any minions revealed into play.
Planar Interference (1 copy, Picture: Tempest standing in front of a Void portal, holding his head in pain)
Ongoing
When this card comes into play, flip the Villain Character Card.
While Planar Interference is in play, hero's may not flip over cards. Planar interference deals the hero target with the highest HP 1 irreducible psychic damage. If Planar Interference dealt no damage this turn, move Planar Interference to the other side of the Villain Character Card. At the start of the Villain turn, a hero may flip over two face up cards in front of them, then destroy one face down card at random. If they do, destroy this card.
Planar Tear (2 copies, Picture: Mr. Fixer doing a jump kick into a rip in the air, kicking a void creature back through the opening)
Ongoing
When this card comes into play, flip the Villain Character Card.
If Planar Tear is destroyed, choose one hero. That hero flips over all cards in front of them.
At the end of the Villain Turn, Planar Tear deals each hero target 1 energy damage.
Siphon Energy (2 copies, Picture: Anomaly in the sky sucking up energy from the Negaverse, and Void creatures underneath glowing with power)
Ongoing
Increase damage dealt by Villain Targets by 1. At the start of the villain turn, a hero may take 3 irreducible energy damage and flip over one face up equipment, ongoing, or mechanical golem card. If the hero does this, destroy this card.
Worlds Colliding (1 copy, Picture: A monorail coming through a portal and smashing into Legacy and an enraged T-Rex in the jungle)
Ongoing
Environment cards can target and affect characters regardless of whether they are "In the Multiverse" or "In the Negaverse". At the start of the environment turn, play the top card of both environment decks. Skip the environment deck play phase. At the start of the Villain turn, heal all Villain Targets for H + 2, then destroy this card.
Reach through the Void (2 copies, Picture: Ra's arm reaching through a portal to grab the Staff of Ra from the ground)
One Shot
Flip the Villain Character Card. The Villain heals for H + 2 damage.
Each hero may take one face down card in front of them into their hand. If they do, that hero takes energy damage equal to the number of of face down cards in front of them. Any hero that took damage from Reach through the Void this turn may play a card.
Surge of the Void (3 copies, Picture: A swirling vortex in the sky dumping Void creatures out onto a cityscape)
One Shot
Flip the Villain Character Card.
Play the Top Card of the Villain Deck.
Design Variants and considerations: This Section explains some of the design decisions, alternative considerations, and possible variants.
Theme could easily be reflavored to account for two different realities, or times, such as Past and Present, without losing almost any mechanical structure. You would need to use time beasts or chronomancer minions or something of that flavor to accomplish the same roles.
Initially, both environment decks played cards if there were any non-villain character card targets "In the Multiverse" or "In the Negaverse", but there were some concerns about balance related to twice as many environment cards in play, even if very rarely would the players deal with both environments at once. Both environment decks could play a card each turn if balance works better that way.
Deck balance obviously is subject to a lot of fine tuning, including changes in card count. You guys will understand that better than anyone else.
Heroes should have the power to move between the Negaverse and Multiverse so that they are not just subject to the whims of the villain deck. The original cost was to skip only the play phase. Considered requiring heroes to skip their whole turn, but this cost seemed too high, and skipping your choice of play or power phase seemed to allow a greater number of heroes to choose the least damaging path possible. Can be changed as balance requires.
A lot of interesting interactions could take place with a specifically built environment deck, allowing some favorable cards for the heroes or cards that interact with the flip mechanic, but this isn't really an option in the Villain Deck, which typically has only punishing cards for the heroes.
Each card attempts to blend theme with mechanics, and many of the cards have multiple answers which allows more heroes to participate fully in the game. Example, ongoing cards have an alternative, costly method of removing them, so that cards that remove ongoing are still beneficial, but a hero team without the ability to remove ongoing isn't damned.
