#13: Unmatched: Battle of Legends (Mark's Top 100 2024)

Unmatched: Battle of Legends

BoardGameGeek

• rank: 257
• rating: 7.7
• published: 2019
• Rob Daviau & Justin D. Jacobsen

Print Status

• in print

Why It's On The List

• Take the basic card combat idea behind Star Wars: Epic Duels... add in the brilliant LOS board configuration system from Tannhäuser...and infuse the game thematically with a "mix of characters across time & reality" vibe from Heroscape... and then do a top-notch production job... and you've got Unmatched.

Tips & Tricks:

• One of the biggest issues in Epic Duels (the need of some characters to turtle for multiple turns in order to make decent attacks) is fixed here... both by better balancing the decks AND by instituting a "getting to the end of your deck" penalty.
• Each character/team has different strengths and weaknesses... you cannot play each character the same way and be successful.
• The character receiving the least love out of the gate was King Arthur... but I've managed to pull off some wins with him by playing the cards in his deck, not the cards I wish he had.
• Some of the newer boxes (and there are a LOT of them) have more complicated decks - but I'm happy to have the variety in play styles and characters.

Extras

• Restoration Games announced last year that they are putting two Unmatched sets “into the vault” – Cobble & Fog and Robin Hood vs. Bigfoot. Both of these sets will not be reprinted when the current stock runs out. The good news? On Twitter, Justin Jacobsen clarified that “vaulting” these sets was more like the old Disney film/VHS system, where something could come back out of the vault. That said, there’s no promise that the boxes will return to print – just that they are not permanently shelved.
• Due to the expiration of publication rights, the Restoration Games Unmatched vault already contains the Jurassic Park, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Deadpool, and Bruce Lee sets. While Deadpool & Bruce Lee are impossible to find in retail (and have been for quite a while), the other sets are still available - so if you're interested, it's time to pick them up.
• Some quick thoughts on the various boxes - all of which are stand-alone expansions:
• Robin Hood vs Big Foot - the best introduction if you're not sure about the series... two great characters and two great maps
• This is one of the sets that will not be reprinted when it runs out of stock... so if you're interested, go pick it up now!
• Cobble & Fog - two more great maps with four excellent characters - though three of the four characters are not quite as straightforward to play
• This is another one of the sets that will not be reprinted when it runs out of stock... so if you're interested, go pick it up now!
• InGen vs Raptors - my least favorite map, though both characters are fun to play
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer - two more excellent maps... don't love the Buffy character in 1v1 play but otherwise a fan of this box
• Volume II - a great map and four excellent medium-difficulty characters
• Bruce Lee - a solo character (no map) that's a lot of fun to play
• Little Red Riding Hood vs Beowulf - Red is tricky to play but really rewarding when you get it right
• Marvel: Redemption Row, Marvel: Hell's Kitchen, Marvel: Teen Spirit, and Marvel: For King & Country -  I like the creativity in the Marvel maps and the figures are incredible. Due to some balance issues across the set (my sons both swear that Bullseye is "way OP, dad" and I'm not sure we've ever seen Elektra win), I like these better for 2v2 play. (Note: I love the teen heroes in Teen Spirit... and I haven't seen a production copy of Brains & Brawn yet, which was a great deal of fun to playtest.)
• Houdini vs The Genie - both are fantastic characters 
• Unmatched Adventures: Tales to Amaze! - we hated the playtest... .but Restoration knocked this one out of the park and it's one of my favorite cooperative games of the last few years (and the heroes are playable in head-to-head fights as well!)
• Sun's Origin - only a single play with this set so far... the map is brilliant
• Slings & Arrows - these are not beginner characters... but there's not a bad hero in the set (and the theme comes through beautifully [speaking as a former English/theater major])
• My boys & I have been playtesters on a number of Unmatched sets: Vol. II, the Marvel boxes, Tales to Amaze!, and Slings & Arrows. We've also playtested some of the upcoming material (including - I think - the announced Witcher boxes).
• I've written a number of reviews about Unmatched for the Opinionated Gamers site:
• a detailed review/overview of the system
• a review of the Buffy & Little Red/Beowulf boxes
• a preview of the Unmatched Digital platform (which just won a Golden Geek award on BGG) 
• a review of four more sets: Battle of Legends Vol. II, Marvel: Hell's Kitchen, Marvel: Redemption Row, and Jurassic Park: Sattler vs. T-Rex
• a review of Houdini vs The Genie (plus some news about "vaulting" some of the Unmatched line)
• a review of two more Marvel boxes: For King & Country and Teen Spirit
• and, most recently, a review of the surprisingly excellent cooperative adaption of the system, Unmatched Adventures: Tales to Amaze!
• I'm currently working on a review of Slings & Arrows (the Shakespeare-based box that was just released)... and depending on life & how things go, I'll also be reviewing Sun's Origin and Marvel: Brains & Brawn.
• This is the fourth of six (6!) Rob Daviau games that will appear on my top 100 list this time around... and first of three Justin Jacobsen games.