Unmatched - Characters and Concepts I'd like to see

A little while back, I spoke about the Unmatched board games and my enjoyment of them. Since then, I've invested in even more and do my best to play the game more often than I buy expansions, though I don't always succeed. Unmatched has expanded since I wrote my last entry to include a couple of ideas that I had thought to write here,to include PvE expansions in the "Adventures" series. Of course, there is still room for improvement, I am not fond of the way all the Marvel expansions are entirely heroes and not villains, for example, but I'll discuss that more below. So that this whole exercise doesn't have too much of an air of wish listing, I'll endevour to give examples of how I feel a character should run, or at least what an idea would be bringing to the game that isn't there already. As I tend to go with these articles, I'll begin with what I feel to be more reasonable and within the realm of possibility, and then move on to more fantastic and fanciful ideas.


More Villains

Whilst this feels the most prevalent with the Marvel expansions, Unmatched always seems to focus more on heroic characters, and I feel a bit of variety in this regard would make for a better ludonarrative experience. With the whole "crossover" nature of Unmatched, the Battle of Legends boxes are fine, and Cobble & Fog only has the one heroic character in Sherlock Holmes, but a mix of "baddies" in there would be great. The Marvel boxes are especially baffling, with three heroes all fighting one another for no real reason; makes me wonder why there wasn't a "Secret War" or "Contest of Champions" overlay to the line. "Hells Kitchen" did it correctly as far as I'm concerned, with a "Hero", "Antihero" and "Villain" in Daredevil, Elektra and Bullseye. Of course, Marvel is done in Unmatched for now, and The Witcher sets did this better, but the upcoming Hellboy release could easily fall into this trap again.  


Another Cobble & Fog

Cobble & Fog was the first Unmatched I purchased, and I think it is a great little box, even if Sherlock is very strong compared to some other characters. I would think that "Cobble & Fog 2" would be an easy sell, especially as the four-character boxes always feel like better value. This would be a pretty straightforward box to get together as well, using the original as a basis. Throw in Abraham Van Hellsing to deal with Dracula (probably with some kind of open hand mechanic to represent his knowledge of foes) and James Moriarty to menace Holmes. I see Moriarty being a character that plays a lot of schemes and relies on their Sidekick, Colonel Moran, to do the actual damage. Then there's plenty of other ideas that would work, like Spring-Heeled Jack as a hit-and-run type and maybe even Fagin with a horde or urchin Sidekicks that pinch your cards.


Unmatched Adventures

The "Adventures" line offers a lot of opportunity for Unmatched, even without branching out too much further from ideas they have already executed. Obvious ideas include a "Cobble & Fog" version with Captain Nemo as the antagonist, Hellboy featuring the Old Ones and even Battle of Legends with a Hydra or Titan of some kind. I have one idea, however, and it is a very 'me' idea, using Superheroes of the Golden Age; it would fit with the Pulp idea of the first "Adventures" set and require no licensing whatsoever. Taking inspiration from things like "Super Wizard Returns" and "The Next Issue Project", I think the enemy being an all-powerful Stardust and the heroes being pulp standards like The Shadow, Lady in Red and The Spider would be a fun little box that adds some variety without being too far off the mark for the series.


Battle of Legends

If I had a favourite series of Unmatched, it would have to be "Battle of Legends". A crossover fighting game of mytho-historical and literary heroes is right down my alley and I'm a little shocked there aren't more of these than the Marvel versions, as they almost write themselves. There is a line of taste to consider, to be sure, like I'd avoid figures that are still broadly worshiped or are historically rather iffy, so probably no Shiva or Baron Samedi and certainly no Torquemada Corteaz or Davey Crokett (George Washington getting a character still baffles me). Still, that leaves a massive list of possible characters, just off the top of my head; M. Zenith, Herakles, Guan-Yu, Jack the Ripper, Hua Mulan, Quetzalcoatl, Maui, Brunhilde, Raffles, The Phantom of the Opera, Scarlet Pimpernel, John Carter, Raymond Carter, Carmilla, the possibilities are endless. We see this in many of the two-character boxes as well, so there's no limit to this theme except weird rights and good taste.