Card flipping triggered by villain deck cards (Reach Through the Void, Void Thief) needs to have the player return that card to hand first, so that card play limitations can be used (I.E. two Limited Cards can't be in play, two Stances for Mr. Fixer can't be in play). Forcing them to be played again gives the additional benefit of having their "entering play" effect trigger, which is a small benefit to the heroes (Staff of Ra healing, for example). The alternative is to have all cards flipped face up be considered "entering play", but that seems too strong (Ra can heal indefinitely by putting a staff in each reality and traveling back and forth each turn).
If more Minions are needed, some of the Ongoing cards can easily be converted into Minions with HP that have the same effect. Probably need high HP or damage reduction to make them more resilient though.
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VILLAIN SUBMISSION: MOROS
Villain name: Moros / Aagos (Malevolent Spirit / Captured Soul)
Design Concept: The heroes fight Moros indirectly, by completing objective cards before Moros has the opportunity to destroy those same objective cards, adding to his own strength. If the heroes capture an objective card, they help Aagos restore a piece of his soul, flipping the villain card and making Moros significantly weaker for a period of time, during which the heroes can try and defeat Moros directly. The heroes are strained on resources and hit points as they attempt to intervene to ensure that objectives are successfully completed.
Story: All stories have a start and an end, and this one began with Aagos, an ancient Greek Oracle. Aagos spent his days musing over the meaning of truth as an oracular servant at Delphi, the famed shrine to Apollo, God of Truth. Aagos was faithless, never believing in the prophetic visions his fellow oracles spoke of, as he himself had never been gifted with Apollo's divine sight. Yet Aagos continued to serve at the Shrine, offering counterfeit visions to visitors in his patron's name. Angered by this faithlessness and the proliferation of falsehoods, Apollo struck Aagos with a curse of divination - Apollo's own prophetic sight. The future of all things opened up before Aagos, a tapestry unfolding before him. Aagos could see the entire road map of the future, with all its intricate and infinite branching paths and its myriad resolutions. Aagos saw the key points in history where an event or an individual would alter the future of all mankind. He gazed upon all of mankind's triumphs and catastrophes, and the infinite ways in which the world could end. But sight and insight were two separate boons, and Apollo did not gift Aagos the latter. Although his eyes were opened to the Truth, his mind and soul were not prepared to process what he saw. In the instant the Truth was revealed to Aagos, he was overwhelmed by the knowledge he gained, and the misery and distress that he witnessed. Aagos' mind and soul were shattered. The remnants of his spirit, rejected by the patron diety that had cursed him, had no afterlife to welcome it. Since that time, legends tell of a spirit, Moros, that is drawn to those key moments in history when the future of the world is shaped. It is unknown whether this spirit seeks to reclaim the part of itself that was lost ages ago by stealing the fates of others, those strongly tied to decisive moments in history, or whether the spirit simply seeks to steer the world towards oblivion, so that it might finally rest. One thing is clear: Moros is no longer a person, but is instead a malevolent force that seeks to steal the future, to sate its own emptiness with the dreams and aspirations of others. In doing so, Moros devours the fates of those spectacular individuals who have the power to guide the world, trapping the souls of those who's fate he has stolen. Each fate that is stolen becomes a part of this hungering force, fighting to escape. it is said that Moros truly represents the lost hopes, dreams and potential of all humanity, slowly steering us to our doom. Moros is the end of all stories.
Villain Description: Moros [Malevolent Spirit] is a spectral outline, indistinct. He is the spirit of failure that can haunt any person, the twist of fortune that can upset any victory, the moment's hesitation that forms the line between hero and coward. As such, the villain character card would picture a sinister, yet obscured, malevolent spirit looming over an important event, preferably one where an individual of importance is being hindered by the malevolent spirit, but only in an ambiguously abstract way. So, for example, you could have a person failing to aid another person in danger, with the looming Moros figure spreading his shadowy arms over the would be hero, leaving an unclear image of whether Moros is holding him back or whether the individual is is himself failing to meet his own potential. Aagos [Captured Soul] shows Aagos trying to break through the spectral outline of Moros, glowing golden with renewed vigor because of the efforts of the heroes. The spectral outline of Moros is screaming in agony as Aagos temporarily subdues him.
