OK, so I haven’t been bloging

Gary hasn’t been blogging

Guys on other blogs have slowed up no end

It is with this in mind that the Demonpit guys (Gary and myself) are teaming up with other UK Vs players to make a combined blog. With 5-6 others already on board and hopefully more to come we are looking to put out daily articles. With a smaller workload required from each guy and a few articles in the ‘bank’ so to speak, this shouldn’t prove too difficult.

I’m committed to two per week, one article and one rond up of the Maidstone tournaments (including decklists)

The site, which will be called The British Initiative, should go live on the 1st of July.

Can I just extend thanks to Chris ‘Gdaybloke’ Miller for the great banner design for the new site.

So I guess this is a farewell from the Demonpit, hope to see you at THE BRITISH INITIATIVE.

I’ve been kind of stuck for time recently, therefore pretty much unable to Blog, design decks, playtest, in fact apart from our weekly event I’ve done absolutely nothing versus wise.

However what I have been doing is going all retro. With literally minutes to spare before our weekly events I’ve netdecked old classics to play in our Golden events. Although these decks were strong when they were ev vogue, there a little outmoded now to compete in a serious GA event, but in our casual get togethers they do just fine. They also provide an insight to our players to some really cool cards they’ve may have missed due to the fact they’ve all been playing less than a year. This isn’t to say they haven’t got these cards, they may just have been overlooked.

First up, as mentioned in my previous Blog was I’m back Poozers, which introduced a number of players to the little gem that is Cover Fire. Big attacks, down curve, on turns 5 and 6 were thwarted with this card, in the two events in which it saw light of day. I’m sure some of the players will now return the favour in creations they make in the future.

Second up was Paul Races’ Deadly Tactics which posted a top 8 finish in the 10K Bognor Regis. In that particular event I had the misfortune of playing against that deck in round 4. At the time I hadn’t encontered it before and was quite pleased to be receiving cards from his Win-Lose Deals, especially as I was playing GK/SF, a deck reliant on negation and then discarding to Spidey on 7. This obviously was turned upside down on turn 6 when he called Fizzle with a Null Time Zone and after some shannanigans swung for 144 with Melissa. The deck fared well, although I did lose a great game to Amy in round 2. 
I’m pretty sure that I’ll see Team Tactics in opposing lists in the future, especially being as none of my opponents had seen it before, yet were hellishly impressed by its effect.

Next up was this weeks event, where I ran Gary’s League of Assassins deck from his Quintessentially Quiky article which can be found here. Managing a 4-0 record the deck proved somewhat effective. Dual Nature and Tower of Babel proving the stars of the day, especially against Thunderbolts and Kree.

I feel a little guilty taking decks to an event that I’ve not created myself. However they aren’t overpowered, are most definitely fun to play and hopefully have provided the guys with food for thought for future decks. Next week I’m digging out one of my old favourites Bats and Spiders.   

To say that my Blog has been somewhat neglected recently would be somewhat of an understatement. So the heading is somewhat apt for that reason but also because the addition of the DCX card was the main change in my GLC deck from the version played at the UK Nationals.

Traditionally our GDI (Grinning Demon Invitational) events are Golden Age events with the unwritten rule of no broken decks allowed. However this week, just to mix things up, we had settled on running a Golden Age Random Punks event, akin to the one held in Luton over the weekend. To be honest, this meant very few changes for my GLC deck as it was only Oa, Sinestro (6), Two-Face and Anti-Monitor that were lost so I concentrated on the off-curve aspect of the deck, changed out helping hands for Cover Fire’s and Guardians Reborn for the excellent Welcome Back Poozers. My eventual decklist looked like this……

