Vs. Corps

Neutralization Protocol ◊ OMAC Robot, Army

Arthur Kendrick, Knight

Ahmed Samsarra, White King

Kendra Saunders ◊ Hawkgirl, Eternal Heroine

The Penguin, Arms, Merchant

2 Amanda Waller, Queen

Obsidian, Todd James Rice

Elimination Protocol ◊ OMAC Robot, Army

Batman, Earth 2

2 Annihilation Protocol ◊ OMAC Robot, Army

2 Huntress, Reluctant Queen

Sasha Bordeaux, Autonomous Prototype

Plot Twists

Threat Neutralized

Target Acquired

2 Knightmare Scenario

Justice United, Team-Up

I Still Hate Magic!

Traitor to the Cause

Locations

Secret Checkmate HQ

2 Brother I Satellite

Thanagar

I went with a more middle-heavy curve because not only did I lack a few good extra plot twists and locations to go beyond the normal eleven (the second Traitor would have been too many), but also because I had so many power-ups that I wanted to be able to use the Brother I Satellites as combat tricks as well as curve fillers.

Funnily enough, I went a disappointing 1-2 with this deck. I lost the first game against Troy Armstrong, who was able to hit an awesome curve but nonetheless played well to take out a close match. Ahmed proved horrible in this match after he played Watch the Birdie! on it. This might seem random enough, but I got pounded earlier because my first few drops were hidden! I won the second game fairly easily after Adrian couldn’t hit a good curve at all. Finally, I lost the last game to James Kong, who brickwalled my turn 5 attack with Annihilation Protocol onto Black Alice with two Abjurations and a payment of half his life. It didn’t matter that I had +7 ATK, including OMAC Robots, giving him +2 ATK for the power-ups via Kendra Saunders. Good game.

Overall, I think my deck was okay. There were definitely elements that didn’t work as well as I would have liked (e.g. Ahmed), but overall, the power level was very high. I remain firm in my belief that Checkmate is the deepest affiliation in Infinite Crisis. Still, although my deck was very good, there was definitely a higher level of draft available in this tournament of which I wasn’t able to take advantage. Luke Bartter won with the Hawkman deck featuring Dr. Fate’s Tower. Paul lost in the finals to him with the VU nuts that I had passed him. Kongy beat me with the best mono-Shadowpact deck I have seen in a long time.

Mistakes I made earlier in the draft kept me from keeping my deck ahead of the pack. Remember, when you are drafting, you cannot evaluate your deck in a vacuum. You are dealing with much of the same information as everyone else; you are trying to draft the best deck at the table, not an artificially above-average deck. While I would have had to have had exceptional foresight to have snapped up the Villains United goodness that was coming through, I was definitely in a position to take advantage of the nut-high Shadowpact that was coming through, as well as the Fate Artifact engine that is so powerful in this format. There is even a possibility that the Hawkman deck could have been mine.

If you go back through the picks of this draft, you will find that I agree with most of the picks I made even now. However, the majority of the picks I disagree with were major mistakes. It pays to analyze your own drafts and see where you could have done better. We all need to realize that sometimes, even one mistake can be the difference between 1-2 and 3-0.

Filed under: Alex Brown, Megatame.com, Vs. System | Leave a comment »

(Metagame Archive) Cerebro XXX – The Vin Diesel Edition

Posted on June 17, 2006 by scottkthompson

By Paul Ross

Hi All,

There’s been a considerable amount of rules excitement since the last installment of Cerebro (all of which is summarized here as usual), but the avalanche of Crisis questions in my inbox can be held back no longer!

Let’s say I control The Rock of Eternity and Atom Smasher. At the start of my attack step, the Rock triggers and its effect goes on the chain. In response, I activate Atom Smasher. Is he then flagged as an exhausted character? Can my opponent then flip, say, War of Attrition to KO the Rock and stop Atom Smasher from readying?

Zac O.

The Rock of Eternity is a fairly exotic card in terms of timing, so it’s well worth taking a closer look at it. The key point is that “the start of your attack step” is an instant in time. A good analogy is that the Rock of Eternity takes a “picture” of the game at this instant as its power triggers. A short time later, its triggered effect is added to the chain just before you get priority. If you choose to activate Atom Smasher in response, it doesn’t change the fact that he was ready in “the picture.”

After both players pass in succession, the Rock’s triggered effect resolves, readying all JSA characters you control that were exhausted in “the picture” and exhausting all other characters you control. This happens whether or not The Rock of Eternity is still face up in your resource row.

I have been trying to put together an Injustice Gang / Anti-Matter swarm deck using Zazzala ◊ Queen Bee, Royal Genetrix, who reads, “At the start of the recovery phase, you may put an Army character card with cost 1 from your hand into your front row,” and Anti-Green Lantern, who reads, “At the start of the recovery phase, KO Anti-Green Lantern.” I was hoping that once Zazzala’s effect actually resolves to bring AGL into play, the start of the recovery phase will have passed, meaning that AGL won’t self-destruct that turn.

Lee B.

Yep, that’s right. Anti-Green Lantern must be face up in play as the recovery phase starts in order for its power to trigger.

I am interested in playing Secret Six Victorious during Silver Age, but I want to know the exact timing of the card and what my opponent can and can’t do to interfere with it. Let’s say I have the initiative on turn 5 and I have the needed characters in play. I play a resource and then flip up Secret Six Victorious (I want to flip it up at the start of my recruit step, so I believe this is the correct time). My opponent plays Breaking Ground targeting Secret Six Victorious. Does the win condition go on the chain and therefore resolve even though the card is no longer there? If not, then can I flip Secret Six face down in response to the Breaking Ground and then flip it up after the Breaking Ground has resolved?

Jason H.

Okay, first things first. If a resource has a power that triggers at the start of a certain phase or step, that resource must be face up before that phase or step starts. I’ve seen a number of players come unstuck at high level tournaments by announcing things like, “At the start of my recruit step, I’ll flip Book of Oa,” which technically means that they’re flipping the resource after its trigger event has already passed for the turn. The correct announcement is, “Before my recruit step starts, I’ll flip Book of Oa”—a minor change that could save you some major grief at your next big event.

So, to answer your questions:

The latest you can play Secret Six Victorious is during your resource step, which consequently gives your opponent a chance to play Breaking Ground during your resource step and before Secret Six Victorious triggers.

If your opponent unwisely waits until Secret Six Victorious triggers before playing Breaking Ground, then yes, you’ll win the game because that triggered effect resolves whether or not Secret Six Victorious is still in your resource row.

If you have some way of turning Secret Six Victorious face down in response to Breaking Ground, then that will indeed cause Breaking Ground to be negated as it tries to resolve.

In response to the triggered effect of Secret Six Victorious, my opponent activates June Moon ◊ Enchantress, Good Witch targeting my Deadshot, Dead Aim, then plays Absolute Dominance in response. Is Deadshot removed from the game before I win the game? If I were somehow to get another Secret Six character into play before the Secret Six Victorious triggered effect resolves, would I still win the game?

Jason H.

Yes and yes!

If I use Chomin’s power to stun Firestar during the recovery phase, can I put her triggered effect on the chain, activate Leslie Thompkins’s Clinic in response (targeting Firestar), and then choose to burn my opponent but keep Firestar in play?

Jason H.