Villain Card Mechanics: Moros starts the game with [Malevolent Spirit] side up. Moros has 80 HP. The Moros [Malevolent Spirit] card reads:
Setup: At the start of the game, reveal cards from the villain deck until an objective card is revealed. Put that card in play. Shuffle the rest of the cards back into the Villain Deck.
When an objective card is played from the villain deck, if there is an objective card in play, instead trash the objective card and play the top card of the villain deck. Objective cards are not villain targets.
Moros is immune to damage. If Moros ever has five cards under his Villain Character Card, the heroes lose the game.
At the start of the villain turn, if an objective card has H x 2 cards under it, place the objective card in the villain trash, discard all cards under the objective card, and flip Moros. Reveal the top card of each hero deck. Moros deals each hero X psychic damage, where X is equal to the number of revealed hero cards of the same type as that hero revealed, minus 1 . Keep the revealed hero cards on the top of the hero deck, face up.
When a villain card is played, Moros deals X irreducible psychic damage to each hero with a revealed card on top of their hero deck of the same type, where X equals 1 + number of cards under the Villain Character card. Any hero with a revealed card on top of their hero deck that does not match the card type of the card played by Moros discards that card and reveals the next card of their hero deck, placing it face up on top of the hero deck.
At the end of the villain turn, if there are no objective cards in play, shuffle the villain trash into the villain deck, reveal cards from the villain deck until an objective is revealed, and put it into play. Then shuffle the revealed cards back into the villain deck. Moros deals one objective card 2 psychic damage.
Aagos [Captured Soul] side reads:
At the start of the villain turn, if there are no cards in the villain trash, flip this card.
Villain cards, except for the Villain Character Card, are immune to damage. Villain cards cannot deal damage this turn.
Skip the villain play phase.
At the end of the villain turn, shuffle the villain trash into the villain deck.
Objective Cards: Objective cards are the important moments in history from which Moros is trying to steal fate to add to his power. There are five in the villain deck, and only one should almost always be in play. Cards that Moros has destroyed are placed under Moros and do not cycle back through the deck. Sample cards include:
Fortuitous Rendezvous, HP 5 (Picture, Legacy bumping into a citizen as they round a street corner)
Objective
If this card is destroyed, place it under the Villain Character Card.
A Hero may choose to take any damage assigned to this card. At the start of a Hero's turn, a Hero may skip their play phase and place a card from their hand face down under this card.
Scientific Breakthrough, HP 5 (Picture, Tachyon and Unity assisting a scientist over a chemistry table with beakers of multicolored liquid)
Objective
If this card is destroyed, place it under the Villain Character Card.
If there are two interference cards in play, destroy this card.
A hero may skip their power phase in order to heal Scientific Breakthrough by 1
A hero may discard an equipment or mechanical golem card from play and place it under this card.
Selfless Rescue, HP 7 (Picture, A young woman pushing Wraith out of the line of fire of an Omnitron drone)
Objective
If this card is destroyed, place it under the Villain Character Card.
At the end of the villain turn, this card heals the hero target with the lowest HP for X, where X is equal to 2 minus the number of interference cards in play.
At the end of each hero's turn, that hero may choose to take X infernal damage, where x equals the number of interference cards in play plus two. If they do, place the top card of that heroes deck face down under this card.
Heroic Intervention, HP 3 (Picture, Plague Rat advancing on a young man who is shielding a small child from his attack in a dark alley)
Objective
If this card is destroyed, place it under the Villain Character Card.
Any hero may choose to discard a card to prevent 1 damage to Heroic Intervention
Each time a hero plays a one shot, place it under Heroic Intervention rather than in the hero's trash.
Last Minute Victory, HP 9 (Picture, The Freedom Five standing, exhausted, among a pile of defeated Citizen minions)
Objective
If this card is destroyed, place it under the Villain Character Card
At the end of the Villain Turn, reveal cards from the villain deck until you reveal an interference card and put that card into play. Shuffle revealed cards back into the villain deck.
