On April 24th, there will be a new trading card game in town. Upper Deck has partnered with Gazillion/Amazing Society to produce a cardboard version of the amazing Marvel Super Hero Squad Trading Card Game that is already a smasing success online. Yes, we will finally be able to get our hands on actual physical copies of the cards that have already captured our virtual hearts. There is one spectacular thing about this game that is most thrilling, as an aficionado of the Trading Card Game genre.

This game is unbreakable.

A broken game has a small number of top level cards and strategies. Therefore, most players will play the same decks and styles. That will never happen in the Marvel Super Hero Squad Trading Card Game, since the blocking system was designed to perfection.

There will be booster packs, so there will a treasure hunt. This also promises a future tournament scene full of draft formats and fascinating metagames. Like all good Trading Card Games, there will be deckbuilding and deep strategy. These are very exciting times.

In the Marvel Super Hero Trading Card Game, each player brings a deck of 40 cards into battle. Each card counts as one life point. When your opponent cannot play any more cards, you are victorious.

Each card has a level, which is the first number from the top on the left. The level acts as a cost that is payed by a shared power number increased by a flip of a coin at the beginning of each turn. The game starts with both players at 1 power, so cards with a cost of 1 can be played right away. Each time the power flip results in heads, the power increases for both players. In order to play a Group Hug She-Hulk card, the coin needs to have landed on heads at least 6 times.

If the power level in the game has reached 7 or more, you can slap down a Group Hug as your one attack per turn. Your opponent will need a green strength factor blocker card to stop the squeezing, or else they will lose 10 cards into the discard pile. The She-Hulk Group Hug card can block yellow colored speed cards, as seen by the symbol on the bottom left of the card. If the opponent can play a green blocker card from their hand, the damage will stop there. If not, they will be forced to lose cards from their deck into the discard pile until a green blocker is revealed. The She-Hulk Group Hug will force the opponent to lose 10 cards if it is not blocked. That’s a powerful embrace.

The Mystic Fire card of Doctor Strange can only block purple energy factor cards. If the She-Hulk is attacking with her Group Hug, Mystic Fire cannot be played from the hand. If Mystic Fire is discarded as part of the attack damage, it does not stop the squeezing.

Mysterio’s Mists of Confusion, however, can loosen She-Hulk’s grip. This card has a green strength factor blocker symbol. If the Mists of Confusion is played from hand, the damage is stopped at 1. If it is discarded from the deck, the damage stops when it hits the pile.

Mysterio’s World of Illusion card is a keeper. Keepers stay in play for additional turns if they do their required keeper damage when they initially attack. If a keeper is successful in reaching its keeper number, it triggers additional damage or other effects later when certain conditions are met. A keeper misfires and is discarded from play any time it is blocked on its first hit of damage.

Silver Surfer has a Herald of Galactus card that wins the game all by itself. This would seem to allow stall decks to break the game. But wait. All cards with a purple energy factor blocking symbol can stop the surfer before he becomes a keeper. Any random common with the proper purple can foil the grandest of plans in this game.

The Fastball Special is one of the most celebrated moves in the history of Marvel Comics. Its namesake squad card is magnificent. It is not a keeper, but it triggers a massive effect if it does 5 damage when it attacks. Fastball Special actually throws a wild Wolverine into play as a bonus. You can also see that this card has two color factors. The opponent must block with both a green strength factor and a red animal factor to stop it. Good times.

Thor can harness the power of the Rainbow Pony in the Marvel Super Hero Squad Trading Card Game, but he cannot devise a strategy to break the game. The rules of blocking simply will not allow a deckbuilder to create an unbeatable combination. The mechanics are impeccably balanced, easy to learn, and endless fun for all ages. When a game has certain cards that are so strong that everyone uses them, the game is considered “broken”. That will never happen with this game, and that is its True Power. It’s a beautiful thing.

The best part about this brilliantly designed new trading card game is simple. You can start playing online right now! Jump on over to HeroUp.com and set up an account if you don’t have one already. It’s totally free and a complete blast to play.

Make sure to stay tuned to SquadCards.com for daily updates and in-depth articles, this party has just started!