Yep, that all works. As Firestar’s triggered effect resolves, you may choose to KO her and burn your opponent even if she can’t be KO’d. The key is that her KO is neither a cost, nor checked by the words “if you do.” It’s just one part of the effect, and if it can’t be done, it doesn’t stop the rest of the effect from happening.

If I play Magnificent Seven with four or fewer resources, do I draw a card first or trigger ally powers first? Or do I have a choice in the matter?

Eric H.

Technically, ally powers trigger before you draw the card, but their triggered effects are not added to the chain until after the entire Magnificent Seven effect is done resolving. So the sequence goes:

Resolve Magnificent Seven (triggering ally powers and drawing a card)
Ally effects are added to the chain (in the order of their controller’s choice)
Primary player gets priority

BWA HA HA HA HA! negates a non-ongoing plot twist effect that targets a character. Can this stop Hard Sound Construct? Can this stop, say, the triggered effect of the 7-drop Two-Face (as his effect is not that of an on going plot twist)? I assume you can only stop plot twists, but I’m just making sure.

Eric H.

BWA HA HA HA HA! and all similar effects currently use the template “negate target effect from a non-ongoing plot twist” to remove the confusion about the possibility of targeting non–plot twist effects. Hard Sound Construct’s effect is also an illegal target for BWA HA HA HA HA! because it targets a character card rather than a character. A character card is also a character only while it is in a front or support row.

I control Shayera Thal ◊ Hawkwoman, Thanagarian Enforcer and Oliver Queen ◊ Green Arrow, Hard-Traveling Hero and power-up a character I control. I resolve Shayera’s effect first to search for an equipment, then play another effect before Oliver’s effect resolves. My opponent responds with yet another effect, and then we let these two effects resolve. Does Oliver’s ally effect resolve then, despite the initial power-up being far removed? Also, does my opponent get the chance to respond to the targeting of the character that Oliver tries to stun?

Eric H.

Yes and yes. Effects will resolve no matter how many effects are played in response, and an effect’s targets must be chosen as it’s added to the chain. So, your scenario breaks down as follows:

Initial power-up resolves, triggering both ally powers
You add Oliver’s effect to the chain first and choose its target
You add Shayera’s effect second
Both players pass, causing Shayera’s effect to resolve; as it does, you discard a card and search your deck for an equipment card
You play a new effect and pass
Your opponent responds with another effect
Both players pass, causing your opponent’s effect to resolve
Both players pass, causing your effect to resolve
Both players pass, causing Oliver’s effect to resolve; as it does, you may exhaust Oliver and stun the target you chose earlier

Can I play Enemy of My Enemy from my hand, put it on the chain, pay the cost of discarding a character card, and then play another effect before the search resolves? For example, I have three cards in hand: Enemy of My Enemy, Panacea Potion, and a character card. Can I play Enemy, discard the character card, play the Potion in response, resolve its effect, then search for a character?

Eric H.

A masterful sequence of play!

My friend and I were looking at the new Infinite Crisis cards and a question came up about Amanda Waller. We wondered if it was possible to boost her for 3 to get 6 points back, and then use those points to boost Elimination Protocol, thereby getting three 4-cost characters for the price of 7 resource points.

Douglas

Yep, sounds good. You’re restricted to using the 6 bonus points only to recruit Checkmate character cards, but since boost is an additional cost to recruit, it satisfies the restriction.

I have two questions about the current Bizarro text: “Your opponents cannot gain endurance.” If my opponent activates The Oblivion Bar to gain 5 endurance, can I flip Bizarro World in response to stop that endurance gain?

Robert F.

Yep, that works. The Oblivion Bar’s effect will resolve but do nothing.

An opponent attacks my Bizarro, ME AM BIZARRO #1. Can I flip Bizarro World before Bizarro becomes stunned to stop the endurance gain? Can I also flip it in response to the stun (assuming I wanted to play a little risky?)

Robert F.

Yes to both, essentially. You can’t actually respond to the stun, but you can respond to the triggered effect that Bizarro’s power puts onto the chain. As long as Bizarro World is face up as that effect resolves, it does nothing.

When Mordru comes into play, can I choose anything as his identity? Or does it have to be the identity of a character I control? If I can choose anything, and I choose “Earth-2,” will he be considered an Earth-2 character for the purposes of cards like Superman, Earth-2?

Dave S.

The identity need not be that of a character you control, but it must be an identity that exists in the game. In other words, either:

The printed identity of a character card
Or the printed name of a character card with no printed identity

“Earth-2” is a version rather than an identity, and so is not a valid choice.

When Mordru comes into play, I choose a team affiliation and an identity. Can the affiliation be “unaffiliated”?

Dennis C.

Similarly, the chosen affiliation must be one that exists in the game. “Unaffiliated” describes an absence of affiliation, and so can’t be chosen for Mordru.

If I choose the identity “Batman” when Mordru comes into play, do I control Batman for the purpose of checking Superman, Big Blue Boy Scout’s requirements?

Dennis C.

No. Superman checks when you control a character named Batman (or an object with a power like Azrael ◊ Batman, Knightfall’s).

If I control Spider-Man, The Amazing Spider-Man and I recruit Mordru, can I choose the “Spider-Man” identity and the Spider-Friends affiliation and not KO Spider-Man? Will Mordru then get bonuses from cards such as Going My Way?

Martin T.

If you recruit Mordru, the uniqueness rule checks only for other objects named Mordru you control. It ignores identities. In addition, the uniqueness check is made as part of resolving Mordru’s recruit effect before his power even triggers.

Going My Way is an excellent card to demonstrate what bonuses Mordru will and won’t get in your scenario. He will be able to attack this turn as if he has flight and range because he has the Spider-Friends affiliation. However, he won’t get +1 ATK because his name is not Spider-Man.

Hi, I have a question about Bizarro Ray. For the shortest explanation, I am going to use Aunt May, who has 0 DEF. If I attack her, and then use Bizarro Ray, would her DEF be -1, or can a character’s DEF not go below 0? Would she be stunned by Bizarro Ray?

lm16

Other than endurance, which has a few additional rules, negative values are treated as 0 except for purposes of further raising or lowering them. After Bizarro Ray’s effect reduces Aunt May’s DEF, it then asks what her DEF is. Because this question is simply checking her DEF, rather than attempting to further raise or lower it, it receives the answer “0,” and so Aunt May becomes stunned.

If I use Misappropriation to transfer an opposing Image Inducer to one of my characters, who then controls the transferable trigger?

Adam S.

The two relevant rules are:

You control all equipment equipped to characters you control

The player who controls the source of a triggered effect as it triggers is the controller of that effect

In other words, if Image Inducer is equipped to a character you control, its power triggers at the start of your formation step and you decide whether and where to transfer it.

Also, if a character is stunned in response to having equipment attached, what happens to the equipment?

Adam S.

I should start by clarifying that you can’t respond to “having equipment attached,” but you can certainly respond to an effect that intends to attach equipment as it resolves.

If that equipment is being recruited, it’s put into its owner’s KO’d pile because all targets of its recruit effect were illegal on resolution.

If that equipment is being transferred by Misappropriation, it stays where it is, because equipment can’t be transferred to a stunned character.

Most other transfer effects don’t target the destination character—that character is chosen on resolution—so there’s no window to stun that character in response to that choice.

I control High-Tech Flare Gun equipped to Character A. I pay 1 endurance to use its payment power during my recruit step, then transfer it to Character B during my formation step. Can Character A still attack hidden characters this turn?

Randy M.

