From Onscreen to Tabletop: An Interview With Sergio Sandoval on Bringing Batman™: The Animated Series to Life in Enemies of™ Gotham City™

We are thrilled to feature the talented Sergio Sandoval in this Artist Spotlight. Sergio made his debut in the early 1990s drawing comic books and covers for Comic Forum (Spain). Since then, he has worked on several DC projects and is no stranger to capturing the legendary “Dark Deco”, bold silhouettes, and moody noir inspired aesthetic fans of Batman: The Animated Series know well. Sergio Sandoval’s contributions to the Enemies of Gotham City game brings the atmospheric tension of Gotham City directly into the players’ hands.  Join us as we go behind the scenes with Sergio Sandoval!

Product depicted for demonstration purposes only and is subject to change without notice. ©2026 The Upper Deck Company.

 BATMAN and all related characters and elements ©2026 & DC. WB SHIELD: © & WBEI. (s26)   AGES 14+

The box packaging serves as the front facing introduction to the game’s world, utilizing Sandoval’s signature angular lines and bold, modern comic style. We asked Sandoval how he gave each of these iconic villains their own spotlight on the box art, despite their competingly large personalities. Sergio responded “You have to think about each character’s personality, their special abilities, and how they face their enemies. Once you have that clear, you have to think about the sizes of each of them, so that they are all different, but occupy a similar space in the illustration. If the character is very small, you can add more striking elements, and if it is very large, you can place it behind the other characters. The composition must be balanced and none of them should stand out too much above the others”. Sandoval also emphasized how important shadows, highlights, and colors are when depicting Batman: The Animated Series’ Gotham City. Sergio explained, “Batman: The Animated Series is a work with a very defined character in terms of color and drawing. But Gotham is a very dark city, which contrasts with its blue and electric red skies. This influences the very strong lighting for the characters, as if they were illuminated by a flashlight in the dark. This gives them very vivid colors and very defined shadows”.

Product depicted for demonstration purposes only and is subject to change without notice. ©2026 The Upper Deck Company.

 BATMAN and all related characters and elements ©2026 & DC. WB SHIELD: © & WBEI. (s26)   AGES 14+

Sergio Sadoval was also the mastermind behind creating the Villain Boards for the Enemies of Gotham City game. We asked him how he used background art to add to the story and emotion tied to each villain. To which he responded, “That was a really easy task, since these characters have so many stories behind them and it was very easy to capture the scenes that Ricky Le (Art Acquisition Coordinator at Upper Deck) and Caleb Cleveland (Visual Art Specialist at Upper Deck) proposed to me”. Sergio’s favorite Villain Board to work on was Clayface. He said “He’s a character who, despite having a fairly specific anatomical structure, is very irregular and very brutal. This gives me a lot of flexibility to exaggerate the different aspects I like best, such as his big arms or hands, and draw the roughness of his skin however I want. I love it!”.

Product depicted for demonstration purposes only and is subject to change without notice. ©2026 The Upper Deck Company.

 BATMAN and all related characters and elements ©2026 & DC. WB SHIELD: © & WBEI. (s26)   AGES 14+

Before we wrapped up, we asked Sergio what he wants players to be most excited about when they see the box art for the first time. Sergio replied, “Show them a cover dedicated solely to the villains! Highlight how exceptional Batman’s villains are and that this time they are the center of attention. A great villain must be on par with a great hero”. From the striking presence of the box art on your shelf to the captivating detail of each Villain Board, this game is a dream come true for fans of Batman: The Animated Series. Whether you are a die hard fan of Sandoval’s iconic illustrations or a tabletop game enthusiast, the Enemies of Gotham City release is one you won’t want to miss! Follow along to learn more about the various artists that contributed to the creation of Enemies of Gotham City.

Stay up to date on Enemies of Gotham City!

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Learn more about Enemies of Gotham City and the Knight on The Town Expansion by visiting: https://upperdeck.com/enemies-of-gotham/

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The post From Onscreen to Tabletop: An Interview With Sergio Sandoval on Bringing Batman™: The Animated Series to Life in Enemies of™ Gotham City™ appeared first on Upper Deck.

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Upper Deck, NHLPA, and NHL to Bring Top NHL Prospects to The National Sports Collectors Convention

Upper Deck, the NHLPA, and the NHL are teaming up to bring collectors and hockey fans as close to the action as possible this year at The National Sports Collectors Convention. On Thursday, July 30 from 2-4 PM, some of hockey’s top prospects will make a special visit to The National at the Upper Deck booth (345 & 545). Gavin McKenna, Porter Martone and Cole Hutson headline the list of 22 players who will be interacting with fans in person and online. 

