When DCeased was announced a lot of returning fans were a little disappointed to learn there would be no playable Zombie mode to match with Marvel Zombies. Now of course there are a number of reasons for this; they’ve been explained elsewhere if you’re interested. As for myself, I say there’s always reasons not to do something. I think a bunch of us want to do it anyway. So this is my effort, over the coming months, before the Kickstarter ships out I will have posted playable rules for every Zombie Hero. You can mix them with your Marvel Zombies, custom up some rules to run them in DCeased missions, or just laugh at how bad my ideas are. Lots of people have some cool ideas for how to make these characters. These are just mine.
My customs are designed to feel balanced next to existing designs. They are designed with simplicity in mind; simplicity is what makes Zombicide so fun. I also design my customs to match the sculpt of the model and the version and powers that are presented there. In designing custom playable Zombie Heroes I have developed the term “Militia” as a shorthand to mean Trooper, Guard or Specialist. All cards were made using Wuxyteo’s card creator, which is pretty great.
So in this box we start with The Joker, which is maybe the most complicated character design I have done. Certainly he is the most complicated character in this box. I do try to design these with an eye towards simplicity; simple easy to understand rules are a core aspect of what makes Zombicide fun to play. But The Joker is a character that demands to be looked at a little differently. He may not be for everyone, but he should be a rewarding experience for players looking to run a character who skews the traditional game dynamics.
To start, Joker is not really all that dangerous in a fight on his own, so he gets the lowest base attack dice. Swinging around a zombie fish he’s going to struggle to keep up with hard targets. But you’re not playing him for his attacks; it’s his tactical abilities that make him dangerous. At Blue, All Part of the Plan gives you the ability to move your team into position, although it is risky because you can see your Hunger surge out of control when you make use of it. At Orange, Mad Clown Disease is the key to managing the risk Joker brings. It allows you to use your team’s Devour attacks to set your own Hunger level. The best use of this is probably to save yourself from being Ravenous but don’t overlook the ability to always have extra dice. Finally at Red your signature stroke of mad genius. This power can only be used as the first thing you do on your turn, if you take any other actions you miss your chance. It will USUALLY kill a bunch of guys. Every so often it just ends your turn, causing you to immediately take damage for ending your turn Ravenous. Joker’s Wild.