Yes. “Equipped character” is used only to identify a character as the payment effect resolves. Once that character is identified (Character A in your question), that character can attack hidden characters this turn whether or not it’s equipped.

Bonus extra: If you now pay another 1 endurance, Character B can also attack hidden characters this turn.

Can I move a stunned character with The Hellfire Club?

Eduardo D.

Nope. A “character with concealed” is a face-up character with either the concealed or concealed—optional keywords. A stunned character has inactive text, and so can’t be a character with concealed.

Let’s say I’m playing a Hellfire Club deck and I have even initiatives. I play Power Play on turn 7 to steal the initiative. If the game goes to turn 8, who gets the initiative? I assume that I retain it because I have evens, but doesn’t it pass at the end of each turn?

John B.

The initiative does indeed pass at the end of each turn. “Evens” and “odds” are just a system for tracking who started the game with the initiative and how many turns have since passed, but a card like Power Play disrupts that system. To answer your question, if you enter turn 7’s wrap-up with the initiative, your opponent will start turn 8 with the initiative, regardless of who started the game with “evens.”

Does Fatality, Flawless Victory’s effect go on the chain. If it does, can I respond to it by playing a card like No Mercy or Baddest of the Bad?

SPADEoftheACE

Yes and yes. If the character to be KO’d is no longer in play as Fatality’s triggered effect resolves, it does nothing. Here are answers to two more Fatality FAQs at no additional cost!

Recovering the character to be KO’d in response doesn’t stop it from being KO’d

If both Fatality and a 3-cost character become stunned during the conclusion of an attack, Fatality’s power does trigger because powers that trigger off a character becoming stunned look at the game state just before that character becomes stunned to determine whether or not they trigger

My opponent controls Mr. Freeze, Brutal Blizzard, and I control a 5-cost character equipped with Cloak of Nabu. Mr. Freeze attacks the equipped character and there is a mutual stun, so my opponent targets the equipped character with the vengeance effect. Does vengeance check the game state before the character was stunned? If it does, then surely the equipped character cannot be targeted, because the equipment would still be active . . .

Ross G.

Not quite. It is true that powers that trigger off a character becoming stunned check the game state just before that character becomes stunned to determine whether or not they trigger. So, in this case, Mr. Freeze’s power does indeed trigger because he was non-stunned at that point in time.

However, his triggered effect is not added to the chain until after the attack concludes, just before the next player gets priority. At this time, the equipped character is stunned, and so it can be targeted by Mr. Freeze’s effect.

Can Talia, Beloved Betrayer target herself with her vengeance effect? I think she can, since her effect is added to the chain after she is stunned, at which point she is a legal target.

Dave S.

Absolutely correct, for the reasons discussed in the previous question.

I recover Feral with Good Samaritan. My opponent then attacks Feral with Ra’s al Ghul, Eternal Nemesis. Ra’s would cause 3 breakthrough, but that breakthrough is reduced to 0. Does Feral get KO’d?

Dan C.

No. If an amount of breakthrough is reduced to 0 or less after applying all replacement modifiers, no breakthrough is caused.

I know that Utility Belt negates payment effects (any text to the right of one of those >>> thingies.) My question is: is evasion considered a payment power? On a lot of cards I see the reminder text (Stun this character >>> Recover this character at the start of the recovery phase this turn), which leads me to believe that it’s a payment power. If so, can Utility Belt negate the recovering effect of evasion?

Alan H.

You’re correct until you hit your last sentence; then things get interesting. Yes, evasion is a payment power, which means the effect that reads “Recover this character at the start of the recovery phase this turn” is a payment effect and can indeed be negated by Utility Belt.

However, if you choose not to negate that effect, it resolves ands creates a modifier that waits for the start of the recovery phase this turn. At the start of that phase, that modifier triggers and puts a triggered effect on the chain that reads “Recover this character.” Utility Belt can’t target that effect because it is triggered, not payment.

I control Total Anarchy and my opponent controls Multiple Man. If Multiple Man becomes stunned, does he get KO’d? Or can my opponent resolve Multiple Man’s effect before Total Anarchy’s to remove him from the game and put two more into play?

Eiigth

When it comes to simultaneous triggered effects controlled by different players, the order of resolution depends on who the primary player is. In such cases, the primary player’s triggered effects are added to the chain first and resolve last.

Who is the primary player? During your attack step or during your steps of the build phase, you are the primary player. Outside of the steps of a turn, the primary player is the player with the initiative.

I recruit Rem-Ram from my resource row, reveal the top four cards of my deck, and put a reservist card into my hand. Can I put that card into my resource row to “reservist-replace” Rem-Ram?

Dave F.

No. You may only choose a card from your hand to “reservist-replace” Rem-Ram immediately after announcing his recruit effect and putting it on the chain. This happens before his power even triggers.

As an additional cost to play Brothers in Arms, I exhaust Ted Grant ◊ Wildcat. Does the target get +4 ATK or +7 ATK?

Natalie G.

The target gets +7 ATK. Brothers in Arms checks the ATK of the character you exhausted as it resolves.

When my opponent attempts to put a cosmic counter on Captain Marvel, Earth’s Mightiest Mortal, can I jump across the table and clamp his or her mouth shut to prevent the “say ‘Shazam!’” part of the cost from being paid?

Jay B.

Despite your commendable enterprise, your insightful strategy breaks one of the fundamental rules of the game—you can’t stop a player with priority from paying a cost.

So, having ensured that Vs. System remains a non-contact sport for at least the foreseeable future, my work here is done! Please keep your questions incoming to vsrules@gmail.com.

P.S. Thanks to the fine folk of Ontario for their hospitality last weekend.

Filed under: Megatame.com, Paul Ross, Vs. System | Leave a comment »

(Metagame Archive) Pro Circuit Indy Judge Sponsorships

Posted on June 15, 2006 by scottkthompson

By Toby Wachter

If you’re a judge and you’d like to be sponsored for Pro Circuit Indy 2006, Judge Manager Ian Estrin has posted the information you’ll need to apply. Check it out:

Hello Judges,

The next stop on the $1,000,000 UDE Pro Circuit will be held in Indianapolis, Indiana from August 10-13, 2006. The UDE Judge Certification Program will be offering sponsorship for this event to a limited number of judges. This is a phenomenal chance to improve your judging skills and to work with some of the most talented judges and players in the industry.

If you are interested in applying for sponsorship, please email judge@upperdeck.com with the subject line, “Sponsorship for Pro Circuit Indianapolis 2006.”

This sponsorship opportunity will be open from Tuesday, June 13, 2006 through Tuesday, June 27, 2006. No sponsorship applications will be accepted after 11:59 pm, Pacific Standard Time, on June 27, 2006.

There are two types of sponsorship: full and partial. Please indicate your sponsorship needs in your reply. If you only require a partial sponsorship, please list the type you need. This will increase your chances of receiving partial sponsorship.

Full Sponsorship: Upper Deck Entertainment covers the full cost of your airfare and hotel for the duration of the event.

Partial Sponsorship: Upper Deck Entertainment covers the full cost of EITHER your airfare OR your hotel for the duration of the event.

If you are selected for sponsorship, a UDE staff member will contact you between July 5 and July 7, 2006 to let you know the type of sponsorship you have received and to arrange travel to the event.

Minimum Application Requirements

Expertise in current Vs. System rules.

Proficiency with current UDE Tournament Policies.

Must be eighteen years of age or older.

Ability to work long hours with minimal breaks. Most days will be at least twelve hours long.