Fighting Games

So this is where I get a tad wish-list-y, Unmatched is basically a fighting game on a board right? So why not try for a fighting game license? Sure, there's huge problems with this idea and it's pretty unrealistic, but if it could be pulled off, it's tailor-made for Unmatched. Obvious ideas include Street Fighter (for that "Marvel Vs Capcom" vibe) or Mortal Kombat, but they're the big boys and will probably cost a packet to license. So how about some also-rans like Killer Instinct, Primal Rage or Rise of the Robots? Surely they're not asking the same money as Marvel, you know? I feel like I barely need to justify this one, as the ideas would translate almost straight across; big slow brawlers play the same, strike and fade works just fine and most of the moves already have elaborate names for the cards. Add in some retro pixel art for the fans and the whole package would be pretty neat.

Superhero Media: Dracula Untold

Hey, remember the "Dark Universe" that Universal pictures tried to get going with that version of The Mummy that everyone (but me) seemed to hate? Well the first foray into the concept was with Dracula Untold, which, like The Mummy, was pretty poorly reviewed, but I found it reasonably entertaining. The concept of Dracula Untold, of casting Vlad the Impaler as a tragic hero, forced to give up his humanity to save his people is... pretty interesting? The real failing of this film is, for me, not that it's a bit crap (but what do you expect it's a film where Dracula defeats the Turkish army single-handed?) but that it can't help being a bit racist. Not that I'm accusing the cast and crew of being deliberately Islamaphoic, but it's pretty hard to not look that way when the literal text of the film is Vlad the Impaler trying to prevent a takeover from the most advanced nation on the planet at the time. Like, I know there's framing of slavery and all that, but the basic through-line is that it's better to be an undead monster and lose your family than it is to be Muslim. Gross.

What are cool are the fight scenes, with Dracula cleaving through ranks of soldiers like an act of god more so than an actual character. For players of Vampire The Masquerade, like myself, seeing what is essentially a low-generation Inconnu (probably, Dracula is pretty complicated in the World of Darkness) represented in a film the way they're discussed in the fiction. All-in Dracula Untold frames vampires really well, as monsters of folklore that aren't understood and hold such godlike power that fighting against them is essentially pointless. After seeing waves and waves of vampires mowed down in the Blade and Underworld films, it's a nice change of pace that this film only really has a couple of scenes with more than one vampire in it. The finale, where the bulk of the Transylvanian refugees are turned and Dracula has to destroy them to stop them overrunning the planet, is a little much, and the entire thing ends with more of a whimper.

Trying to frame the classic Gothic/"Universal" monsters as heroes isn't a new concept, and it has worked very well in the past, but the problem with the "Dark Universe", at least as I see it, is that it focuses more on the heroic aspect than the monstrous. Losing one's humanity for increased power has a literary tradition stretching almost as far back as Gilgamesh, but Hollywood has always struggled with the concept, as the dominating model centers the heroic over the tragic. Again, I really think the Dark Universe could have been interesting, if not reasonably good, had it had another film or two to get going. Hell, the Legendary Godzilla franchise did really well with just four films (as of time of writing), easily being the best non-Marvel Cinematic Universe, so the eventual team-up film that never happened that probably would have featured Dracula, the Mummy, Mister Hyde and Frankenstein's Monster could have least have been fun to watch.

Announcement: Victorius 2025

Sorry to interrupt the flow, but as many of my Australian readers may already know, I will be at Victorius 2025 next weekend in Box Hill. 

There, as well as being generally helpful, I will be demonstrating the miniatures game I am writing, Nocturnal, which I have mentioned here from time to time, it's a gang skirmish game based on popular urban Vampire media. Think Blade, Underworld, The Lost Boys, Vampire the Masquerade, etc. If you can make it, keep an eye out for the stunning promotional artwork done by my friend Nim; 

I'll be running quick, 2-3 turn demo games for most of the day, so come by and say hello if you want to try it out. I will likely be covering a little more on Nocturnal here in the future, but this won't be becoming a blog about the game; I'll be doing other socials around it as things get closer to being finished. 

