New for the DC Deckbuilding Game

Coming this Fall:

Cryptozoic Entertainment Releases DC Comics™ Deck Building Game: Teen Titans and Crossover Pack #2: Arrow: The Television Series  The newest standalone release within the DC Deck-Building game line, the Teen Titans Edition is fully compatible with all previous releases. Cards include Raven, Beast Boy, Wonder Girl, Red Robin and more. The new focus of the set revolves around Ongoing abilities: these cards stay in play until they are needed. Every time an Ongoing card is put into play, it provides an extra card to utilize on a future turn. Number of Players: 2-5 For Ages: 15+ Playing Time: 30-45 minutes Retail Price: $40 Compatible with previous DC Deck-Building games Card combos, strategy, fan-favorite heroes and villains all work together to create a unique deck-building experience Engaging card art from the DC Comics universe   The DC Comics Deck-building Game Crossover Pack #2: Arrow: The Television Series adds further customization to the game. This series offers the first appearance of character images taken from the hit television series from Warner Bros. Television and The CW, Arrow. Also featured are favorite characters from the show, including The Arrow, Diggle and Felicity. Retail price $10. Both DC Comics Deck Building Games are now available for purchase at retail stores. The DC Comics Deck-Building Game Crossover Pack #1: JSA will be back in stock in late July. Retail price $10. For more details about DC Comics Deck Building Games, please see the links below. DC Comics™ Deck Building Game: Teen Titans DC Comics Deck-Building Game Crossover Pack #2: Arrow: The Television Series DC Comics Deck-Building Game Crossover Pack #1: JSA All DC Comics products released by Cryptozoic Entertainment Facebook Email Website Twitter YouTube Copyright © 2015 Cryptozoic Entertainment, All rights reserved. unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences

How to Kill Your Hot Game in One Easy Step

Sales of the Adventure Time Card Game Decks and DiceMaster boosters are demonstrating how easily the lack of product for a hot game can dampen interest in said hot game. 

When the first two Adventure Time decks, Finn vs. Jake and Lady Rainicorn vs. BMO, released, we could not keep them in stock and neither could most other stores with which I spoke. Demand hit such levels that sales on the secondary market hit levels of $50 per deck and higher. Unfortunately, both decks had sold out by the time the For the Glory booster packs released and, our order, which I thought would be enough for only a few weeks, has lasted until now.  The Princess Bubblegum vs. Lumpy Space Princess decks which arrived this week, despite our promotion of them on Facebook, the store website and in-store, have been met with a collective yawn by customers. Even  Cryptozoic’s plan to launch an Organized Play for them sometime in the (hopefully) near future, has not generated much excitement, save for the two or three really big fans of the game. Casual fans haven’t shown much interest, though that may change when OP details get released (and if we get decent promotional material for it).

Similarly, WizKids DiceMasters has really died off here and at other stores as well and, once again, it is the lack of product that has done so. In this case, it is just the plain “We cannot get the product” consistently that is putting paid to DiceMasters. Though DiceMasters is a great game with a wonderful price point (99 cent boosters, anyone), it is truly had to sell a 99 cent booster when you cannot get any. 

Similarly, though WizKids did publish workarounds to compensate for the lack of starters, customers do want the official starters rather than using generic six siders in their pool and not having them has really hurt sales because I really need a starter to sell to a new player, not directions to hand to them on how to make a starter pool out of dice they already own. In fact, the DiceMasters situation is worse than the Adventure Time, since we, at least, have had the Adventure Time boosters available to sell to customers

What WOTC Wants

Here, for those who haven't looked at the lawsuit itself, is the list of things WOTC wants as redress for the harm is claims to have suffered as a result of the development of the Hex: Shards of Fate trading card game:

1.For a permanent injunction enjoining Cryptozoic and all persons acting in concert with them from manufacturing, producing, distributing, adapting, displaying, advertising,  promoting, offering for sale and/or selling, or performing any materials that are substantially similar to Magic and to deliver to the Court for destruction or other reasonable disposition all materials and means for producing the same in Cryptozoic’s possession or control;  

2 For a permanent injunction, enjoining Cryptozoic and all persons acting in concert with them from using the trade dress of Magic in connection with any paper, electronic, or web- based trading card video game or from otherwise using Wizards’ trade dress, as embodied in either of the paper or electronic forms of Magic or any confusingly similar use thereof, in any way causing the likelihood of confusion, deception, or mistake as to the source, nature, or quality of Cryptozoic’s games and to deliver to the Court for destruction or other reasonable disposition all materials bearing the infringing trade dress in Cryptozoic’s possession or control; 

3.For any and all damages sustained by Wizards;

4.For all of Cryptozoic’s profits wrongfully derived from the infringement of Wizards’ intellectual property rights; 

5. For a Judgment against Cryptozoic declaring this case to be exceptional under the Patent Act and therefore subjecting Cryptozoic to liability to include treble damages as authorized under Section 285 of the Patent Act; 

6.For reasonable attorney’s fees; 

7.For costs of suit herein; and

 8.For other such relief as the Court deems proper

WOTC Sues Cryptozoic

WOTC announced a lawsuit this week against Cryptozoic and a related company, Hex Entertainment, alleging that Hex's new digital TCG violates several of WOTC's copyrights on Magic, especially those related to the digital version of Magic. In its complaint, WOTC cites similarities between the two games as laid out in this post on the Threshold:  The Hex Podcast website.

The Quiet Speculation website has a very good analysis of the lawsuit, pointing out that, among other things, WOTC is suing under copyright rather than patent law and is claiming violation of trade dress, something that can be hard to prove when both items are digital properties.

This is the second lawsuit WOTC has launched over a game property. The suit and countersuit against Sweetpea Entertainment is still winding its way through the legal system and has remained fairly quiet since last September.

No Virginia, There Is No Adventure Time Promo Card

Given the problems about missing promos for Cryptozoic’s DC heroes Deck Building Game I mentioned in last week’s column, I was rather amused to see how quickly miscommunication can spread and require a brisk tamping down.

Several retailers had been discussing the new Heroes Reborn expansion for the DC Deck Building Game (one would think they could have come up with a more wieldy name for it than that) and questioning when to expect receipt of the promised Starfire promo card.  One participant mistakenly typed “Adventure Time” instead of “DC Deckbuilding” and the gates opened.

“What Adventure Time promo card?”

“What’s on the card?”

“How do we get one?”

“I never saw anything about this. When do they ship?” and so forth.  It took a couple of hours before it was made clear to everyone that there was not, had not and, as of right now anyhow, would not be an Adventure Time promo card.  It was actually pretty interesting to see how quickly the miscommunication spread from a simple error in typing.

Just to make it clear there is no Adventure Time promo card currently available.