Ability to assist event staff with duties other than judging, including tournament area maintenance, player registration, side event logistics, game demos, and so on.

General Information

Pro Circuit Indianapolis 2006 will be held from August 10-13, 2006 at the Indianapolis Convention Center in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Last Chance Qualifiers will be held on Thursday, August 10, 2006. Sponsored judges will be expected to judge at these events.

We are looking for judges who have excellent player management skills, in addition to a baseline of rules knowledge.

If you are not available to judge on Thursday, August 10, you may still be considered for sponsorship.

Each judge will receive $50 cash (U.S. dollars) during each day of judging to offset the cost of meals, snacks, taxis, parking, etc.

A judge may be scheduled for work outside of the Pro Circuit area. Talented judges are needed for side events, particularly on Saturday and Sunday.

The dress code is a black and white UDE judge shirt, black slacks, and black shoes. If you do not have a UDE judge shirt, a shirt will be provided for you at the event at no cost.

If you are not selected to receive sponsorship for this event, please do not be discouraged. We receive hundreds of applications and only require a very small number of judges. If you continue to work hard and advance your skills, you will most certainly be considered for a future event.

If you are not selected to receive sponsorship but still wish to volunteer at this event, please send an email to judge@upperdeck.com with the subject line, “Judge Volunteer for Pro Circuit Indianapolis 2006.”

Include the Following in Your Email

Please email judge@upperdeck.com with the subject line, “Sponsorship for Pro Circuit Indianapolis 2006.” The following should be included in the body of the email:

Name

Sponsorship type requested (full, partial-hotel, partial-flight)

Date of birth (mm/dd/yyyy)

UDE number

Vs. System rules certification level

Days you are available to work

Email address

Mailing address (street, city, state, ZIP, country if from outside the United States)

Phone number

Events you regularly judge

List of premier events you have judged, if any (PCQs, $10Ks, Pro Circuits)

Any special requirements (hotel, flight, food, disabilities, and so on)

If You are Selected for Sponsorship

Judges will have to provide a signed copy of the judge waiver prior to attending this tournament.

Judges are expected to act in a professional manner at all times, and any judge not doing so will be asked to leave the venue immediately.

Judges will need a credit card to cover incidental expenses at the hotel (room service, movies, laundry, and so on).

Judges will cover their own transportation to the airport and hotel.

Judges may be assigned to share a room with one other judge.

Judges may not have friends, spouses, players, or volunteers stay in their rooms, for liability reasons.

Judges will pay any changes to the hotel or flight schedule that cost more than the original purchase price.

Many judges may wish to take the advanced level Vs. System Rules Knowledge Exam. While we will try to rotate judges so that they are able to take this exam, no judge is guaranteed a chance to take the exam at this event.

Bring comfortable shoes and socks.

Be prepared to work very hard for the duration of the event.

If you have any questions regarding this email, please email judge@upperdeck.com.

Sincerely,

Ian Estrin

Judge Manager

Upper Deck Entertainment

Toby Wachter

Managing Editor, Metagame.com

Filed under: Megatame.com, Toby Wachter, Vs. System | Leave a comment »

(Metagame Archive) Sealed Pack 101: The Experiment, Results Analysis

Posted on June 14, 2006 by scottkthompson

By Doug Tice

Well, folks, I’m back from San Francisco and I can definitely say that I had a blast. I finished seventh overall, losing in the quarterfinals to my teammate Gabe Walls. If you’ll remember, I noted in my opening paragraph from last week’s article that I was worried that too many players would come prepared to combat our powerful Ivy League deck. I was right. Sage, Xavier’s Secret Weapon would not have made her way into anyone’s decks if players hadn’t been tipped off that The Donkey Club was bringing Ivy League to the event. While we still managed to place four members of our team into the Top 8, I feel that we would have done tremendously better if we had brought the element of surprise. All in all, though, this was a great event for us.

But I’m not writing to brag or whine about Pro Circuit San Francisco. I’m writing to share the exciting results of “The Experiment.” If you didn’t read last week’s article, here is a quick summary: I opened five random Infinite Crisis booster packs and recorded the contents. Then my plan was to ask three of my teammates to build independently what they would play in a Sealed Pack event from this card pool. My participants were Jason Hager, “The Constructed Genius”; Tillman Bragg, “The Well-Balanced Master”; and Neil Reeves, “The Sealed Pack Genius.”

Once again, here is the card pool presented to each of the participants.

Legacy Characters

1 Lois Lane, Earth 2

1 The Penguin, Arms Merchant

1 Lex Luthor, Champion of the Common Man

1 Animal Man, Buddy Baker

1 Ultra-Humanite, Metahuman Manipulator

Unaffiliated

1 Mordru, Dark Lord

Secret Six

1 Fiddler, Isaac Bowin

1 Deadshot, Dead Aim

1 Catman, Thomas Blake

1 Parademon, Apokoliptian Ally

1 Scandal, Savage Spawn

1 Lex Luthor ◊ Mockingbird, Evil Exile

Shadowpact

1 Nightmaster, Jim Rook

1 Nightshade, Eve Eden

1 Manitou Dawn, Spirit Shaman

1 Dr. Occult, Richard Occult

1 Ragman, Redeemer of Souls

1 Blue Devil, Big Blue

1 Zatanna, Showstopper

Villains United

1 Count Vertigo, Werner Vertigo

1 Cheetah, Feral Feline

1 The Calculator, Evil Oracle

1 Bizarro, ME AM BIZARRO #1

Checkmate

1 Arthur Kendrick, Knight

1 Harry Stein, King in Check

1 Roy Harper ◊ Arsenal, Knight

1 Huntress, Reluctant Queen

1 Sasha Bordeaux, Autonomous Prototype

JSA

1 Prince Khufu ◊ Hawkman, Eternal Warrior

2 Katar Hol ◊ Hawkman, Eternal Hero

Equipment

1 Amulet of Nabu

1 Tricked-Out Sports Car

Locations

Plot Twists

1 Justice United, Team-Up

1 Join Us or Die

1 Knights’ Gambit

2 Knightmare Scenario

1 Magical Conduit, Magic

1 Pawn of the Black King

1 Revitalize

2 Return Fire!

1 Systematic Torture

2 Taking Up the Mantle

1 Thanagarian Invasion

1 Threat Neutralized

1 True Name, Magic

1 Traitor to the Cause

Tillman and I flew to San Francisco together, so he was the first to participate in the experiment. I chose not to participate myself in the hope that I could be non-biased in my journalistic adventure. His approach to building the deck, although limited by the amount of space provided by his tray table, was to look at the depth of characters in each team. Being that there were so few Villains United characters, he quickly eliminated them and got to work.

After about twenty minutes, this is the build that Tillman presented.

2-drops:

1 Prince Khufu ◊ Hawkman, Eternal Warrior

3-drops:

1 Arthur Kendrick, Knight

1 Harry Stein, King in Check

4-drops:

1 Roy Harper ◊ Arsenal, Knight

2 Katar Hol ◊ Hawkman, Eternal Hero

5-drops:

1 Huntress, Reluctant Queen

1 Mordru, Dark Lord

6-drops:

1 Sasha Bordeaux, Autonomous Prototype

7-drops:

Plot Twists:

1 Knightmare Scenario

1 Threat Neutralized

1 Revitalize

1 Thanagarian Invasion

Locations:

1 Dr. Fate’s Tower

Equipment:

1 Amulet of Nabu

After reviewing his build, a few of his decisions struck my interest. I was particularly surprised that he chose to play Harry Stein but chose to not play the second Knightmare Scenario.

