Summary

VS 2PCG (for "two-player card game") is a remake of the VS System card game, released by Upper Deck in 2015 and formally cancelled in 2026, after the final set released in late 2024. Players play as a main character (usually a superhero or villian) and recruit supporting characters to defeat their opponent's main character.

The game is an eXtensible Card Game (XCG, or LCG, Living Card Game): Rather than starter decks and booster packs where you collect cards, the game releases complete "sets" of cards, and buying a box of a set includes a full playset of cards (4 copies of most cards, 1 copy of main characters) for that set. There were also promotional cards.

Unlike the original VS System, this iteration leans heavily into non-superhero properties, including things like professional wrestling, X-Files, Buffy, and Mortal Kombat among its sets.

Card Types

• Main Character - A card representing who you're playing as, in the game. Each main character has an affiliation, and has attack and defense, abilities, health, and a level. They may also have additional symbols (such as ranged and flying).
• Supporting Character - A card representing someone (or something) on your team. Each supporting character has an affiliation, and has attack and defense, abilities, health, and a cost. They may also have additional symbols (such as ranged and flying).
• Plot Twist - Cards representing unexpected events. These play from your hand and have an effect and may have a required affiliation, and some are playable during your opponent's turn.
• Location - Cards representing places. These play as resources, but can also provide symbols to activate other abilities. These are either Basic or Special.
• Equipment - Cards representing items or things that can be used. These may have an affiliation and have an effect.

Sets and Decks

The game saw 68 sets released: Marvel Battles, A-Force, Defenders, Alien Battles, Legacy, Monsters Unleashed, Predator Battles, SHIELD vs Hydra, Deadpool and Friends, Brotherhood of Mutants, New Mutants, MCU Battles, MCU Heroes, MCU Villains, Spider-Friends, Sinister Syndicate, New Defenders, Buffy Battles, Crossover 1, Cosmic Avengers, Galactic Guardians, Black Order, Utopia Battles, Resistance, HAMMER, Power and Reality, Mind and Soul, Space and Time, X-Files Battles, Crossover 2, Friendly Neighborhood, Spidey-Foes, Web-Heads, The Fantastic Battles, The Herald, The Frightful, Future's Past, Freedom Force, The Omegas, Crossover 3, Masters of Evil, Mystic Arts, Into The Darkness, Civil War Battles, Secret Avengers, Thunderbolts, Lethal Protector, Maximum Carnage, Spider-Verse, Crossover 4, Wandavision, Loki, Falcon and Winter Soldier, House of X, The New Brotherhood, X-Force, Mortal Kombat, The Boys, Fractured Family, All Elite Wrestling, Future Foundation, Frightful Foes, Marvel Zombies, Crossover 5, Children of Lilith, Defenders of Hell's Kitchen, Protectors of New York, and Crossover 6.

Similar to VS System's split into Marvel and DC universes (with corresponding rotation rules), 2PCG is split into Illustrated and Photographic, and decks must draw from only one of those universes.

There are two types of sets: core sets, and expansion sets. The early sets were larger (so even expansion sets were 200 or more cards), but they eventually settled into 55-card expansion sets and 200-card core sets. The biggest difference was that core sets included rules and counters and enough locations to play the game, while expansion sets included only cards and a rules update sheet.

The core sets were Marvel Battles, Alien Battles, Predator Battles, MCU Battles, Buffy Battles, Utopia Battles, X-Files Battles, The Fantastic Battles, Civil War Battles, House of X, Mortal Kombat, The Boys, All Elite Wrestling, Defenders of Hell's Kitchen, and Protectors of New York. All other sets were expansion sets, and all expansion sets after (and including) Deadpool and Friends are 55-card sets.

Deck Composition and Contents

Core Sets

As noted, the core sets included either 400 (Marvel Battles) or 200 (every other core set) cards, which was enough for 2 or more players to build 60 card decks. The cards were naturally split up into affiliations within the set, which made it easy to throw together a basic deck. The included rulebook also suggested decks to build.

These boxes included a full set of rules and counters for the game. They also ensured enough location cards were available for decks.

Expansion Sets

* The first few expansion sets (Defenders, A-Force, Legacy, SHIELD vs Hydra) included 200 cards (and Monsters Unleashed included 400 cards!) as well as a number of basic locations, which is enough to build one or two decks from just the single box (and most of the included rules update sheets even suggest two decks to build). Later expansion sets (Deadpool and Friends, and onward) only included 55 cards, which was not enough (by itself) for a deck. Rather, these sets solely act as "booster packs" that let you expand your existing decks.

These boxes included sheets with card and rules clarifications, typically talking about new effects in the set. These also often included checklists or deck suggestions. Full rules (or counters to play) were not included.

Deck Rarity Analysis

This analysis doesn't make sense for an XCG/LCG.

Alan's Thoughts On The Game

This game does a lot of things that are familiar if you look at card game remakes (such as Star Trek 2E and ReZ): It takes the basic rules from the first game, simplifies some aspects, and removes mechanics that may have been confusing. And I think it does them very well. 2PCG still feels like VS, but it also plays a little more smoothly.

The biggest change is that you have a main character, and characters take damage directly. The dropping of the formation mechanic (instead just having a front row and a back row) helps with this. But it does change the feel of a game from "I'm controlling a team of heroes" to "I'm this character and fighting with my allies". It's not bad, just different. I actually like Plot Twists playing from the hand (avoids the peeking at cards that I often needed to do). Locations powering abilities makes sense. It just overall feels clean.

The choice to make this an XCG/LCG is an interesting one. I have never seriously played any XCGs, but I really like the idea that you don't have to have a ton of money to get booster packs and/or buy ultra rare cards to build a good deck. Then again, I also exclusively play defunct card games to save on the cost, so maybe I'm not the right person to appreciate this aspect. Regardless... it feels like a good change to make the game more accessible.

One thing I did find interesting is how much players seem to have not revolted against the re-release, versus what happened with 2E and ReZ. I suspect two factors are in play here: The game rebooted 7 years after the original VS System went defunct (in 2008), and the game released as an XCG rather than another TCG. Neither of these were true with 2E and ReZ: Both were full TCGs (with booster packs) and they released immediately after (or concurrently with, for 2E) the original games. I expect these factors both made the "my old cards are no longer legal" feeling less problematic, because getting new cards would be relatively cheap and players were already stuck with a dead card game.

The game naming, though. That could be better. This game can play more than 2 players (so "2 player card game" is misleading), and the VS System logo didn't change at all (even though the card backs did), and 2PCG doesn't exactly scream "this is not the same game as VS System". Until I purchased some cards, I had assumed it was just a continuation of the original game as an XCG, and was fully compatible.

Overall... good. I like this game. I think they did a good job with the changes. It's still enjoyable, and the expansion into other properties is fun.

Resources

• VS Card Browser
• /r/VS2PCG Wiki (includes rules, info, and a full card listing)