UniVersusis a TCG dedicated to bringing your favourite anime and games to card form, but this time, it’s trying something a little different with Challenger Series - Critical Role. Adapting the Actual Play D&D podcast into two decks, it features characters, locations, and moments from the series’ first two campaigns, Vox Machina and Mighty Nein.
The Mighty Nein deck focuses on the party’s more chaotic members, with Nott the Goblin and Jester the Tiefling getting a whole host of new cards that you can either play in their own preconstructed deck, or slip into just about any of your existing UniVersus builds.
Description
Jester Lavorre, Prankster Priestess
Character - Healer - Mighty Nein - 6 Difficulty - 6 Check - 0 Block - Chaos/Fire/Life - 6 Hand Size - 31 Life
EnhanceSpent 1 momentum: Add 1 Spell card from your discard pile to your hand.
Enhance[Once per turn] Commit 1 foundation: Your rival spends 1 momentum. Both players add the top card of their deck to their momentum.
Nott the Brave, Irritable Goblin
Character - Thief - Mighty Nein - 6 Difficulty - 6 Check - 0 Block - Chaos/Death/Void - 7 Hand Size - 22 Life
Enhance[Twice per turn]: Add the top card of your discard pile to your hand. Discard 1 random card. If you discarded a copy of the same card, add it to your momentum.
EnhanceMill 1: If you have less health than your rival, your attack gets +1 damage and gainsStun: 1.
Wound/Restore
Action - Spell - 3 Difficulty - 4 Check - 3 Block - Chaos/Fire/Life
First EnhanceRemove: Gain 5 health.
EnhanceRemove: If your attack deals damage, your rival loses 4 health.
“First Enhannce — Only playable as your first enhance during an Enhance Step.”
Nott’s Flask
Asset - 1 Difficulty - 5 Check - 2 Block - Chaos/Death/Void
After you build this asset, add 3 Booze counters to it. If there are no Booze counters on this card, your attacks get -2 speed.
EnhanceCommit, remove 1 Booze counter: This attack gets +3 or -3 damage.
Enhance[Once per turn] Mill 3: If you did not mill an attack this way, add 1 Booze counter to this card.
Big Freakin' Explosion
Attack - Ally - Ranged - Spell - Tech - 5 Difficulty - 3 Check - 2 Block - Chaos/Death/Fire - 5 High Speed - 5 Damage
EnhanceSpent 1 momentum, mill 3: This attack gets +1 damage for each attack in your discard pile. If you milled 3 attacks this way, you lose health equal to half this attack’s damage (rounded down) after it resolves.
Mill 3 — Put the top 3 cards of your deck into your discard pile."
Duplicitous Attack
Attack - Ally - Spell - Combo (Spell - 4 Difficulty - 3 Check - 1 Block - Chaos/Fire/Fire - 4 Low Speed - 4 Damage
Combo Enhance:Your next attack gainsEcho.
“Combo (Spell) — This attack’s Combo Enhance cannot be played unless Spell is one of the preceding card’s printed keywords.”
“Echo — Response Spend 1 momentum: After this attack resolves, you may attempt to play it as your next form this turn. If you do, flip it after it resolves.”
Hand-Axe Swing
Attack - Weapon - 5 Difficulty - 3 Check - 1 Block - Chaos/Fire/Life - 5 High Speed - 5 Damage
Sniping Bolt
Attack - Ranged - Weapon - 3 Difficulty - 3 Check - 2 Block - Chaos/Death/Void - 2 Mid Speed - 3 Damage
If your rival has not taken damage this turn, this attack gets +1 speed and +1 damage for each attack in your card pool.
Spirit Lollipop
Attack - Ally - Spell - Weapon - 5 Difficulty - 3 Check - 2 Block - Chaos/Fire/Life - 5 Mid Speed - 5 Damage
Enhance[Hand] Remove: Your attack gets +3 damage. Gain 2 health.
Response: After this attack is blocked, your next attack gets +3 damage.
Targeting Blast
Attack - Ally -Powerful: 2- Ranged - Spell - 4 Difficulty - 3 Check - 2 Block - Chaos/Fire/Life - 5 Mid Speed - 4 Damage
Response:After this attack deals damage, your next attack gets +2 speed.
“Powerful: 2 – EnhanceSpent 1 or more momentum: This attack gets +2 damager for each momentum spent to pay the cost of this ability.”
Tinkerer’s Bolt
Attack - Ranged - Tech - Weapon - 4 Difficulty - 3 Check - 2 Block - Chaos/Death/Void - 3 Low Speed - 4 Damage
Response:After this attack deals damage, mill 2. If you milled an attack this way, add 1 momentum to your hand.
“Mill 2 — Putthe top 2 cards of your deck into your discard pile.”
Averse to Water
Foundation - 1 Difficulty - 5 Check - 3 Block - Chaos/Death/Void
EnhanceCommit: This attack gets -2 speed. If it has the life or water symbol, it gets -1 damage.