Here are the questions I asked Tillman. I planned to ask the other participants almost all of the same questions, as well.

Me: Why Harry Stein?

Tillman: I think he’s really good. You have Knights at 2, 3, and 5. Threat Neutralized and Revitalize help to get around his drawback.

Me: When you received the card pool, what were your first impressions?

Tillman: Checkmate really stood out. There was just barely enough depth in two teams to keep from playing a third.

Me: What were your most difficult decisions?

Tillman: The decisions to cut the second Knightmare Scenario, whether to play Tricked-Out Sports Car, and whether to play Fate’s Tower were all pretty tough.

Me: On a scale of 1-10, with 1 being extremely easy and 10 being extremely hard to build, where would you rate this card pool?

Tillman: I’d say 2 or 3. There were no decisions to make concerning characters. The deck nearly built itself.

Me: What are the shortcomings/strengths of this card pool?

Tillman: The 2-drops and 3-drops couldn’t be any better. There are few pumps in the card pool and the 5-drops and 7-drops could be a little better.

Me: After discussing the build (I had quizzed him about a few of his other decisions), do you wish you had made any different choices?

Tillman: Harry Stein might be a mistake. I probably should have played the other equipment (Tricked-Out Sports Car) and the other Knightmare Scenario

Tillman and I shared a room with Neil Reeves and Adam Bernstein. The night before the big event, I sorted the card pool back into its original order so as not to leave any trace of Tillman’s build. Neil was happy to play along in the experiment and took a crack at building the Sealed Pack deck.

Here is the build that Neil submitted.

2-drops:

1 Prince Khufu à Hawkman, Eternal Warrior

3-drops:

1 Arthur Kendrick, Knight

4-drops:

1 Roy Harper ◊ Arsenal, Knight

2 Katar Hol ◊ Hawkman, Eternal Hero

5-drops:

1 Huntress, Reluctant Queen

1 Ragman, Redeemer of Souls

6-drops:

1 Sasha Bordeaux, Autonomous Prototype

7-drops:

Plot Twists:

2 Knightmare Scenario

1 Threat Neutralized

1 Revitalize

Locations:

1 Dr. Fate’s Tower

Equipment:

1 Amulet of Nabu

1 Tricked-Out Sports Car

Neil’s build differed from Tillman’s by only three cards (they are shown in bold). Neil opted not to take a risk on Harry Stein, but he kept the Threat Neutralized in just for its one-time +1 ATK / +1 DEF bonus. Looking back on this decision, I think I disagree with keeping Threat Neutralized in the deck. I probably would have cut this in order to splash some other off-team 4-drop.

Here are the questions I asked Neil:

Me: You are playing only three characters the 4-cost slot. Is that enough?

Neil: It should be fine. There aren’t really any other options.

Me: Tillman chose to play Mordru as his third 5-drop. Mordru is basically on-team. I see that you chose Ragman instead. Did you consider Mordru, and why did you choose Ragman instead?

Neil: Ragman is just too good. He’s a 5-cost 12 ATK / 10 DEF. That’s just too good to pass up. The other guy (Mordru) has flight and range, but it’s worth ignoring teams to play Ragman.

Me: When you received the card pool, what were your first impressions?

Neil: There were only two deep teams. Shadowpact got a second look, but Checkmate and JSA fit better. Strangely, there were six different Secret Six characters.

Me: What were your most difficult decisions?

Neil: I wasn’t sure if I wanted to splash an off-team 4-drop and/or 5-drop. I also really wanted to play about two Shadowpact 1-drops, but that would have led me to playing a third Team-Up card, which I just couldn’t fit.

Me: On a scale of 1-10, with 1 being extremely easy and 10 being extremely hard to build, where would you rate this card pool?

Neil: 2 or 3.

Me: What are the shortcomings/strengths of this card pool?

Neil: The 2-drops are awesome. There is great synergy and search with Samsarra, Brother I Satellite, Fate’s Tower, and so forth. I really wish I were playing some 1-drops.

After seeing Neil’s build, I thought, “Well, Jason is sure to build this deck similarly.” Both Tillman and Neil rated this as being pretty easy to build, and I was inclined to agree. I fully expected to be writing this article tonight to examine only the minute differences in my three teammates’ builds. Even if that were the case, there could still be much to discuss. But I was pleasantly surprised as I watched Jason work with the card pool on Sunday.

As Jason sifted through his options, I noticed that he had quite a few small stacks of cards. I missed my opportunity to get a closer look, but suffice it to say, he was already thinking outside the box in which Tillman and Neil had designed their decks.

I left Jason to his work while I watched Gabe and Tillman play a match from a little Donkey Club six-man draft. In each of the games where Gabe played Conjuration, Magic, he lost almost as a direct result of the endurance he had paid. Jason overheard me saying something about Conjuration, looked up with the grin of a kid on Christmas morning, and said, “Are you talking about this card pool? Because I am definitely playing Conjuration. It’s awesome!”

Here is the deck my Constructed Genius submitted:

1-drops:

1 Nightmaster, Jim Rook

1 Fiddler, Isaac Bowin

2-drops:

1 Prince Khufu ◊ Hawkman, Eternal Warrior

1 Deadshot, Dead Aim

3-drops:

1 Lex Luthor, Champion of the Common Man

4-drops:

1 Dr. Occult, Richard Occult

2 Katar Hol ◊ Hawkman, Eternal Hero

5-drops:

1 Blue Devil, Big Blue

6-drops:

1 Zatanna, Showstopper

7-drops:

Plot Twists:

2 Knightmare Scenario

1 Threat Neutralized

1 Justice United, Team-Up

1 Conjuration, Magic

Locations:

Equipment:

1 Tricked-Out Sports Car

Atom Smasher, Al Rothstein

In case you have never seen the types of decks that Jason plays in Constructed formats, you might want to take a look at Ivy League, Evil Medical School, and New School. Do you notice what those decks have in common? Jason loves to play a high Team-Up count. He also fancies having quite a few teams in play on his side of the table all at once.

It looks to me like Jason’s build will be a little less reliable than those submitted by Tillman and Neil. While I generally think that Sealed Pack is more about finding the most consistent thirty-card build, Jason’s approach forced me to step back and re-evaluate a number of cards that I had written off because of their teams or team-stamping.

Jason had a lot to say about his decisions. Most interestingly, he stated, “This deck is built to fail one attack. Once you do that, you win the game.” Again, I was impressed with this statement. Neither Neil nor Tillman made any mention of what the deck was designed to do.

Me: Why splash for Fiddler?

Jason: Since he is free, you can play him on the turn that you want to fail the attack. With one of the two Katar Hol ◊ Hawkman, Eternal Heroes in play and/or possibly a Prince Khufu à Hawkman, Eternal Warrior in the hand or KO’d pile, you are almost assured to fail at least one attack.

Me: Why play Deadshot over Sarge Steel?

Jason: Deadshot is the best 2-drop in the deck! He’s an extra character that keeps coming back!

Me: So you really like Conjuration, huh?

Jason: On my turn 5 initiative, I’d be happy to pay 15 for Zatanna.

Me: When you received the card pool, what were your first impressions?

Jason: There were almost no Villains United characters, but there were quite a few nice Villains United-stamped plot twists. Checkmate’s characters were deep, but there were only three locations available.