2 Arisia, Green Lantern of Graxos IV
1 Brik, Green Lantern of Dryad
2 Salakk, Green Lantern of Slyggia
2 G’Nort, Green Lantern of G’Newt
1 Sonar, Dastardly Discord
4 Kyle Raynor, Last Green Lantern
3 Olapet, Green Lantern of Southern Goldstar
1 Tomar Tu, Green Lantern of Xudar
1 Black Hand, Dark-Hearted Villain
2 Hal Jordan, Green Lantern of Earth
1 Kreon, Green Lantern of Tebis
1Ch’p, Green Lantern of H’lven
1 Rot Lop Fan, F-Sharp Bell of the Obsidian Deeps
1 Malvolio, Lord of the Green Flame
1 Katma Tui, Green Lantern of Korugar
1 Guy Gardner, Strong Arm of the Corps
1 Remoni-Notra<>Star Sapphire, Obsessed Warrior Princess
1 Boodikka, Green Lantern of Bellatrix
1 Alan Scott, Keeper of the Starheart

3 Birthing Chamber
2 Book of Oa

2 Battle of Wills
4 Cover Fire
2 Guardians Reborn
3 I’m Back, Poozers 
3 No Man Escapes the Manhunters
2 Rain of Acorns
1 Sweeping Up
4 The Ring has Chosen
2 Uppercut

1 Catchers Mitt
1 Chopping Block
2 Green Lantern Ring
1 Light Armor

We had a smaller than expected turnout this week as neither Vince, Ben nor Jack made it up, so we had just the seven players. Entrants were punched into Mantis and I got paired up with Wayne for round 1.

Round 1 vs Wayne Hepworth (Brotherhood Reservist)
Waynes deck didn’t lose a huge amount by switching to Random Punks apart from a couple of top end characters. This is a deck he has played for a while now with considerable success so I was apprehensive at the outset but had a good opening hand so went with it.
I played G’Nort, Tomar Tu and Hal over the first three turns, whereas Wayne missed on 1, Crimson Commando on 2 and Rem Ram and Chrome on 3. However as I had dropped a Chopping Block on Gnort on turn 2 we went into turn 4 with my board consisting of all three of my recruits whereas Wayne had nothing.
From this point onwards I ran into difficulties, underdropping Kyle on 4 along with a Light Armor on Hal and a catchers Mitt on Kyle. Wayne hit Anne Marie Cortez who swung into Tomar Tu, only for Kyle to do Rem Ram and Hal do Anne MArie. The chop block followed, my board remained at 3, Wayne was down to a clear board again. I had the initiative on five and recruited nobody, now I was beginning to worry. Wayne, surprisingly, went on curve again, meaning a team attack and a chop block lef the board 3 characters plays 1 once again after Polaris had been ‘blocked’. Turn 6 saw the dangerous Harry Delgado hit the table, I had the, not so dangerous, Sonar. I took a beating from Waynes one attack as he hit Sonar with Harrys effect plus a Wondagore activation plus a Kill the Flatscans. Kyle and Hal saw the back of Harry as the chop block did its job once more.
Going into turn 7 with the initiative, any mid range character would have done the job. I however hit nothing, whereas Wayne was able to fetch Fabian Cortez with a Sovereign Superior. With No Man’s available to me though, once again the two GL’s of earth teamed up taking down their bigger foe with Gnort on sweep up duty with the Chop.
Turn 8 and I was getting worried, an 8-drop would have done for me, but Harry Delgado was all that Wayne could muster. I dropped Arisia and Salakk, enabling a birthing chamber, which drew me a game winning Cover Fire. Harry swung into Kyle with his effect activated, but with two Cover Fires now at my disposal for a +16 increase in DEF thus the attack bounced. With a full board benefitting from Arisias effect the final few points were knocked off Waynes END total and the game was secured.

Its not very often that you bag a win utilising only 5 of your 30 possible resource points over turns 4 through 8. I genuinely believe that if Wayne had gone a couple of turns off curve he would have won, but his inflexibility with regards his strategy seemed somewhat flawed in adapting to my lack of drops.
1-0

Game 2 vs Amy Chizlett (Faces of Evil + Avengers)
T1 – Me = Nothing, Amy = Beetle
T2 – Amy = Beast (getting a team up), Nathan Garrett, Me = Tomar Tu
T3 - Me = Ring for Olapet, play Olly boosted getting Gnort
Amy = Mystic Summons for Captain America

A good combat phase for me. Tomar Tu swung into Captain A getting a mutual stun. Olly did for Nathan Garrett and then after a I’m Back, Poozers! G’Nort did for Beast. Amy’s board reduced to just Cpt. America, me with three dudes.