The players will hang out at the Upper Deck Breaker’s Lounge, opening packs with collectors and taking pictures with fans as part of Upper Deck’s personalized trading card station (stay tuned to Upper Deck social on Thursday, July 30 for details on how to have a chance to participate). They will also be participating in the hobby’s top podcasts and joining eBay Live. 

In addition to visiting Upper Deck’s booth, the players will also take to the show floor, joining some Certified Diamond Dealers at their booths to break product and join live breaks online.  

 Be sure to head to the Upper Deck booth on Thursday, July 30 at 2 PM to meet some of the NHL’s most exciting prospects and enjoy the greatest sports card show in the world with Upper Deck, the NHLPA, and the NHL.

The post Upper Deck, NHLPA, and NHL to Bring Top NHL Prospects to The National Sports Collectors Convention appeared first on Upper Deck.

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Rush of Ikorr Developer Update: Banned & Restricted List

The following cards are banned in Rush of Ikorr constructed play. This means that none of these cards may be registered in decklists for sanctioned events.

Banned

Amaterasu’s Dawn

Amaterasu’s Dawn

It is without question that a lot of the strongest effects in the game are SUMMON abilities. This is by design of course, but poses a challenge when considering cost reducers, keywords like Reanimate, or effects like Amaterasu’s Dawn that allow these abilities to retrigger. When initially balancing Amaterasu’s Dawn, the development team thought its influence cost was prohibitive enough to print. Now that the card has had plenty of time to find its place in the meta and the addition of powerful SUMMON retriggers in Luminary Strike, the context of the card’s power has drastically changed. Its influence cost of 6 is inconsequential, and its effect leads to deterministic wins a bit earlier than we want for the combo archetype. In addition to a guaranteed victory, the steps the combo must take involve long turns with many game actions that cannot be interrupted or interacted with. The combo potential is even more efficient in multiplayer with more resources available at once for players. Due to its powerful effect, efficiency in multiplayer, and ability to create uninteractable deterministic wins a little too quickly, Amaterasu’s Dawn is banned.

Current Banned Cards

Blessing of Osiris ROI-159 R

Venomous Asp ROI-093 C + Eager ROI-247 C

Onryō ROI-066 U + Eager ROI-247 C

Unrelenting Taskmaster ROI-092 U + Omamori of Fortune ROI-276 C

Ashigaru Gunner ROI-023 C + Sumptuous Cacao ROI-290 U

Stargazer ROI-084 C

Ritual Practitioner ROI-075 U

Starry Deer Crocodile ROI-085 U

Niobe, Sulking Stone ROI-123 R

Ix Chel, Lady Rainbow ROI-009 R/ROI-010 R

Tsukuyomi’s Twilight ROI-189 UR

Trade Skills ROI-188 U

Tzolk’in (Infusion) ROI-289 R

Tresses of Nephthys (Infusion) RMB-274 R

Hermes’ Lyre (Infusion) ROI-269 R

Amaterasu’s Dawn RMB-078 UR

Cards with Functional Errata

Enlightenment ROI-168 R

Kitsunebi ROI-055 U

Thessaly Covenstead RLS-078 U

Humiliation RLS-093 C

Vulture Wahy ROI-094 U

Cards with Templating Errata

…Five Hundred More RMB-077 U

Agamemnon, Resolute King RMB-035 R

Apep, Horizon’s Nemesis RLS-040 UR

Chamiabac, the Rottenbone RLS-041 R

Curse of the Defiler ROI-163 C

Drought of Envy RMB-085 UR

Fierce Spearman ROI-040 C

Forged by the Cyclopes ROI-169 C

Grane Shrine of Izumo ROI-146 R

Great Sphinx of Giza ROI-149 U

Hachiman, Charge Forth! ROI-004 U

Horus, Revered Sky ROI-005 U

Hun Came and Vucub Came, Lords of Xibalba RLS-003 U

Hun Hunapu, Wellspring ROI-006 U

Inari, Prosperous Patron ROI-117 R

Izanagi, He Who Beckons RMB-003 U

Izanami, She Who Heeds RMB-004 U

Kindred Miracle RLS-094 C

Kitsunebi ROI-055 U

Kukulkan, Plumed Scales ROI-012 U

Lamentation of Osiris RMB-097 C

Onryō ROI-066 U

Osiris Reborn ROI-176 U

Osiris, Lord of Silence ROI-014 U

Qebehsenuef, The Keen-Eyed RMB-054 U

Ritual Practitioner ROI-075 U

Sap of the Severed Head RMB-104 C

Typhon, Sire of Beasts ROI-018 U

Unrelenting Taskmaster ROI-092 U

Vision Serpent ROI-191 U

Wahy Watcher ROI-095 C

Wandering Tengu ROI-096 U

Yomotsu Hirasaka RMB-071 U

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