Button Collector
Foundation - 3 Difficulty - 5 Check - 2 Block - Chaos/Death/Void
EnhancneSpent 1 momentum: Seal 2 rival foundations. Your rival may destroy 1 foundation to cancel this ability.
EnhanceCommit: Draw 1 card for each copy of “Button Collector” in your stage. If you drew 2 or more cards this way, flip this card.
“Seal — A card that is sealed loses all abilities and cannot gain abilities for the rest of the turn.”
Hostile Introduction
Foundation -Mighty Nein Breaker: 2- 0 Difficulty - 5 Check - 3 Block - Chaos/Death/Void
After this card enters your discard pile during the Enhance Step, your rival loses 1 health. This effect cannot reduce your rival’s health below 1.
“Mighty Nein Breaker: 2 — Response:After you block with this card, your rival, next check to play a card gets -2. Only playable if your character has the Mighty Nein trait.”
Mischievous Doodler
Foundation - 2 Difficulty - 5 Check - 2 Block - Chaos/Fire/Life
EnhanceCommit 1 foundation: Your Spell attack gainsStun: 1. If it is blocked, ill 1.
“Mill 1 — Put the top card of your deck into your discard pile.”
“Stun: 1 — Enhance:Your rival commits 1 foundation.”
Playing Pranks
Foundation - 2 Difficulty - 5 Check - 3 Block - Chaos/Fire/Void
ResponseFlip: After you block an attack, mill 1. If you milled an attack this way, the next attack your rival tries to play gets +2 difficulty. Otherwise, their next attack gets -1 speed and -1 damage.
Spreading The Word
Foundation - 2 Difficulty - 5 Check - 3 Block - Chaos/Fire/Life
EnhanceCommit: Add 1 Pamphlet counter to a card in your rival’s stage. This attack gets +2 speed.
Response:After the start of your Combat Phase, if your rival has 10 or more foundations with Pamphlet counters on them, you win the game.
The Best Detectives
Foundation - 1 Difficulty - 5 Check - 3 Block - Chaos/Fire/Void
EnhanceFlip, mill 3: If you miled a Spell card this way, draw 1 card.
“Mill 3 — Put the top 3 cards of your deck into your discard pile.”
The Traveler’s Favorite
Foundation - 2 Difficulty - 6 Check - 3 Block - Chaos/Fire/Void
Enhance:If a card has been added to your hand from the discard pile this Enhance Step, this attack gets +1 damage.
Trickster’s Blessing
Foundation - Spell - 1 Difficulty - 5 Check - 2 Block - Chaos/Fire/Life
Response[Tenacious]: After this card is committed during an attack, add 1 card from either player’s discard pile to the bottom of their deck.
“Tenacious — This ability is playable while committed.”
Unbreakable Cheer
Foundation - 2 Difficulty - 4 Check - 2 Block - Chaos/Fire/Life
ResponseFlip: After you mill 1 or more cards, add 1 of them to the top of your deck.
Wound/Restore (x2)
Averse to Water (x4)
Trickster’s Blessing (x4)
Unbreakable Cheer (x4)
The Mighty Nein deck comes with a five-card Collector’s booster that features foil treatments and alt-art versions of the cards found in the deck.
As with Vox Machina, the Mighty Nein deck comes with two characters, either of whom can be the leader of your deck. First up is Jester Lavorre, Prankster Priestess, who wants to focus on playing lots of Spell cards and then bringing them back to your hand from the discard pile. As is befitting a healer, she also has a beefier-than-most life total of 31, letting your deck go a bit further.
The second option is Nott the Brave, Irritable Goblin. Critical Role fans will know this cursed goblin for her more emotional moments later in the campaign, but here she’s the pure embodiment of chaos. She discards cards at random to add them to your momentum if you’re lucky, and gets to deal more damage if you’ve lost more life than your opponent. Swing fast and play recklessly with Nott to maximise her strengths.
Most of the attacks in the deck are spells, which play nicely with Jester. Cards like Spirit Lollipop, Big Freakin’ Explosion, Targeting Blast, and Duplicitous Attack are all Spell attacks, although Nott has a few tricks up her sleeve too, with the slightly less synergistic Tinkerer’s Bolt, Sniping Bolt, and Hand Axe Swing.
There is a slight healing theme of the deck, to go with Jester’s role as a cleric. Spirit Lollipop can gain you two health, while Wound/Restore is a spell that can gain you a whopping five health in a pinch. Just keep in mind that, unlike other TCGs, you can’t gain more life than your character card’s maximum.
The cards only go up to a certain point in the campaign and avoid some of the bigger character revelations that happen later, but it delves right in to the pair’s backstory. Hostile Introduction shows the first meeting of the Mighty Nein in a tavern at Trostenwald, with a cameo appearance from fellow party member Caleb. Aversion to Water also gives us a look into Nott’s backstory, with her being absolutely petrified of water for reasons the campaign later reveals.
There is some levity, too. Jester and Nott’s time as “detectives” of a mysterious portal is shown off on The Best Detectives, and Mischievous Doodler has Jester drawing something rather rude indeed. We even get to see Jester and her deity, The Traveler, on The Traveler’s Favorite.