T4 – Amy =  Joystick and Marcus Daniels, Me = Rot Lop Fan
My least favourite option at 4 but good for this situation as she couldn’t get at him. Amy swung Marcus into Tomar Tu, I responded with a Cover Fire, an action nullified by a Call to Arms in response. Tomar Tu stuns, only to be recovered by a Guardians Reborn. Captain A puts down Tomar Tu for the second time in the turn. Joystick then did for G’Nort.

T5 – Me = Kyle getting a block, G’Nort, Salakk, dropping the Chop Block on G’nort
Amy = Wasp

With Amy underdropping I was in the drivers seat. Rot Lop Fan Attacked into Cpt.A. Amy, wanting to mutual stun discarded Paul Ebersol, to which I replied with a Battle of Wills. Kyle did for Wasp. Olly and Salakk took down Marcus who had used his effect in the build phase. Then Tomar Tu attacked joystick, getting a mutual stun. A chop block activation saw the back of Wasp and I maintained a man advantage losing just a Tomar Tu.

With Amy just hitting Melissa Gold on turn 6 whereas I was able to ring for a Katma the game was pretty much over despite Cpt A doing for Kyle and Melissa taking down Katma with a Mega Blast and Flying Kick. 10 END was gained off Katmas effect before she went down and the block was once again effective, taking out Songbird. Turn 7 saw us both playing top deck Vs. I drew Arisia, Amy drew nothing. Cpt.A became the latest name on the chop block Roll of Honor and we went to turn 8. With no board and drawing into nothing Amy offered her hand in resignation.
2-0

Round 3 vs James Warrener (Cosmic Legionnaires)
The Legion of Superheroes. A seriously good read whilst Dan Abnett was writing it (and I’m not just saying that because he comes in the shop), however, my least favourite team with regards Vs. I got off to an early lead, dropping Gnort, Kyle, Olapet and Salakk over the first three turns, compared to a Apparition and Babs, both concealed for James. My chopblocking on turn 4 was thwarted by a Foiled Assassination, but was effective on turns 5 and 6, each time taking down his three drops and turn 7 saw multiple uses of my Rain of Acorns. The final scores at the end of turn 7 after I protected Alan Scott with a Cover Fire, gaining +14 DEF were 20 to -2. The game was closer than that but I always felt in control whilst G’Nort and Arisia were present, despite recruiting nothing on turn 6 which almost let him back into the game.
3-0

Round 4 vs Andrew Palmer (UW/Kree/Skrull)
To say Andys deck lacks focus is an understatement. It trys to do too many things and ends up doing nothing. The game ended on turn 5 but effectively was over when I chop blocked Wolverine on turn 3. Turn 4 saw Cover Fire bouncing an attack by Morlun into Olapet. Then I got to swing back into a board of 1 New Blood. Despite a What are Friends for it wasn’t pretty for Andy. The following turn I recruited Guy Gardner with a Lantern Ring, utilising him to attack Shathra after using a No Man escapes the Manhunters. Andy conceded at the end of turn 5 with the scores at 42-3.

Game 5 vs David Moakes (SS/JLA)
An interesting build from Dave which suffered in this match for the lack of a team up. He hit curve 1 through 5, yet suffered, as did all my opponents, at the hands of the chop block. The game was sealed when Katma Tui bumped my life on turn 6 and a Cover Fire bounced an attack. Although we went to turn 8 I had stolen one against the head, considering I missed a couple of drops. I also had Kreon with a Lantern Ring just in case he bagged a team up late game.
5-0

The deck performed pretty well, which was a relief after recent weeks dissappoinments, but as we all found running Random Punks does take away search options. I’d definitely drop an Uppercut in exchange for a Emerald Dawn if I ran this deck again.