Me: What were your most difficult decisions?

Jason: There were just so many good plot twists from which to choose.

Me: On a scale of 1-10, with 1 being extremely easy and 10 being extremely hard to build, where would you rate this card pool?

Jason: 5.

Me: What are the shortcomings/strengths of this card pool?

Jason: Its teams are all over the place, so it will be hard to make the most of Mr. Terrific. Brick-wall potential with this deck is very good, though.

I showed Jason how Neil and Tillman built their decks and then asked him if he had any afterthoughts. His reply: “I can’t believe they didn’t play Fiddler!”

So, what can be learned from this experiment? Here are just a few examples of what I learned.

1: After seeing Jason’s build, I tried tossing a late-picked Deadshot, Dead Aim into a deck I drafted later that night. I have to admit, I was quite pleased with the card.

2: After hearing Jason say, “This deck is designed to . . .” when referring to a Sealed Pack deck, I decided that “What does this deck do?” is a question I will continue to ask myself as I build my Sealed Pack decks in the future.

3: Neil’s Ragman and Tillman’s Mordru were both options I think I might have overlooked if I had built the deck beforehand.

For those of you whose hopes were high that I would get input from the unlikely fourth contestant, Alex Jebailey (“The Instinctive Apprentice”), I’m sorry to say that he did not attend Pro Circuit San Francisco. I felt that “The Experiment” was a wonderful learning exercise for me, and I hope that you share that sentiment. I enjoyed this exercise so much, in fact, that I plan to do it more frequently. I think I will need a new title for the exercise, though. Future installments of the series formerly known as “The Experiment” will now be called “The Study.”

Filed under: Doug Tice, Megatame.com, Vs. System | Leave a comment »

(Metagame Archive) Sealed Pack Clinic: Scott Hunstad, Infinite Crisis

Posted on June 14, 2006 by scottkthompson

Alex Brown

Welcome back to my article series taking a look at the different deckbuilding approaches of some of Australia’s top Sealed players. This installment follows immediately from last week’s article about Luke Bartter’s Infinite Crisis Sealed Pack deck. This week, I’ll give you an inside look at Bartter’s opponent that night, Scott Hunstad. Scott has already been featured in one of the articles I did on drafting The X-Men. Fortunately, Scott is no shrinking violet, and he was quite welcoming of the attention!

This is the pool Scott opened:

Jakeem Williams, JJ Thunder

Terry Sloane ◊ Mr. Terrific, Golden Age Gold Medalist

Michael Holt ◊ Mr. Terrific, Renaissance Man

Ted Grant ◊ Wildcat, Golden Age Pugilist

Charles McNider ◊ Dr. Mid-Nite, Golden Age Academic

Superman, Earth 2

The Phantom Stranger, Wandering Hero

Taking Up the Mantle

Brothers in Arms

Detective Chimp, Bobo T. Chimpanzee

Nightmaster, Jim Rook

2 Manitou Dawn, Spirit Shaman

Dr. Occult, Richard Occult

Witchfire, Rebecca Carstairs

2 Blue Devil, Big Blue

Zatanna, Showstopper

Dr. Fate, Hector Hall

Mystical Binding, Magic

Aspiring Pawn, Army

Sarge Steel, Knight

Ahmed Samsarra, White King

Arthur Kendrick, Knight

Graziella Reza, Knight

Elimination Protocol ◊ OMAC Robot, Army

Annihilation Protocol ◊ OMAC Robot, Army

Sasha Bordeaux, Autonomous Prototype

Target Acquired

Knights’ Gambit

Pawn of the Black King

Rook Control

Checkmate Armory

Cheetah, Feral Feline

Weather Wizard, Mark Mardon

Zazzala ◊ Queen Bee, Mistress of the Hive

Dr. Light, Furious Flashpoint

The Calculator, Evil Oracle

Sinestro, Villain Reborn

Alexander Luthor, Insidious Impostor

Fatality, Flawless Victory

Mr. Freeze, Brutal Blizzard

Alexander Luthor, Diabolical Double

The Calculator, Crime Broker

Coercion, Team-Up

No Mercy

Baddest of the Bad

Amadeus Arkham, Architect of Insanity

Fiddler, Isaac Bowin

Forbidden Loyalties, Team-Up

Ragdoll, Resilient Rogue

Mordru, Dark Lord

Secret Six Victorious

Multiverse Power Battery

Return Fire!

Justice United, Team-Up

Dr. Fate’s Tower

Leslie Thompkins’s Clinic

Scott started by separating the cards into characters, plot twists, equipment, and locations (seems like a common theme). He doesn’t think there is one best method of further separating the cards, but he notes that there are so many cards in Sealed Pack that you need to have some plan for organizing them from the outset. Scott doesn’t really look at the cards until separated, but like Luke, he had a keen eye for rares, particularly the big sellers.

Scott then went on to separate his cards even more, sorting team-stamped non-character cards by affiliation. He hoped to see strong Villains United and/or Checkmate representation, as he thinks those are the best teams. According to Scott, JSA is too thin for Sealed; it has good characters but too many holes in the curve. He considers Shadowpact something of a quirky team, having a lot of filler but not really much gas overall.

Scott expressed some dismay at the lack of good Checkmate locations before noting that he did have several Team-Ups, which are something of the lifeblood of Vs. System Sealed. Team-Ups can quite easily save otherwise mediocre pools when opened in sufficiency. Scott was impressed with double Defend Yourself!, which he thinks is very good. Conversely, he didn’t have anything good to say about Burning Gaze, even though he admits that it is playable. At this stage of building his Sealed decks, Scott doesn’t really have a set curve in mind. He likes to look at his best cards or teams and go from there. Scott didn’t have firm opinions on the number of 1-drops that should make his deck, for example.

Looking at his JSA, Scott had mixed emotions. He thought his original assessment of the team remained accurate—with the team lacking a good curve—but like Luke, he was impressed by the twin Mr. Terrifics. Terry Sloane ◊ Mr. Terrific, Golden Age Gold Medalist and Michael Holt ◊ Mr. Terrific, Renaissance Man could potentially provide the foundation for a fearsome off-curve deck. On top of that, Scott only had good things to say about Atom Smasher, Al Rothstein, which he believes is one of the premier turn 1 plays in the format.

Looking over Shadowpact, Scott felt that team offered more characters who filled a general curve. Detective Chimp, Bobo T. Chimpanzee is very, very good. Witchfire, Rebecca Carstairs and double Blue Devil, Big Blue seemed okay. Dr. Occult, Richard Occult can be good. Scott mentioned that he likes Zatanna, Showstopper, particularly if his deck is trying to win on turn 6. If he’s looking to win on turn 6, Zatanna could be used to draw a few extra cards to fuel a rampage, and defending on turn 6 is never bad with 13 DEF. Still, there just wasn’t much of a deck there.

Fortunately, Scott had extremely good Villains United characters. Fatality, Flawless Victory, Sinestro, Villain Reborn, and Alexander Luthor, Insidious Impostor could all be superstars at their slot. Scott believes Alexander Luthor, Diabolical Double, Mr. Freeze, Brutal Blizzard, and The Calculator, Evil Oracle could be the best characters in the format at their respective drops. On top of all of this, Scott had Cheetah, Feral Feline, Baddest of the Bad, No Mercy, and Coercion to ensure he didn’t have to look elsewhere for the bulk of his deck.

