Welcome to the new Panini Games blog – the official hub for all gaming products from Panini. Today, we’re taking our first deep look at MetaX (“Meta Cross”) – a crossover TCG engine that launches with The Justice League in mid-July!

The MetaX TCG engine was designed from the ground up to incorporate several different universes into one cohesive gameplay experience. Today, we’ll take a look at the three types of cards that appear in the first release:

 Characters, Events, and Battle Cards.

Character cards are the soul of every deck, and you’ll rely on them to both provide resources and perform attacks. You may play up to one Character card per turn, to a maximum of three in play. Character cards generate Meta Points (“+MP”) when they are played. You’ll use MP throughout the game to pay for other cards or effects. The maximum amount of MP you can have is 10, and your MP cannot go below 0. 

Character cards also include effects, and each one has an icon that indicates how it is used.

Throughout the game, Character cards can be Pushed or Prepped. To Push a character, rotate it 90 degrees to indicate that it has been used. To Prep a Character, return it to its upright position.

Finally, Characters also possess Stats. There are three types of Stats: Strength (red), Intelligence (blue), and Special (green). Every Character has at least one Stat type, and most have two. For each Stat type included on a Character, it will also have a Rank value ranging from 1 to 7. A Character’s Stats determine which Battle Cards it is able to use.

Event cards cost -MP to play, and they are discarded after using their effects. Characters and Events are both played during the Planning Step.

Battle Cards are the fuel for your Characters to attack and defend, and they contain both a Stat type and a Rank. A Character may only use a Battle Card with a Rank that is equal to or less than its own Rank in that Stat type.

Using the above Batman – Dark Knight as an example, his Rank 7 Intelligence Stat allows him to use any Intelligence Battle Card with a Rank of 1 through 7. He is also able to use Special Battle Cards with a Rank of 1 through 6, and Strength Battle Cards with a Rank of 1 or 2.

Battle Cards are played during the Battle Step, which you’ll hear more about next week.

During the Battle Step, Characters may declare attacks (one at a time) by Pushing into the Battle Zone and playing a Battle Card. After you have finished declaring all of your attacks, the opponent may assign defenders (one at a time) by moving a Prepped Character in front of an attacker in the Battle Zone and playing a Battle Card.

Attacking and defending Characters exchange Damage by attaching their Battle Cards to each other, and a Character can be KO’d by a TKO (based on having multiple types of Stats as damage) or HP KO (based on having multiple points of damage). Meanwhile, any undefended attackers get through and claim a Victory Point. Collect 7 VPs to win the game!

In the MetaX TCG, your deck must consist of exactly 40 cards – with no more than three copies of any given card. There are a few nuances to Battle Card restrictions, see the full rulebook for more info. Crafting your personalized deck can be a very rewarding process! You might carefully align stats to maximize Battle Card usability – or eschew stat synergy completely for the upside of strongly paired effects. Based on whether your deck is aggro, midrange, or control, you’ll want to give deep consideration to the balance of low rank Battle Cards (which are generally low cost, or MP generating) to high rank Battle Cards (more efficient damage with stronger effects, but at a higher MP cost). In general, the key is finding a ratio of Characters, Events, and Battle Cards that suits your personal play-style!

Check back in the future for an upload of the Demo Deck that will be given out to local game stores. Aside from a scripted walkthrough explaining the flow of a normal match, it also includes in depth descriptions of most game mechanics – think of it as a quick rules sheet! After that, expect the full rulebook to follow – along with more discussion about strategy, previews, and other exciting things on the horizon.

Stay tuned for the first wave of MetaX Organized Play details at a later date, but you can plan on Launch Kit support followed by local Tournament Kits with foil promo cards and other swag. The first season of Regional level events is planned to take place before the end of the year, and other large scale events (to begin taking place in Q1 2018) will be announced shortly after. Which other universes might be represented in the game by then?!

For now, you can get a taste of MetaX Organized Play by participating in sealed events at Gen Con. You can sign up for a Gen Con badge here, and MetaX events are available Thursday through Saturday in the Event Registration section. Outside of these Starter Deck events, the Panini America booth will be handing out alternate art promos – exclusive to Gen Con! Similarly, you’ll be able to find promo cards at the San Diego Comic Con in July – watch for details in the coming weeks. All MetaX promo cards are foil, and the first foil pattern will be familiar to fans of Perfection.

On a final note, you’ll be able to see more of MetaX this weekend at A-Kon, held at the Fort Worth Convention Center in Fort Worth, Texas! Demos will be available from 10.00 AM through 1.00 PM, and 2.00 PM through 5.00 PM.

Until next time, welcome to the world of MetaX!