First up an apology for the lack of posts on this blog over recent weeks. Work and family commitments have pretty much kept me away from Vs and the PC so I’ve not had much to share with anyone anyway.

However just a quick mention about a deck I ran recently at our Maidstone Monthly. Our monthly event is a Golden Age event with a mutual understanding that nobody plays the ‘broken’ netdecks that are kicking around. The week prior to this I had been mucking about with a Joker legend legal deck, running the Hatter/Ivy combo if I got evens or Ivy and Charaxes if I got odds, following this up with an assortment of Jokers and Scarecrows. The deck performed well going 3-0, although two of the opponents were running equally janky decklists.

Having enjoyed playing the deck I decided to modify it for our GA event, and after replacing a number of the cards was happy that it would be competitive although not dominant. What I didn’t account for was the fact that despite 6 search cards I’d miss drops regularly throughout the tournament and finish with my worst performance in 18 months, going 2-2, finishing 7th in a field of 9. Ouch! However on a happy note Cameron, who was well on his way to establishing himself as the worst player in the uk according to the UDE ratings succeeded in bagging 3rd place with a 3-1 record including a win over me in the fourth round.

So as the BeeGees would have sung, ”I started a Joke, but the joke was on me!”  

Quintessentially Quirky – When Worlds Collide      

Back in November, the UK had a series of Silver Age Elite Series tournaments dotted around the country. Myself and fellow London based VS enthusiast Amit (aka Amitverse on various forums) decided that the opportunity to play in some official tournaments was too good to pass up and vowed to attend as many as possible. An endeavour aided by the fact that they were all scheduled for different days across a 3 week period. There were 5 to attend, and I really wanted to test a selection of the decks that I had been toying with over the previous months.So I started making up a list of the decks I wanted to use. At the first one, I went with a Villains United team up version of the Jugg/Mags deck I used at the recent UK Nationals. It bombed slightly and I finished with a 2-2 record and 4^th place out of 5.

However, my love of Juggernaught had been re-affirmed. So when we were heading to Sheffield for the next tournament I knew I wanted to use the big guy again. As it was a Silver age Legend format, I also wanted to feature my favourite DC legend Darkseid. When I realised that they both wanted to break people’s resources I decided that it was something worth looking at. So I present to you the big two.

Darkseid/Juggernaught Legend Deck – When Worlds Collide!

Characters: 29

2 Drops: 7

4x Malice Vunderbar

The deck wants to reach the late game, and this girl has a good defence and a resource busting effect. What is not to love?

3x Dark Manhunter

Substitute in for an un-stunnable attacker. Flight, Range and a solid ability make this a decent card.

3 Drops: 7

4x Juggernaught

Ok, so the downside is a pain. But he has big stats and enables the later game plays. So that has to be a good thing.

3x Dark Firestorm

Another strong substitute card, that maintains hand size and can get the low drop out of the way to avoid replacement on turn 5.

4 Drops: 4

4x Darkseid – Apokoliptian Oppressor

More big defence and a great card draw ability.

5 Drops: 6

4x Juggernaught

He has solid stats and an ability that works excellently in conjunction with the resource control theme of Darkseid Elite. (4 copies to meet the Juggernaught Legend requirement)

1x Dark Superboy

I needed a Substitute Character to replace out Juggernaught and if I have just re-set their resource row, this guy is powerful on turn 6. On or Off initiative.

1x Darkseid – 8^th Century

Another Substitute character and one that benefits from the other support cards in the deck. It also counts towards the Darkseid Legend count.

6 Drops: 2

1x Dark Kryptonian.

The deck has two potential game plans. Option 1 is for dealing with short curve combat decks. Jump to turn 8 and own them with a scary 8 drop. Option 2 is for late game stall decks, and for that see the 7 drop.