Villain Deck: The villain deck focuses primarily on ongoing cards and one shots, with a few minions. Minions and ongoing cards have the interference tag. Note objective cards make up the first 5 cards of the Villain deck.
Fatestolen Spectre (2 copies) (Picture, a ghostly entitly with hollow-looking eyes gliding towards Ra)
Minion, Interference, HP 6
Reduce all damage dealt to Fatestolen Spectre by 1.
At the end of the Villain turn, Fatestolen Spectre hits the hero target with the lowest HP for H + 1 energy damage.
If this card is destroyed, place it under the objective card.
Spirit of Dismay (2 copies) (Picture, a ghostly entity grabbing Tachyon's head, shocking her and forcing her to drop a beaker of colorful fluid)
Minion, Interference, HP 7
At the end of the villain turn, Spirit of Dismay damages the hero target with the highest HP and the objective card for H - 2 psychic damage.
If this card is destroyed, place it under the objective card.
Spirit of Apathy (2 copies) (Picture, Ra sitting on a bench watching police run by as a spirit hovers behind him)
Minion, Interference, HP 4
Reduce damage to all Minions by 1
Each time a hero places a card underneath an objective card, that hero takes H psychic damage.
If this card is destroyed, place it under the objective card.
Oppressive Visions (2 copies) (Picture, Moros with his eyes flaring with energy gazing at Expatriette)
Ongoing, Interference
All damage dealt by Moros is increased by 1.
If this card is destroyed, place it under the objective card.
Prophesized Failure (2 copies) (Picture, Haka missing on a punch on a minion and smashing a tree, breaking it so it falls on top of him instead)
Ongoing, Interference
Each time a hero plays a card of the same type as a revealed card on top of their deck, Moros deals that hero H-1 psychic damage. At the start of a heroes turn, a hero may deal themself 1 irreducible psychic damage. If they do, the hero may discard the top card of their deck and reveal the top card of the hero deck, placing it face up on top of their deck.
If this card is destroyed, place it under the objective card.
Sisyphean Task (2 copies) (Picture, the Freedom Five staring down a giant army of evil minions from all sides)
Ongoing, Interference
At the end of the villain turn, remove one card from underneath the objective card and discard it. If there are no cards underneath the objective card, deal H-1 psychic damage to the objective card. At the start of a heroes turn, they may discard 2 cards to destroy Sisyphean Task.
If this card is destroyed, place it under the objective card.
Malaise (1 copy) (Picture, Unity looking forlorn, sitting in a pile of junked Mechanical Golem bits)
One Shot
Each hero and the objective take 1 irreducible psychic damage. Each hero must discard one card from hand and destroy one card in play. If they do not, the hero takes 4 irreducible psychic damage.
Give Up (2 Copies) (Picture, Legacy watching a monorail head right for a victim tied to a track)
One Shot
Each hero may deal the objective card 2 melee damage. If they do not, that hero takes 2 irreducible psychic damage.
Predictable Moves (2 copies) (Picture, Ra standing amidst a pile of broken Staff's of Ra, pulling another one from his pack)
One Shot
Each hero discards all cards in hand matching the type of the card on top of their deck.
Gaze into the Future (3 copies) (Picture, Moros gazing down on a person helping an individual who is drowning in a lake)
One Shot
Moros deals 1 psychic damage to an objective card. Play the top card of the villain deck.
Design Variants and Consideration:
Moros has a lot of rules text generally and on the Villain Character Card. Efforts were made to place text that is relevant to all card types on the Villain Character Card in order to save space on the individual cards. The language may need to be reduced or streamlined to make it fit.
Moros uses a unique mechanic that reveals the top card of the hero deck at the start of his turn and has a number of cards and effects to play off this scenario. It may be beneficial to have a static game effect when Moros is [Malevolent Spirit] side up that just turns the top card of the hero deck face up, but in the current state players can use smart draw actions in order to remove possible penalties for heroes by removing the card off the top of their deck.
