Unmatched is “The ultimate battle between unlikely opponents.” Since 2019, this has led to 24 different sets of fighters that can mix and match to create those unlikely matchups. When we first launched Unmatched, we released Bruce Lee as a solo fighter. We soon realized that solo boxes weren’t practical for a variety of reasons and changed to two or more character box sets moving forward. The license on that solo Bruce Lee set expired and they became hard to find. We always wanted to bring Bruce back but needed to find a good fit.
Justin Jacobson, our Board Game Necromancer, has been a fan of Muhammad Ali since he was a kid. Bringing Muhammad Ali in as a fighter in Unmatched was a dream…but how to make it happen was the question.
Flash forward to Justin watching an episode of Better Call Saul (episode 1, season 4) with Mike debating who would win in a fight between Muhammad Ali and Bruce Lee. Mike says the only way Lee is beating Ali is if he has a gun. Well, obviously that theory had to be tested. So Justin took the proposal for the matchup to both camps and they were both on board and excited!
Then came the hard part. Design. Bruce’s deck couldn’t change, so the design team had an interesting puzzle to solve. How could they design Muhammad Ali so it would be an exciting match against Bruce’s deck? Bruce is a combo fighter, building up Jeet Kune Do cards for strong attacks and dancing around the board. Muhammad Ali’s famous fancy footwork had to come into play to fight against that. Ali can switch between stances, to float like a butterfly or sting like a bee. Making the best of each stance he can weave and dodge and time the perfect punch. These cards create an interesting push and pull between the two characters.
Now you can try this epic matchup yourself! For the first time in Unmatched history, you’ll be able to take two real-life martial arts masters and have them face off to see who’s the best of all time. Will it be the legendary Bruce Lee or the world champion Muhammad Ali?
Get your copy of Unmatched: Bruce Lee vs Muhammad Ali now through our webstore and get two special autograph foil promo cards for free while supplies last.