1x Darkseid – Omega

This guy has decent stats, a potentially useful effect and is called Darkseid. A triple whammy of good stuff.

7 Drops: 2

2x Juggernaught – Weapon of Mass Destruction

There are few cards better at stopping stall decks from winning the game than this one. Decks designed to hit turn 8 or 9 will often scoop when this effect goes off.

8 Drops: 1

1x Darkseid – Nemesis

A fearsome 8 drop that definitely ends the game if Juggernaught has started to whittle down their resources. He can simply remove any remaining 7 drops from the game, providing that you are able to bypass the uniqueness on Darkseid.

Equipment: 2

2x Juggernaught’s Helmet

See my article about the Juggernaught/Magneto deck. This card is awesome!

Locations: 6

3x Dark Matter Drain

Keeping those key locations and plot twists face down in the early game is extremely useful.

3x Ancient Throne

This card allows you to put multiple Darkseids in to play and re-use key plot twists.  

Plot Twists: 23

4x Enemy of my Enemy

Useful for hitting that key character on most drops. This is the standard search card for any deck featuring multiple teams.

4x Created from Hate

One of the better team-stamped search cards in the game. This card allows you to hit those all important Darkseids

4x No Match for Darkseid

An awesome defensive card when the visible defender is named Darkseid. Especially if they are looking for a lot of breakthrough from the attack.

3x Insignificant Threat

This card can end games. In the tournament I actually played in, this card won me two games. If they don’t play around it, and as I only team-up at the last moment they rarely see it coming, then this is a nasty surprise.

4x Price of Treason

Defensive attack pumps that draw you cards are good. It is not as consistent as Nasty Surprise, but potentially just as useful.

4x Flying Kick

One of the great attack pumps in the game, and I don’t have much flight in the deck.

This was a resource hating deck that looked to stall out combat decks and simply stop stall decks getting to turns 8 & 9. It went 2-1 on the day. Beating a Punisher deck and another Darkseid deck, but losing to a short curve Brotherhood deck that managed to hit something like 3 Savage Beatdowns and several Flying Kicks on turn 5. (Didn’t have either Insignificant Threat or No Match for Darkseid that would have kept me in the game.)

If I was to update the deck for the new Silver Age, then I would only change a couple of things. (Assuming that I didn’t need to hit the Legend Status on Juggernaught)

-4 Juggernaught 3 drop

+1 Dark Firestorm

+2 Dark Thangarian

+1 Lashina

This is a more versatile spread of 3 drops that also allows me to alter my choice of search cards.

-4 Enemy of my Enemy

+4 Hero of the Two Worlds.

I really like this new search card, and it allows me to go find Darkseid or Juggernaught. It also reduces the chance of drawing multiples of low drop cards. The higher threshold is less of a concern, when you have 7 3 drops and 4 search cards that can dig for them.

-4 Flying Kick

+4 Lord of Apokolips

A versatile +2/+2 pump that can be used on offence or defence is a nice trick to have in your arsenal. It can only be used on Darkseid, but I think the focus should be on that character. As you want the game to drag out, a hyper offensive attack pump is probably less useful than one that can maintain field advantage on either turn.

-3 Ancient Throne

+3 Ancient Evil.

Being able to give Darkseid the Brotherhood affiliation makes the Insignificant Threats less of a dead card. Both cards allow you to get round uniqueness, and that will be hugely useful for this deck.

 Ultimately I do not think it is a tier 1 deck. But it is capable of beating a lot of the key decks in the format. An early Dark Matter Drain or Lashina could well give you an out against Quicksilver. Your resource row control will make life difficult for Ahmed.

Most of all it is fun to use, and that is all that really matters to me.

MIGHTY OAKS FROM LITTLE ACORNS GROW

The above title pretty much sums up the UK Nationals. It started off as a casual statement along the lines of, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool to have a National Championship like they have on the MtG scene’, then it was thirty or so people, a venue and a handful of prizes provided by myself, Steve Garrett and Jason Howlett (trophy, playmat and EA bundle respectively). Finally with only a couple of days to go before the tourney we had a hatful of great surprises.

