Character cards [also known as Hero cards] - These cards are used to represent your team of four characters.  They are also used as Activators when playing with a Battlesite.
 
 
 
 
 

Special cards - These cards are usually unique to the named character.  They represent the individual abilities of each character.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Any Hero / Character Special cards - These Special cards may be played by anyone on your team.  They represent common abilities that are not character specific.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Power cards - These cards represent the basic forms of attack and defense.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Teamwork cards - These cards represent 2 or 3 characters of your team making a strategic attack against the opponent's team, allowing more than 1 action to take place during your turn.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Event cards - Event cards represent game effects that affect both players.  Typically, the players cannot control when Events will happen or how effective they will be.
 
 
 
 
 

Ally cards - These cards represent characters in the game who have no real power, compared to the major "heroes" and "villains" of the comic worlds.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Tactic: Artifact cards - These cards are unique items that can be added to the game, as long as you have a character that can play it.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Aspect cards - These cards represent abilities unique to the individual Homebases.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Mission cards - These cards have no function in the Battles only game, which is a type of game that beginners can use to learn the basics of OverPower.  In the Battles and Missions game, Mission cards help determine who is winning the game.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Universe: Basic cards - Basic Universe cards represent temporary items or abilities that grant a bonus to an offensive or defensive action using a Power card.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

  Universe:  Training cards - These cards are designed to boost a low level attack or defense from a character that has a low value in that power type.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

  Tactic: Doubleshot cards - These cards represent two characters working together to make one high powered attack or defense.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

  Location cards, Battlesites and Homebases - Location cards may be used as a Homebase or as a Battlesite.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

  Primary stat - Hulk has a power grid of Energy - 1, Fighting -  3, Strength -  8, Intellect -  6.  The Primary stat is the one with the highest number, which for Hulk is Strength.

   Knockout, or KO - Under normal circumstances, a character is Knocked out, or KO'd, when one of these two conditions is met:
A.  20 points of damage on Current and/or Permanent Record - Cumulative KO
B.  3 different Power Types - Spectrum KO
    For more information about KO's, see the Dead is Dead rule.

   Secondary Stat - Using the same example as Hulk in the primary stat above, his secondary stat would be Intellect.  It is his second highest stat that is a 6 or greater.  A secondary stat can be used to play Teamwork cards of another power type, which is often called an off-color Teamwork.  If Hulk is on a team with other 8 Strength characters, he could play a 6 Intellect to use Teamwork and a teammate could follow up with high Strength power card for an attack that is very tough to block.

   Deck Sum Rule -  The Sum Deck Rule is the maximum Power Grid total you may use for your team if you do not use a specific Homebase.  It is set up to account for every combination of 3 and 4 stat characters that you may use for your team.  To find out what your limit is, find the total number of power types for your team.  A 3 stat character [one without an Intellect rating] has 3 power types.  A 4 stat character [one with Intellect] has 4 power types.  This total will be found in the left column in the table below.
    The right column is the maximum total of the values of those power types of all four characters.  The example given in the Monumental rule book is a good one to copy.  The 3 stat Wolverine [Energy - 2, Fighting - 8, Strength - 4] counts for 14 points.  The 4 stat Wolverine [Energy - 2, Fighting - 8, Strength - 5, Intellect - 4] counts as 19 points.  When you add up the values of all four power types for all four characters it may not be higher than the number in the right column.