Danton - Part II

When last we left off this juvenile screed of pop-culture miscenallia that I wrote one fateful week in the last year of high school, I was wondering why I bothered to keep these scraps of loose leaf for almost two decades. And I'm still wondering. But at least I'm getting this down and I'm finding that cathartic.

Danton 2: Stone Cold

After the events portrayed in Danton, Dracula has been able to rebuild Paris, but the rest of France has descended into chaos, leaving Paris as a city-state. Simon Schama travels back in time and raises an army of mercenaries to conquer France under his sovereign dictatorship. Robespierre returns after becoming the new evil ruler of Otherworld and incites the Parisians to rebellion against Dracula's rule.

Dracula turns to the Justice League for help, joining them for a time. The Last Ninja returns to finally avenge his brothers against Robespierre and allies himself with Dracula and the Justice League. Doctor Strange joins with a coalition of demons to resurrect Danton's soul into a robotic body, christening him "Robo-Danton". Doctor Strange and Robo-Danton travel to fight a guerilla war against Schama and his Battle-Toad bodyguards. After a pitched battle, Schama and Robo-Danton fight in single combat while Doctor Strange raises Schama's fortress to the ground. Robo-Danton realises that he cannot defeat Schama whist he wears his battle-armour, so self-destructs, destroying the armour, though Schama survives the attack.

Meanwhile, the justice League put down the rebellion, forcing Robespierre to retreat to Otherworld, only to discover that Zombie Jesus has raised an army of undead and is now conquering the West coast of France.

From the Archives - 4

A decade ago, I ran a blog where I reviewed media pretty exclusively. You can't find it now, but one of the articles I thought it'd be fun to revisit would be "Top 10 Superhero Movie Fights", especially considering that I wrote it in 2011 before even The Avengers was released. Down the track I'll do an updated one, but for now enjoy my old, clunky writing style: 

So, I wanted to do something a bit different and flex my film studies/comic book nerd credentials a bit and steal Empire's shtick. I should point out that the list below is by no means comprehensive; believe it or not, I've never actually seen Superman II or the David Hasselhoff Nick Fury film. However, I do feel that the list is fair, the spread of films is broad and so is the scope of the given scenes. 
But what makes a good Superhero fight? To understand this, we need to look at classic fight scenes from comics; Batman versus Superman in The Dark Knight Returns, Quicksilver in any part of The Ultimates 2 or Spiderman versus the Green Goblin in "The Day Gwen Stacy Died". What all these have in common is the real "wow" factor that comes with superhuman foes belting the crap out of each other. In a martial arts film, a "good" fight scene is on that is technically competent from the standpoint of someone examining the fight with a trained expert's eye. The Superhero genre bucks this convention, deliberately giving the audience a fight impossible to replicate in the real world. Though it may sound like an action film in this respect, the gaudy nature of the superhero creates a different experience, as will be demonstrated below. 
I know as I write this that there will be at least one complaint about this list; the lack of a DC Animated Universe film. It's not that the films are bad (Justice League: New Frontier is probably the only good Justice League film that will ever be made), it's just that they lack a truly "wow" worthy fight scene. Batman versus the Red Hood is a fun fight, but there's nothing to it that cannot be found in Police Story or The Game of Death. 
Also, as the next two years will see the release of Thor, Green Lantern, The First Avenger: Captain America, The Avengers, X-Men: First Class and the next Nolan Batman sequel as well as reboots of the Spiderman and Fantastic Four franchises. If I'm still doing this in 2013, I'll update this list, but for now, it'll have to do. So onwards, true believers! 

Top 10 Superhero Movie Fights 

10. Gordon vs The Joker (The Dark Knight - 2008)

The only inclusion of Nolan's take on Batman, it may surprise you to see this so low on the countdown, but there's a simple reason behind this; The Dark Knight, although an excellent film, is not a superhero film. What? Yes. The Dark Knight is a crime film and this is evidenced by the fact that the best fight scene in the film isn't about how awesome Batman is, but how awesome Jim Gordon is. Also more of a car chase, when Dent is offered as bait to capture the Joker, the fight is carried by Gordon all the way. Think of this as the Batman equivalent to Yoda breaking out the lightsabre in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, you always suspected he was a badass, this is just conformation. From "I hope you got some moves pal" to "We got ya", Jim Gordon romps this in and shows us what he's really capable of.


