Enhanced

Welcome to Cowboy Bebop and Trigun Stampede Challenger Series – Enhanced

In this new series, Levi is here to kick off reveal seasons by taking a deeper look at upcoming releases, diving into the flavor and mechanics of the product, as well as seeing some exciting card reveals. You can join the UVS Team and watch the full video for our Cowboy Bebop and Trigun Stampede Challenger Series – Enhanced here

Previously in First Form, we got our first look at these two preconstructed decks that are going to be expanding the world of UniVersus with two iconic anime gunslingers.
But now it’s time to enhance our vision of these two with a few members from the UVS Games team.

-Ready Step-

In our Challenger Series Cowboy Bebop and Trigun Stampede Enhanced Video, we explored with Drew Nolosco, UVS Games Head of Product, the product’s goal of regularly introducing diverse IPs to UniVersus outside of the main booster set cadence. From Drew “The big differences are it's got a 60 card ready to go deck. But that deck's a little bit more competitive ready than a clash deck. It's a little bit more complex, it's a little bit more powerful, and instead of just having one character card it contains two character cards and we've specifically designed the two character cards and the deck so that you can choose each of the character cards pair them with the deck and the character card lets you play the deck a little bit bit differently. Each character card interacts with the 60 cards in the deck a little bit differently so there's a little bit of of strategy difference in how the decks play depending on the character card.”

-Review Step-

Now lets Join Bill Stark, UVS Games Director of Game Design, as he gives a talk about the ideas and design for both of these challenge decks.

The featured Ultra Rare card, Fallen Angel’s Revenge, is part of the Cowboy Bebop Challenger Series deck. This card incorporates the mechanics of flipping and unflipping foundations, providing players with a strategic means to regain momentum during gameplay while also employing the flavorful element of bounty hunters thriving off the world's trash pile. According to Bill “As a concept kind of across both of the decks, was that flipping foundations and unflipping them was like, loading your gun and reloading your gun after you expended things. And on both different decks Like Faye and Spike and then also as we move into Trigun Stampede the world's use them in different ways.”

The showcased Ultra Rare card, Inevitable Clash, belongs to the Trigun Stampede Challenger Series deck. “I don't want to give too much away but you're setting up for this inevitable clash between the antagonist and the protagonist. It is significant, it's going to affect all of the humans that are around to be impacted by and so we wanted to make sure that the card really represented that.” The team focused on emphasizing the considerable impact on the characters in the storyline, aiming to ensure the card effectively conveys the magnitude of this encounter via high damage and high speed.

-Draw Step-

Finally we sit down with Zoe McNamara, UVS Games Creative Director, to take a look into the creative world of these new cards. The creative direction for Cowboy Bebop and Trigun Stampede Challenger Series expertly blends nostalgia with fresh perspectives, achieving a harmonious yet distinct atmosphere. Key design elements, like unique typefaces and a color-shifted starfield theme, contribute to a unique feel for each world. The meticulous art selection process involved detailed scans of animation cells for Cowboy Bebop and atmospheric CGI scenes for Trigun Stampede ensuring unrivaled quality on the cards.

Additionally, the Collector's Booster Pack introduces exclusive alternate-art cards, providing innovative interpretations across characters, attacks, and foundations. From Zoe “The collector's booster is super exciting because it gives us a chance to give ourselves and our community new takes on cards that are going to exist within that base deck.” Flavor text seamlessly integrates into these alternate-arts, elevating the storytelling aspect for a more immersive experience.

-Combat Phase-

Now it's time to get out there and start gunslinging with these brand new UniVersus Decks. We revealed the Challenger Series Launch Event which you can sign up for right now! We also further explained a bit more of how each deck works with the game designers here.

Also, be sure you check out the full video for more information from the UVS Games Staff on what makes these first Challenger Series decks so special along with a few more cards revealed. Cowboy Bebop and Trigun Stampede Challenger Series are both available for pre-order now at local game stores near you and release on January 19th, 2024.