Moros does a lot of damage. The damage when players reveal a card may need to be reduced. Also considered, for theme, having the damage be dealt by the heroes themself, rather than Moros. The damage when Moros plays a card is intentionally high, as it highlights the importance of stopping Moros from gaining objective cards, and puts a timer on the game because it is irreducible.
Design Concept: The heroes fight Moros indirectly, by completing objective cards before Moros has the opportunity to destroy those same objective cards, adding to his own strength. If the heroes capture an objective card, they help Aagos restore a piece of his soul, flipping the villain card and making Moros significantly weaker for a period of time, during which the heroes can try and defeat Moros directly. The heroes are strained on resources and hit points as they attempt to intervene to ensure that objectives are successfully completed.
Story: All stories have a start and an end, and this one began with Aagos, an ancient Greek Oracle. Aagos spent his days musing over the meaning of truth as an oracular servant at Delphi, the famed shrine to Apollo, God of Truth. Aagos was faithless, never believing in the prophetic visions his fellow oracles spoke of, as he himself had never been gifted with Apollo's divine sight. Yet Aagos continued to serve at the Shrine, offering counterfeit visions to visitors in his patron's name. Angered by this faithlessness and the proliferation of falsehoods, Apollo struck Aagos with a curse of divination - Apollo's own prophetic sight. The future of all things opened up before Aagos, a tapestry unfolding before him. Aagos could see the entire road map of the future, with all its intricate and infinite branching paths and its myriad resolutions. Aagos saw the key points in history where an event or an individual would alter the future of all mankind. He gazed upon all of mankind's triumphs and catastrophes, and the infinite ways in which the world could end. But sight and insight were two separate boons, and Apollo did not gift Aagos the latter. Although his eyes were opened to the Truth, his mind and soul were not prepared to process what he saw. In the instant the Truth was revealed to Aagos, he was overwhelmed by the knowledge he gained, and the misery and distress that he witnessed. Aagos' mind and soul were shattered. The remnants of his spirit, rejected by the patron diety that had cursed him, had no afterlife to welcome it. Since that time, legends tell of a spirit, Moros, that is drawn to those key moments in history when the future of the world is shaped. It is unknown whether this spirit seeks to reclaim the part of itself that was lost ages ago by stealing the fates of others, those strongly tied to decisive moments in history, or whether the spirit simply seeks to steer the world towards oblivion, so that it might finally rest. One thing is clear: Moros is no longer a person, but is instead a malevolent force that seeks to steal the future, to sate its own emptiness with the dreams and aspirations of others. In doing so, Moros devours the fates of those spectacular individuals who have the power to guide the world, trapping the souls of those who's fate he has stolen. Each fate that is stolen becomes a part of this hungering force, fighting to escape. it is said that Moros truly represents the lost hopes, dreams and potential of all humanity, slowly steering us to our doom. Moros is the end of all stories.
Villain Description: Moros [Malevolent Spirit] is a spectral outline, indistinct. He is the spirit of failure that can haunt any person, the twist of fortune that can upset any victory, the moment's hesitation that forms the line between hero and coward. As such, the villain character card would picture a sinister, yet obscured, malevolent spirit looming over an important event, preferably one where an individual of importance is being hindered by the malevolent spirit, but only in an ambiguously abstract way. So, for example, you could have a person failing to aid another person in danger, with the looming Moros figure spreading his shadowy arms over the would be hero, leaving an unclear image of whether Moros is holding him back or whether the individual is is himself failing to meet his own potential. Aagos [Captured Soul] shows Aagos trying to break through the spectral outline of Moros, glowing golden with renewed vigor because of the efforts of the heroes. The spectral outline of Moros is screaming in agony as Aagos temporarily subdues him.
Villain Card Mechanics: Moros starts the game with [Malevolent Spirit] side up. Moros has 80 HP. The Moros [Malevolent Spirit] card reads:
Setup: At the start of the game, reveal cards from the villain deck until an objective card is revealed. Put that card in play. Shuffle the rest of the cards back into the Villain Deck.