9. Spiderman vs Doctor Octopus (Spiderman 2 - 2004) 

 
Specifically the one on the train, in-between when the pair lands on the tracks and when Doc Ock smugly utters "You have a train to catch". Perhaps a little CG heavy, but having two of Marvel's most iconic characters duke it out on the side of a train makes for one hell of a fight. Bouncing around, over, under and through the train during the battle, this scene perfectly captures the feel of a Spiderman comic. Pity this franchise blew so hard, there's a few more good fights in the trilogy, this is just the best one. 


8. Matt vs Elektra (Daredevil - 2003) 

 
Not the tragic lovers' battle in the third act of the film, but the (literally) violent flirtation between the characters in the playground at the beginning of their romantic arc. If you're wondering how on Earth I could rate anything from this film higher than anything from The Dark Knight, stop reading now, there's worse to come. Hey, bad films can have good moments in them and here's proof. This fight is fun, well choreographed and adds to the plot, which puts it a cut above most on-screen fights already. If you're still not convinced, Youtube this and watch it without the context of Daredevil to drag it down. Note to Christopher Nolan: this is what the Batman/Catwoman arc should resemble. 


7. The Punisher vs The Russian (The Punisher - 2004) 

 
Never mind that The Punisher was unfairly ignored by the public, or badly edited to remove most of the plot, or made on a budget that would have the BBC drama department making fun of them (obscure joke, I know), the film is the best translation of Marvel's Skull-shirted vigilante to the big screen that has ever been made. The proof of the pudding is in the scene where Frank and a mysterious assailant, known only as "The Russian" go toe-to-toe while "La Donne Mobile" plays loudly in the background. This scene is darkly hilarious, combining the brutality of a barroom brawl with the comic timing of vaudeville. Thomas Jane's acting really shines here as well, the looks on his face as he scrambles away from grenades, has his guns destroyed and gets his head slammed in a fridge door are both funny and nauseating. This fight also features the only stunt Jane was not initially allowed to do, getting thrown through a plaster wall, and when The Russian picks him up off the hallway floor, there is a hasty cut as the crew patch up Jane's actually bloody nose. Excelsior! 


6. Blade vs Nomak (Blade II - 2002) 

 
What? Another kinda-crummy hero romp? Yeah. Ok, so the Blade series is lackluster at best, but this brawl is fantastic. Blade is clearly a trained fighter and his choreography matches this, whilst Nomak is a brawler relying on his superior strength and agility to win the day. If there's one thing Del Toro can direct, it's two big guys wailing on each other in a visually pleasing way. Highlights of this fight include the world's biggest "People's Elbow", a bone crunching arm-regeneration and Blade keeping his sunglasses on in a display that would make David Caruso jealous. As with Daredevil, watch this again without the rest of the film to colour it. Actually, that comment is unfair to Kris Kristofferson, who makes the best of these terrible films with some great one-liners. 


5. Nightcrawler vs The Secret Service (X2 - 2003) 

 
The dramatic opening of X2 sees Kurt Wagner using his teleport ability to circumvent Whitehouse security and threaten the life of the American President. Whilst this scene is cool, and arguably one of the best in the X-Men Film Franchise, it's not getting any higher than this because the fight is too one-sided. Nightcrawler (rightly) makes mincemeat (figuratively) out of the Secret Service, whilst this is great to watch, it's really more of an effects sequence in the end. 


4. Dash vs Syndrome Goons (The Incredibles - 2004) 

 
Brad Bird and Pixar's Superhero pastiche/tribute masterpiece is, in my opinion, the best Superhero film produced to date. To explain this would take up as much space as the whole of this review, so I'll just enter this scene into evidence. In escaping Syndrome's goons, young Dash truly gets to experiment with his powers for the first time, running on water and out-maneuvering flying blade thingys with a child's delight in a wonderfully presented scene. I'm going to go watch this again. 