1)      Registration reached 49 people

2)      UDE Europe came up trumps with 25 T-Shirts, 16 Playmats, Hulk Trophies and more EA’s

3)      UDE’s Ben Seck informs us that the top 8 finishers will all receive invites to the World Championships

Here is an account of the event from the perspective of the guys and gals of Team Demon.

We headed up on the train from Maidstone to Euston, leaving early to ensure that we were amongst the first to arrive. There had been no team decisions with regards decks, each of the players had made a personal choice and then spent 2-3 weeks playing in our weekly events, fine tuning and tweaking.

Deck choices were as follows:

·         Graham Beadle – GLEE ‘Jack of all Lanterns, Master of None’

·         Amy Chizlett – Inhumans/Heralds

·         David Moakes – Secret Society ‘Grodd Control’

·         Ben Waghorn – JLA/JLI ‘Good Guys’

·         Jack Rutter – ‘Big Brotherhood’

·         Nathan Greenwood – JLA Curve

·         Holly Humphrey – Hellboy Lone Visible

·         Tommy Gibson – Hellboy Lone Visible

·         Vince Newman – Squadron ‘Chicken Supreme’

I’ve posted the reasons for my choice of deck in my Blog, although I failed to mention my growth of a ‘facial construct’ to improve personal affinity with my deck.

Tube closures meant that we were delayed a little on the underground and it turns out that Russell Square station was nearer to our new venue than where we actually got off, at Euston, but we did encounter the Loughborough guys en route as we traipsed past the original venue, The County Hotel.

Ten Strong they were the largest team of players at the event, with their numbers including some Realms regulars (Lord of Limbo and Bungo Underhill). All decked out in House of Heroes yellow T-Shirts they were fairly easy to pick out from the crowd.

After arriving at the venue, The Royal National Hotel, we set up shop, laid out the prizes, awaiting the arrival of the TO, Jason Howlett. This time proved handy as I got the chance to meet up with some familiar faces and put faces to a number of names previously encountered only by means of the internet. We eventually kicked off the tournament at around 12.30, with eight rounds of swiss and a top 8 to look forward to.

The final number of entrants was 47. A number of players who had pre-registered were unable to make it, however, a few of those places were taken by players who hadn’t. The biggest disappointment was the lack of turnout from the top players from the hay day of Vs System in the UK, so there was no Ian Vincent, Tim Willoughby, Simon O’Keefe, Duncan Tang, Karl Bown or Thomas Reeves. This was a shame, as although the attendance was better than originally anticipated, their no show took a little of the prestige away from the event.

Round 1 vs Nick Garver (Secret Society Grodd Control)
My first round opponent Nick, was one of the ten players from the House of Heroes in Loughborough. The proprietor of that establishment informs me that he is affectionately known as the hobbit as he used to turn up at the shop without shoes, a habit he has since been steered away from. Nick was playing a SS build, similar to the one I had won with at the London City Champs, the decklist is listed below:

1 x Doomsday – Engine of Destruction

1 x Gorilla Grodd – Psionic Simian

1 x Mr Freeze – Cold Blooded

1 x Deathstroke the Terminator – Killing Machine

3 x Black Manta – Underworld Marauder

1 x Sinestro – Yellow Lantern

4 x Gorilla Grodd – Grodd Awfall

4 x Poison Ivy – Intoxicating

2 x Dr. Psycho – Demented Dwarf

1 x Charaxes – Moth Monster

1 x Deadshot – Floyd Lawton

4 x Dr Sivana – Mad Scientist

3 x Cheetah – Barbara Minerva

1 x The Riddler – Riddle me This

1 x Chemo – Toxic

1 x Dr Polaris – Polar Opposite

–

4 x Path of Destruction

4 x Straight to the Grave

4 x Master Plan

4 x Forced Conscription

4 x Unnatural Selection

3 x Coup d’etat

3 x Monkey See Monkey Do

–

2 x Gorilla City

1 x Hidden HQ

1 x Remote Facility

Nick informed me that he had only received the deck that morning from team mate Dave ‘Bungo Underhill’ Pyrah. This would account for his slow play as he seemed unsure with regards some of the decision making, he also needs some tips on keeping his relevant board areas (resource, support, attack rows and KO’d pile) more clearly defined.

