When it comes to signature teams in the DC Universe, the one that first comes to mind for many is the Justice League. Nowhere was the breadth and scope of the Justice League more apparent than in the Justice League Unlimited animated series - and, for the first time since our DC HeroClix: Batman the Animated Series set, we’re returning to the world of DC Animation with our latest DC HeroClix: Justice League Unlimited set!

Featuring signature heroes and villains from the historic series, Justice League Unlimited has an overarching theme of teamwork, whether from the core ‘Big 7’ members of the League, the villains of the Injustice League, or from the many heroes who united over various episodes of the landmark series to defeat the forces of evil. Today, we’re going to look at three figures from the set that display the Team Up mechanic to the set, allowing for even more customizable teams for you to play with. Team up cards will be included in select boosters, and there are multiple version to collect for many different characters.

One thing of note with regards to using the team up cards - default cards must be present at force reveal, but after forces are revealed you can replace a game element’s default game card with one of the alternate Team Up cards. However, you cannot use a Team Up card if any characters on your starting force share a name - sorry all Batman teams!

Up first is one of the most powerful members of the Justice League, Wonder Woman! Diana, on her base card, features stats that will break through any damage reduction, as well as powers such as Invincible, Empower, Super Strength, and Charge. She possesses two traits on both her base card and her team up card. The first, called Justice League Unlimited, allows Diana to roll a d6 at the beginning of the players turn. If they roll a 6, they can remove an action token from another friendly character with the Justice League keyword that’s 100 points or less. Additionally, both have a trait called Princess of Themyscira, which reduces ranged damage Diana takes to 1 - if she can draw a line of fire to the target attacking her.

With this particular Team Up card, Wonder Woman gains the trait Team Up: Batman. This trait states that if a friendly character matching the team up name (in this case, everyone’s favorite Dark Knight Detective) is on the map, Wonder Woman can in turn use Stealth. Additionally, if she occupies hindering terrain, as a free action she may move up to two squares. Beyond just Batman, Wonder Woman also has cards allowing her to team up with Superman, Green Lantern, The Flash, and many others!

Next up is one of the most notorious villains in the DC Animated Universe, Lex Luthor! The leader of the Injustice League, Lex is a character the grants you a wide variety of options and choice as you play. Across all 5 clicks of his 50-point dial, Lex has a special power on his attack called Custom-Made Ray Technology. This allows you to choose one of the following to use this turn - Penetrating/Psychic Blast, Precision Strike, Ranged Combat Expert, or Improved Targeting: Hindering Terrain. Dependent upon your situation, this will allow you to use any number of those powers in conjunction with Lex’s base powers of Outwit, Running Shot, Sidestep, and more. He also has a trait called Injustice League which operates similarly to Wonder Woman’s Justice League trait with one distinct villainous twist - at the start of the players turn, they can roll a d6. And, if a 6 is the result, they’re able to add an action token to an opposing character that’s 100 points or less!

One of the characters Lex is able to team up with via a team up card is the Ultra-Humanite. If the Ultra-Humanite is on the map and friendly to Lex, Lex can use Mind Control! Outside of the Ultra-Humanite, Lex can also team up with The Cheetah, Solomon Grundy, and some other DC ne’er-do-wells!

One of the best parts of the Justice League Unlimited animated series was the wide variety of characters that showed up on the series. One of the more obscure characters was the Shining Knight, a member of the Seven Soldiers from the past. Sir Justin carries a five click 50-point dial, with two special powers and a trait. Like many of the heroic characters in this set, he has the Justice League Unlimited trait, which operates identically to the one described in Wonder Woman’s preview. Additionally, Shining Knight has the special movement power on his first click called To Me, Winged Victory, which gives him use of both Charge and Flight. He also has a special defense power on his entire dial called I Would Gladly Offer My Life to Protect Those That Can’t Protect Themselves. This power grants Shining Knight the ability to use both Defend and Toughness. Additionally, when a friendly character that is adjacent to Sir Justin is missed by an opponent’s attack, after resolutions you may heal Shining Knight of one click of damage.

His team up card is one that puts a twist onto things from what we’ve seen previously. Called an ‘Episode Team Up’, this type of team up calls for a specific team to be assembled. In this case, the team called for includes not only the Shining Knight, but also the Crimson Avenger, Green Arrow, Speedy, Stargirl, S.T.R.I.P.E., and Vigilante. When that force is assembled, the attack rolls of Shining Knight and those characters listed have a minimum value equal to the number of those characters that remain on the map — with the exception being a roll of two ones which is still a critical miss. Additionally, if all those characters are on the map, they and Shining Knight have the Outsiders team ability which can make an opposing (or friendly) characters unable to modify their combat values!

There you have it! Three different takes on how Team Ups are going to work with the new Justice League Unlimited set. We’re truly excited for the set to release, and to have another opportunity to bring exciting new figures from a storied place like the DC Animated Universe. Enjoy, and until next time, may all your rolls be sixes, and your team ups be Unlimited!