3. BPRD vs The Golden Army (Hellboy 2: The Golden Army - 2008) 

It's a shame that there haven't been many good Hero Team films, but this (almost) climatic battle between Hellboy and his BPRD team against an army of "industrable" clockwork robots demonstrates how a team of heroes can have a fight where they all get to do something and don't break out of character (I'm looking at you Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer). The Hellboy films are underrated gems and this fight demonstrates what I mentioned above, that being Del Toro's keen eye for an action sequence. "Industrable my ass." 


2. Hulk vs Blonsky (The Incredible Hulk - 2008) 

 
Much maligned, but rarely actually watched, the Hulk reboot featuring Edward Norton does a pretty good job of telling a Hulk story on the big screen. The drawcard fight in this film is the Hulk/Abomination 32 minute brawl at the end of the film, but the real gem is much earlier. Hopped up on Super Soldier Serum and Gamma radiation, Emil Blosky (still in Tim Roth form) goes toe to toe with the Hulk and holds his ground for a few minutes. This fight is fluid, dynamic and a lot of fun, exactly what Superhero movie fights should be. 


1. Iron Man and War Machine vs Hammerroids (Iron Man 2 - 2010) 

 
Aww yeah! If two guys in high-tech battle armour blasting away at a horde of robots whist cracking one-liners isn't your idea of fun, then what are you doing watching superhero films? Tony and Rhody cut loose on out of control robots with enough explosions to make Micheal Bay need to change pants. Maybe it lacks the visual poetry of Bruce Lee versus Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in The Game of Death, this scene culminates the expectations of film-goers everywhere who want to see Iron Man kick butt in a visually interesting way. Citizen Kane this is not, but it's damn good for what it is. 

Superhero Media: The Batman Vs Dracula

Most of the discussion I've come across of The Batman animated series is rather down on the entire programme, claiming it to be something of a sub-par take on the character. Now, I haven't seen much more than this film and a smattering of random episodes, but I strongly disagree with that statement. Sure, The Batman isn't as good as Batman the Animated Series, but by that logic, I shouldn't watch any films that aren't Citizen Kane, Seven Samurai or Breathless; The Batman is quite watchable on its own merits, and The Batman Vs Dracula is always a fun watch. The Batman Vs Dracula doesn't bother with any deep-lore diving, everyone knows who Dracula is and it doesn't matter how and why his coffin is in Gotham city, we're just here to see the Dark Knight battle the Son of the Dragon. The action ramps up pretty quick, with The Penguin being dominated into a Renfield role and helping Dracula spread his influence and track down Vicky Vale for a plot to bring Camilla, his bride, back to life. Or Undeath, rather. 

Camilla being Dracula's bride, rather than a lesbian inversion of his power dynamic, is a little odd, but I kind of don't care because Joker is now a Vampire! Kevin Michael Richardson plays Joker in this incarnation, which has more of an acrobat vibe with joke-shop gadgets, both factors diminishing his online reception, though I like Gadgeteer Joker as a contrast to all of Batman's "Wonderful Toys". Just be careful when looking up this version online, as racist rants about how Joker is "supposed to be white" are far too easy to come by. Using Joker as a guinea pig, Batman cures vampirism and sets about turning Gotham's citizenry human again with his serum and garlic-laced Baterangs. Of course, this doesn't work on Dracula himself, so Bats has to lure him towards a giant solar generator, carefully mentioned in Act One, and blast him with pure sunlight. All-in The Batman Vs Dracula runs a tight 80 minutes and is pretty satisfying, if disposable. 