Still, Scott had to feel a little exasperated when his Checkmate pool turned out to be decidedly average. Ahmed Samsarra, White King is obviously very powerful, but he is restricted by loyalty—reveal. Annihilation Protocol ◊ OMAC Robot, Army is quite good, and it could definitely be a splash possibility. Sarge Steel, Knight is definitely good, but the rest of the team seemed to be 4 ATK / 5 DEF, which Scott and I both believe to be weak. A quick look at his possible ATK pumps showed that this weakness could not be overcome, so Checkmate was unlikely to be a support team to Villains United.

Of his non-featured-team cards, Scott liked Ragdoll, Resilient Rogue, though he couldn’t really see himself wanting it that much, as his Villains United 4-drops were so good. Scott thinks Deadshot, Dead Aim is awesome, and he would include it in any deck. Scott really likes free characters, and the concealed potential of this card would allow him to return it (and hide it) whenever he wanted.

Realizing that his options were essentially limited to what Villains United could cough up and the other teams could support, he started with the Villains. This was his initial skeleton of the deck:

Cheetah, Feral Feline

Weather Wizard, Mark Mardon

Zazzala ◊ Queen Bee, Mistress of the Hive

The Calculator, Evil Oracle

Fatality, Flawless Victory

Alexander Luthor, Insidious Impostor

Sinestro, Villain Reborn

Mr. Freeze, Brutal Blizzard

Alexander Luthor, Diabolical Double

The Calculator, Crime Broker

At this stage, Scott wasn’t happy with what he had to work with. He thought that he would need all the ATK pumps he could get from characters, as he had almost no pumps in his non-character cards (only Laser Watch and Burning Gaze). In this vein, Scott put both Terry Sloane ◊ Mr. Terrific, Golden Age Gold Medalist and Michael Holt ◊ Mr. Terrific, Renaissance Man in his deck with the intention of building something of a short curve. He explained that his options were so poor on the curve that this was really all he would be able to get out of this deck. He would need to hit the ground running, playing a character on the first turn to try to out-tempo the better decks he would theoretically face in a real tournament.

According to Scott, it’s very important that you’re able to assess what is a good pool and what is a bad one in Sealed Pack play. When your options are limited, you need to push the envelope more, taking more risks to try to beat the best decks. When your pool is decent—like Luke’s was last week—you are much better off building a consistent deck that is able to take advantage of its general superiority to the majority of other decks. Scott said that this sort of evaluation is not really possible until you have seen several Sealed Pack pools in a particular format.

With something of an off-curve plan firmly in mind, Scott was happy to add Jakeem Williams, JJ Thunder to his deck. This would give him another search card to go with Baddest of the Bad, meaning he could be looser with some parts of his curve. Unfortunately, Scott isn’t a fan of Manitou Dawn, Spirit Shaman, so he had only three 2-drops he was considering. This is really bad news for an off-curve deck. Scott decided to rely on his 1-drops to fill the hole, because he thinks that a 1-drop is still able to trade with a 2-drop at least half the time.

To clean up the edges, Scott decided to add Ragdoll, Resilient Rogue, as he was likely to be playing more than one 4-drop per game due to the nature of his curve. Scott went down to three Team-Ups—cutting Justice United—and found Brothers in Arms as an extra pump to add to the mix. Finally, Scott considered playing The Phantom Stranger, Wandering Hero as a potential pump, showing how much he was clutching at straws in building this deck. Eventually, he decided to leave it out.

Here’s Scott’s final list:

Characters

Atom Smasher, Al Rothstein

Terry Sloane ◊ Mr. Terrific, Golden Age Gold Medalist

Amadeus Arkham, Architect of Insanity

Jakeem Williams, JJ Thunder

Cheetah, Feral Feline

Weather Wizard, Mark Mardon

Sarge Steel, Knight

Zazzala ◊ Queen Bee, Mistress of the Hive

The Calculator, Evil Oracle

Ted Grant ◊ Wildcat, Golden Age Pugilist

Michael Holt ◊ Mr. Terrific, Renaissance Man

Fatality, Flawless Victory

Alexander Luthor, Insidious Impostor

Sinestro, Villain Reborn

Ragdoll, Resilient Rogue

Mr. Freeze, Brutal Blizzard

Annihilation Protocol ◊ OMAC Robot, Army

Alexander Luthor, Diabolical Double

The Calculator, Crime Broker

Plot Twists

Coercion

No Mercy

Forbidden Loyalties, Team-Up

Locations

Equipment

In Scott’s estimation, Atom Smasher, Al Rothstein is in the running for not only the best turn 1 play, but also one of the best 1-drops ever (particularly in combination with the Mr. Terrifics). Being of such low cost, he can really save a lot of endurance in the late game. As an aside, Scott says not to attack with him until he is at least 4 ATK. Terry Sloane ◊ Mr. Terrific, Golden Age Gold Medalist goes a long way, and he is probably a first pick in any off-curve deck given that his effect is not team-stamped. Since Scott was playing off-curve, this guy enabled him to maintain characters on off-initiative turns as well. Scott thought Amadeus Arkham, Architect of Insanity wasn’t as strong; one needs a crazy good location like Brother Eye to play him as anything but filler. Jakeem Williams, JJ Thunder was also disappointing for Scott, never being effective in combat or having the team affiliation to look for the appropriate late-game cards. Cheetah, Feral Feline seemed good, especially in combination with Weather Wizard, Mark Mardon and Alexander Luthor, Diabolical Double for big pumps. Additionally, she was just good at smoothing out draws with the bounce effects.

Sarge Steel, Knight didn’t turn up for Scott often enough for him to make a decent assessment. Weather Wizard, Mark Mardon is fine as a 2 ATK / 3 DEF character, as the effect is good enough to play regardless, and people often forget the vengeance trigger. Deadshot, Dead Aim was a card Scott particularly liked, but due to the many concealed characters in these games, being able to use him as a free attack on a 2- or 3-drop didn’t happen as much as he would have liked. Scott had no regrets about not playing Manitou Dawn, Spirit Shaman, as without ATK pumps, she was never going anywhere.

Zazzala ◊ Queen Bee, Mistress of the Hive wasn’t expected to serve as much more than filler, and her ability never really burns for more than 2. Concealed is good for keeping guys, though. Scott says The Calculator, Evil Oracle is insanely good, especially in combination with a deck that can hit a 1-drop. Ted Grant ◊ Wildcat, Golden Age Pugilist is fantastic in short-curve decks, always going up the curve. Under-dropping is never bad with this guy around. Being able to play powerful 1-drops on later turns should not be underrated. Michael Holt ◊ Mr. Terrific, Renaissance Man has been discussed at length. Needing everyone to be JSA can be tough, but overall, is there anything bad to say?

Fatality, Flawless Victory was surprisingly poor for Scott, taking out some of his own guys at times! She’s probably more a Constructed card than a Sealed or Draft card. Alexander Luthor, Insidious Impostor seems good, but with Scott’s only 6-drop being of the same name, he didn’t really want to play him that often. Scott admitted that when he did play him he was good, but he was clunky in his deck. For Sinestro, Villain Reborn, Scott couldn’t do much more than gush. Having 8 ATK, flight, and a hugely relevant ability is pretty good. Sinestro has to be attacked last in case you have defensive pumps, so he is often extremely effective. Ragdoll, Resilient Rogue wasn’t more than filler in this deck, but he’s good enough that he wasn’t out of place.