When an objective card is played from the villain deck, if there is an objective card in play, instead trash the objective card and play the top card of the villain deck. Objective cards are not villain targets.
Moros is immune to damage. If Moros ever has five cards under his Villain Character Card, the heroes lose the game.
At the start of the villain turn, if an objective card has H x 2 cards under it, place the objective card in the villain trash, discard all cards under the objective card, and flip Moros. Reveal the top card of each hero deck. Moros deals each hero X psychic damage, where X is equal to the number of revealed hero cards of the same type as that hero revealed, minus 1 . Keep the revealed hero cards on the top of the hero deck, face up.
When a villain card is played, Moros deals X irreducible psychic damage to each hero with a revealed card on top of their hero deck of the same type, where X equals 1 + number of cards under the Villain Character card. Any hero with a revealed card on top of their hero deck that does not match the card type of the card played by Moros discards that card and reveals the next card of their hero deck, placing it face up on top of the hero deck.
At the end of the villain turn, if there are no objective cards in play, shuffle the villain trash into the villain deck, reveal cards from the villain deck until an objective is revealed, and put it into play. Then shuffle the revealed cards back into the villain deck. Moros deals one objective card 2 psychic damage.
Aagos [Captured Soul] side reads:
At the start of the villain turn, if there are no cards in the villain trash, flip this card.
Villain cards, except for the Villain Character Card, are immune to damage. Villain cards cannot deal damage this turn.
Skip the villain play phase.
At the end of the villain turn, shuffle the villain trash into the villain deck.
Objective Cards: Objective cards are the important moments in history from which Moros is trying to steal fate to add to his power. There are five in the villain deck, and only one should almost always be in play. Cards that Moros has destroyed are placed under Moros and do not cycle back through the deck. Sample cards include:
Fortuitous Rendezvous, HP 5 (Picture, Legacy bumping into a citizen as they round a street corner)
Objective
If this card is destroyed, place it under the Villain Character Card.
A Hero may choose to take any damage assigned to this card. At the start of a Hero's turn, a Hero may skip their play phase and place a card from their hand face down under this card.
Scientific Breakthrough, HP 5 (Picture, Tachyon and Unity assisting a scientist over a chemistry table with beakers of multicolored liquid)
Objective
If this card is destroyed, place it under the Villain Character Card.
If there are two interference cards in play, destroy this card.
A hero may skip their power phase in order to heal Scientific Breakthrough by 1
A hero may discard an equipment or mechanical golem card from play and place it under this card.
Selfless Rescue, HP 7 (Picture, A young woman pushing Wraith out of the line of fire of an Omnitron drone)
Objective
If this card is destroyed, place it under the Villain Character Card.
At the end of the villain turn, this card heals the hero target with the lowest HP for X, where X is equal to 2 minus the number of interference cards in play.
At the end of each hero's turn, that hero may choose to take X infernal damage, where x equals the number of interference cards in play plus two. If they do, place the top card of that heroes deck face down under this card.
Heroic Intervention, HP 3 (Picture, Plague Rat advancing on a young man who is shielding a small child from his attack in a dark alley)
Objective
If this card is destroyed, place it under the Villain Character Card.
Any hero may choose to discard a card to prevent 1 damage to Heroic Intervention
Each time a hero plays a one shot, place it under Heroic Intervention rather than in the hero's trash.
Last Minute Victory, HP 9 (Picture, The Freedom Five standing, exhausted, among a pile of defeated Citizen minions)
Objective
If this card is destroyed, place it under the Villain Character Card
At the end of the Villain Turn, reveal cards from the villain deck until you reveal an interference card and put that card into play. Shuffle revealed cards back into the villain deck.
Villain Deck: The villain deck focuses primarily on ongoing cards and one shots, with a few minions. Minions and ongoing cards have the interference tag. Note objective cards make up the first 5 cards of the Villain deck.