One of the parts I like most about The Batman Vs Dracula (and, I suspect, the reason it's not terribly popular in the broader fandom) is that Batman is kind of out of his depth physically the entire time and has to rely on his cunning and detective skills. I mean, of course Batman can't beat up Dracula, he's freaking Dracula! In Captain Britian and MI:13, it takes Black Knight and the wielder of Excalibur to take Dracula down, of course a deranged orphan with a bat fetish can't take him down with throwing stars shaped like bats. I'm actually reminded of the big Darksied fight from the end of Justice League Unlimited, where Batman can't hurt Darksied, but is skilled enough to give him the runaround until Superman can cut loose. That's the kind of balance of responsibility in battle that makes the Justice League (and similar teams) work, I'd like to see more of it in film, including solo outings; from both DC and Marvel.

Superhero Media: Underworld Evolution

Is it ok to say that I just don't "get" the Underworld films? Is it just about Kate Beckinsale looking good in a corset and latex pants? Is it the "depth" of the lore? Is it the joy of watching something mindless? Please, let me know. The story picks up with Selene and Michael on the run from the remaining Vampires, hoping to get far enough away so that when the ancient Marcus awakens, they aren't caught and killed immediately. Much of the film is told in flashback and exposition, as Selene and Michael learn the true history of the Vampire and Werewolf clans, with both being descended from warring brothers. There's something of the descent of Cain and Abel in that which I'm assuming isn't intended to ape the White Supremacist interpretation, as these films seem to miss "the ruling classes are monsters" aspect of Vampire fiction to begin with. Selene still gets a chance to prove what a special little Mary Sue she is between long sections of exposition detailing Len Wiseman's homebrew setting for his Vampire: The Masquerade game. 

Yeah, I kind of lost patience with this one, the constant exposition was a bit much, especially because a lot of great British actors I really enjoy have to spout it from scene to scene. Seriously, how much money was thrown at Tony Curran, Bill Nighy, Steven Mackintosh and Derek Jacobi to get them to say shit like "For centuries I've stood back and watched the havoc my sons have wrought on each other, and on humanity - not the legacy I prayed for the morning I watched them enter this world... And it's been a tiresome duty - keeping the war contained, cleaning up the mess, hiding my family's unfortunate history?" Ugh. Jacobi was Cadfael and Emperor Claudius for Thor's sake! The fight scenes of Underworld Evolution are pretty good again, with the gulf between character power levels illustrated well visually and there's a pretty cool Vampire kill with a helicopter in the climax. 

As bad as Blade Trinity was, I can't help feeling, again, that the Underworld series is a pale imitator of the Daywalker, or, as alluded to above, Wiseman's fan-fiction wrote large on the big screen. As far as intersecting Vampires and superheroes, the Blade series sets it up better, with Vampires being hidden behind human society, rather than kept apart and obfuscated by a benevolent immortal. I'm honestly considering not bothering with the rest of the series (there are how many of these?) as whatever charm is supposed to be there just fails to land on me. Then again, I've stuck with the Gamera series through some garbage, so I may as well give another one or two a go. If you're not already a fan of this series, I can't say I recommend it, but hey, I'm a bit jaded on the "Vampire Mafia" thing from too many years of White Wolf roleplaying games anyway. 

Miniatures Finished: Vampire Soldiers

Having needed some henchmen for the MI-13 Campaign, I picked up some of these Malifaux "Witchling Stalkers", which where about the closest match for the Vampires in sun-proof suits from Captain Britain and MI-13 I could find in miniature.

I also took another pass at some crates I had to make them a bit more worn and dirty. 
 

The Vampire soldiers are the baseline henchmen of Dracula's forces, being tough for henchmen, but still weaker than an average hero. 

Name: Vampire Soldiers				BP: 85
Affiliation: Dracula				AP: 6
Strike: 5	Strength: 5	Dodge: 5	Sense: 6 (1)
Toughness: 6 (1)	Mind: 2	Resolve: 2	Damage: 6/6
Powers
Drain 3 (Limited) - 2AP after a successful Strike Attack, reduce opponent’s physical characteristics up to 3
Density Decrease – 3AP, Immune to Damage rolled against Toughness, Cannot make melee attacks, may move through terrain, immune to fall damage, Cannot be Knocked Down
Combat Reflexes – May break from Combat with an Opposed Dodge Test and Charge again
Super-Toughness 1, Super Sense 1
Henchmen Team – 6 Members