Sentinels of the Multiverse

Lore & Background

Sentinels of the Multiverse was conceived by Christopher Badell, who wanted a game about people with different abilities and outlooks gathering to beat an overwhelming threat in a weird environment. Badell teamed up with artist Adam Rebottaro to craft the first set, creating a fictional comic-book universe inspired by the long histories of DC and Marvel Comics. The initial set featured five heroes inspired by the Avengers, with characters like Legacy blending aspects of Superman and Captain America. Badell crafted a timeline of stories for the fictional 'Sentinel Comics' imprint, enabling him to develop characters and write flavor text for each card. Expansions generally include characters inspired by side plots from the main storyline, and Badell considered comic book publishing history when developing characters, such as Chrono Ranger, a sheriff with time-manipulation powers conceived as a result of Sentinel Comics starting as a cowboy-story publisher.

Reader's Guide

Sentinels of the Multiverse has been well received by players and critics since its launch, with Tom Vasel of The Dice Tower podcast giving it the #1 slot in his 'top 30 games to look out for from Gen Con 2011', and the review blog Giant Fire Breathing Robot awarding it 'Board Game of the Year: 2011'. Reviewers generally praised the art and gameplay, while criticizing the small box, lack of HP trackers, and difficulty scaling among different numbers of players. The game's mechanics include aspects similar to Magic: The Gathering and Dominion, and it uses three types of card decks: heroes, villains, and environments. The game has seen multiple expansions, including Rook City, Infernal Relics, Shattered Timelines, Vengeance, Wrath of the Cosmos, and Villains of the Multiverse, each adding new heroes, villains, and environments. The Enhanced Edition introduced tokens and balance changes, and the Definitive Edition in 2021 revised artwork and rules. Badell anticipated Sentinels would be a limited series based on his narrative approach, with flavor text pointing to an ultimate event revealed with the final expansion, 'Sentinels of the Multiverse: Oblivaeon'.

Did You Know?

• The game was released at Gen Con 2011.
• The core game comes with 10 heroes, 4 villains, and 4 environments.
• The Enhanced Edition in 2012 did not include tokens; tokens were introduced in later printings or accessories.
• The Shattered Timelines expansion did not feature the winning fan-created villain; that villain, The Matriarch, was in the Rook City expansion.