Fatestolen Spectre (2 copies) (Picture, a ghostly entitly with hollow-looking eyes gliding towards Ra)
Minion, Interference, HP 6
Reduce all damage dealt to Fatestolen Spectre by 1.
At the end of the Villain turn, Fatestolen Spectre hits the hero target with the lowest HP for H + 1 energy damage.
If this card is destroyed, place it under the objective card.
Spirit of Dismay (2 copies) (Picture, a ghostly entity grabbing Tachyon's head, shocking her and forcing her to drop a beaker of colorful fluid)
Minion, Interference, HP 7
At the end of the villain turn, Spirit of Dismay damages the hero target with the highest HP and the objective card for H - 2 psychic damage.
If this card is destroyed, place it under the objective card.
Spirit of Apathy (2 copies) (Picture, Ra sitting on a bench watching police run by as a spirit hovers behind him)
Minion, Interference, HP 4
Reduce damage to all Minions by 1
Each time a hero places a card underneath an objective card, that hero takes H psychic damage.
If this card is destroyed, place it under the objective card.
Oppressive Visions (2 copies) (Picture, Moros with his eyes flaring with energy gazing at Expatriette)
Ongoing, Interference
All damage dealt by Moros is increased by 1.
If this card is destroyed, place it under the objective card.
Prophesized Failure (2 copies) (Picture, Haka missing on a punch on a minion and smashing a tree, breaking it so it falls on top of him instead)
Ongoing, Interference
Each time a hero plays a card of the same type as a revealed card on top of their deck, Moros deals that hero H-1 psychic damage. At the start of a heroes turn, a hero may deal themself 1 irreducible psychic damage. If they do, the hero may discard the top card of their deck and reveal the top card of the hero deck, placing it face up on top of their deck.
If this card is destroyed, place it under the objective card.
Sisyphean Task (2 copies) (Picture, the Freedom Five staring down a giant army of evil minions from all sides)
Ongoing, Interference
At the end of the villain turn, remove one card from underneath the objective card and discard it. If there are no cards underneath the objective card, deal H-1 psychic damage to the objective card. At the start of a heroes turn, they may discard 2 cards to destroy Sisyphean Task.
If this card is destroyed, place it under the objective card.
Malaise (1 copy) (Picture, Unity looking forlorn, sitting in a pile of junked Mechanical Golem bits)
One Shot
Each hero and the objective take 1 irreducible psychic damage. Each hero must discard one card from hand and destroy one card in play. If they do not, the hero takes 4 irreducible psychic damage.
Give Up (2 Copies) (Picture, Legacy watching a monorail head right for a victim tied to a track)
One Shot
Each hero may deal the objective card 2 melee damage. If they do not, that hero takes 2 irreducible psychic damage.
Predictable Moves (2 copies) (Picture, Ra standing amidst a pile of broken Staff's of Ra, pulling another one from his pack)
One Shot
Each hero discards all cards in hand matching the type of the card on top of their deck.
Gaze into the Future (3 copies) (Picture, Moros gazing down on a person helping an individual who is drowning in a lake)
One Shot
Moros deals 1 psychic damage to an objective card. Play the top card of the villain deck.
Design Variants and Consideration:
Moros has a lot of rules text generally and on the Villain Character Card. Efforts were made to place text that is relevant to all card types on the Villain Character Card in order to save space on the individual cards. The language may need to be reduced or streamlined to make it fit.
Moros uses a unique mechanic that reveals the top card of the hero deck at the start of his turn and has a number of cards and effects to play off this scenario. It may be beneficial to have a static game effect when Moros is [Malevolent Spirit] side up that just turns the top card of the hero deck face up, but in the current state players can use smart draw actions in order to remove possible penalties for heroes by removing the card off the top of their deck.
Moros does a lot of damage. The damage when players reveal a card may need to be reduced. Also considered, for theme, having the damage be dealt by the heroes themself, rather than Moros. The damage when Moros plays a card is intentionally high, as it highlights the importance of stopping Moros from gaining objective cards, and puts a timer on the game because it is irreducible.