Scott was adamant that Mr. Freeze, Brutal Blizzard was the best character in the deck. Having him stunned is good, having him not stunned is good, and 9 ATK / 10 DEF seems to be very annoying in combat. Again, what hasn’t been said before here? Annihilation Protocol ◊ OMAC Robot, Army attacks for 10, and that’s all that matters in Scott’s mind; Scott thinks the ability is not as relevant as many people believe—but it is still a 10 ATK with flight.

Scott thought Alexander Luthor, Diabolical Double was the second-best card in the deck. Having 14 DEF is ridiculous on a 6-drop, and drawing cards is never really bad (and goes nicely with the next card). The Calculator, Crime Broker is average by Scott’s estimation, as he didn’t really suit the deck he was playing. He may be good because he can swing back for a lot of endurance loss when your opponent has odds, but he still requires a pump to hit 7-drops, which can be rough.

Forbidden Loyalties, Team-Up was quoted as being the best Team-Up there is as an offensive and defensive trick, and Coercion was never really going to be bad with Villains United as the major team. No Mercy was only used by Scott once (in response to Revitalize), but Scott pointed to Luke’s 3-drops being concealed often enough that this card wasn’t usually relevant. Defend Yourself! was excellent for Scott, allowing his many 1-drops to take out bigger characters. For his type of deck, this was invaluable. Scott really liked Brothers in Arms, thinking it highly underrated. It is much better on defense, but it is also good insurance on attacks. Deflection was good for Scott, as he had many characters on the table often enough to make this upwards of +4 DEF. Baddest of the Bad was good as well; Scott could play fewer of the higher drops, and there was always a situation where he had more than one character stunned, so paying the cost wasn’t hard. Burning Gaze was as weak in his deck as Scott suspected, but he said that he had to play with what he had. Thanagar was pretty much just a super team-up, which can’t be bad, especially considering how many random teams Scott was forced to run. Finally, Laser Watch is pretty much a staple, and Scott said he couldn’t imagine a situation where he wouldn’t run this card, particularly in a format where ATK pumps are sometimes sparse.

Scott never really found his feet with this deck. He was still able to win games, but without the requisite 2-drops for an early game, the late-game characters for a curve deck, or even the plot twists that would make any sort of combat deck, there was little he could do.

That should be the last of the Infinite Crisis Sealed Packs I examine, so stay tuned to this column for our first look at Infinite Crisis Draft next week!

Filed under: Alex Brown, Megatame.com, Vs. System | Leave a comment »

(Metagame Archive) Theoretically Speaking: Goals

Posted on June 13, 2006 by scottkthompson

By Shane Wiggans

Welcome! How are all my favorite readers doing this week? I am a bit more upbeat than my normal self, so let me tell you why: Pro Circuit San Francisco was a blast! No matter how many times I attend these events, I always leave feeling satisfied, whether I’m the runner-up, ranked thirtieth, or even if I don’t get a win at all on Day 2. (And yes, all three of those things have happened to me.)

Last week, I gave you an after-the-fact PC preparation guide that I wrote as I got ready to attend Pro Circuit San Francisco. Specifically, I mentioned the deck that I planned on taking to the Pro Circuit. While I did very well for myself (thirtieth overall), Tim Batow surpassed me in excellence. There was a reason I was not the only person picking him for a Top 8 performance, and he did not disappoint. Unfortunately, he took a loss to the eventual PC Champion, who played a deck that was very much like a mirror match. However, even out of disappointment can come joy.

DR. LIGHT AND . . . TIM BATOW?

I’m not sure how long this has been a tradition, but whenever a member of the Top 8 at the Pro Circuit loses, the winning-challenged individual gets a chance to pick an oversized card of his or her choice. After Tim Batow lost, he picked a card that will likely follow him around the rest of his life: Dr. Light, Master of Holograms. Why would such a card follow him around, do you say? Well, let’s consider some facts:

Tim Batow is small.
Dr. Light brings small characters into play.
Add in an oversized card, and you have a recipe for hilarity.

The night after Day 3, we decided to take full abuse of the great fun that was “activating” Dr. Light to bring Tim Batow “into play.” Tim was in the bathroom getting ready for bed, and Michael Barnes grabbed the oversized card and stood just outside the bathroom. The bathroom was in a hall of the room, so it would appear that when Michael exhausted Dr. Light, Tim would be brought into play. As we tried admirably to restrain our laughter, Tim called out that it was way too quiet. He opened the door and saw Mike holding the oversized card, and we told him we would not let him out of the door unless Dr. Light brought him “into play.” And so Dr. Light exhausted, and Tim Batow emerged, ready for action! Needless to say, we laughed about that all night, and I am here to tell you today that I luckily caught it all on film and may one day treat you with a clip . . . but, alas, that day is not today!

In all seriousness, that story would not be possible without Tim making an amazing performance at the Pro Circuit with an extremely solid deck. In this article, I am going to go through the many decisions an individual faces when contemplating a curve-based deck.

GOALS . . . AGAIN?

I tend to talk about goals when I write these articles; having a focus is vital when optimizing any deck. If your deck tries to do too many things at once, bad things can happen. You may end up accomplishing a couple of goals, but that could be at the cost of efficiency and power. Consistency is important to most pros when developing new decks, and it requires a clear purpose or goal.

The best example I can give of this is the Squadron Supreme deck that I took to the Pro Circuit in Atlanta. That deck was built with one purpose and one purpose only: to smash face. It didn’t care what your opponent did. The deck had no contingency plans if it was to face a certain matchup. It was wall-to-wall aggression. The reason it succeeded was because it was not muddled down trying to do too many things. By maxing out the drops and utilizing cards that played to the deck’s aggressive strengths, we were able to make the deck’s draws consistently predictable and powerful.

HOW DO YOU PICK A GOAL?

Good question. Back in the early days of Vs. System, I believed the game was a simple “I run my guy into your guy” type of game. I have naturally found out that this is not always the case. Sometimes, decks operating on such principles can do well, as I previously explained. Other times, though, you have to think harder and longer and consider concepts other than sending your biggest guy into theirs.

What are some commonly picked goals? Well, obviously a straight combative deck is a popular archetype. Also, there are combo decks, which my team has gained some notoriety for. There are also defensive decks, whose main goals are to brick-wall attacks and then swing back for the win. This was the type of deck that my team decided to take to Pro Circuit San Francisco.

In the end, deciding what goals you want your deck to accomplish will largely depend on the current metagame. If there is a lot of low-curve rush, build a deck that combats that with weenie hate so as to allow an alternative goal, such as a straight aggressive curve. Likewise, in a field dominated by curve builds, an off-curve deck that can get a win quickly and with little liability can capitalize on what is being played.

WHAT’S NEXT?

For Pro Circuit San Francisco, my team decided to go with a curve-based deck that brick-walls attacks. Our next question became, how do we accomplish this goal? Working within Silver Age, our card pool was limited, and we hit the head of the nail on the first try. Here’s the decklist I ran at the PC:

Characters

4 Ahmed Samsarra, White King

4 Bizarro, ME AM BIZARRO #1

4 Connie Webb, Knight

1 Deathstroke the Terminator, Ultimate Assassin

4 Dr. Psycho, Mental Giant

4 Genis-Vell ◊ Photon, Transformed

1 Kang, Kang Cobra

2 Maxwell Lord, Black King

2 Mikado and Mosha, Angels of Destruction

1 Mr. Freeze, Brutal Blizzard