During the game I pretty much hit the god draw, setting up an early chopblock lock, facilitated by Nick missing his 2-drop whilst I went Salakk (T1), Kyle (L.Armor + Chop Block on Salakk T2), Boosted Olapet + Gnort (T4). Although the game was always close on END the game was never really close in reality. Nick was a likeable opponent with a somewhat quirky playing style, although he made no obvious mistakes in our match. He then proceeded to win his next 5 games after this defeat, going to 5-1 before losing his last 2 to finish 5-3.      1-0

Round 2 vs Steve ‘Kamiza’ Garrett (Marvel Knight ‘Punisher Guns Blazing’)

Bit of a grudge match this. I’d done the double over Steve at the London City champs, beating his Super Troopers with my aforementioned Grodd deck, in both the swiss and the Final. On this particular day we had two very different decks going head to head, my Lanterns against his Frank Castle led Marvel Knights.

The game swung hugely in Steve’s favour when he used a Finishing Move on Olapet. After this point he dropped Frank, who, with his two weapons, always causes headaches. Dropping Ghost Rider on turn 6 meant he could then amass enough burn for the win, despite me having Sinestro. Also, a second Helping Hand at my disposal at this point (turn 6) seriously could have changed things, but just having the one meant game to Steve.  1-1

Steve’s deck is listed below:

4 Punisher, Suicide Run
4 Daredevil, Fearless Survivor
4 Marvel Boy, noh-Varr
2 Morbius, Biochemical Bloodsucker
1 Cloak, Shadow Master
4 Punisher, Guns Blazing
1 Wolverine, Covert Predator
1 Captain America, Loyal Patriot
1 Moon Knight, Knight of Khonshu
2 Vengeance, Spirit of Vengeance
1 Hulk, Savage Hulk
1 Ghost Rider, Spirit of Vengeance
1 Punisher, Angel of Death4 Wild Ride
4 Mobilize
4 Savage Beatdown
4 Devastating Blow
4 Finishing Move
2 Bring the Pain

4 Desert Eagle
4 Katana
3 M60s

Round 3 vs Helen Cope (Fantastic 4 ‘Family of Four’)
I had seen during the first round that Helen was playing a Family of Four build which, in testing, had been almost an auto lose for my deck. Unfortunately for Helen today was one of those days when the gaming gods were either looking favourably on me or dumping on her from a great height. Missed drops, underdrops combined with me hitting the perfect drop on every turn, including the Light Armor and Chopping Block, meant that Helen never saw more than two characters, and she only saw that for one turn in the whole game. Nigh on a walkover, but with no real satisfaction in the victory.            2-1

Helens Deck:
4 x Invisible Woman – Walking on air

4 x Human Torch – Matchstick

4 x Mr Fantastic – String Bean

1 x Invisible Woman – First Lady of the Fantastic Four

4 x Thing – Idol O’ Millions

2 x Human Torch – Nova Blast

2 x Mr Fantastic – Critical Thinker

1 x Invivible Woman – Sight Unseen

3 x Thing – Heavy Hitter

1 x Human Torch – Flame On!

1 x Invisible Woman – Shield of the Four

1 x Thing – Ever Lovin’ Blue Eye’d Thing

1 x Silver Surfer – Norrin Radd

–

4 x Savage Beatdown

4 x Family of Four

4 x It’s Clobberin’ Time

3 x Force Field Projection

4 x Mobilize

4 x Signal Flare

1 x Torch And Thing

1 x Reed and Sue

1 x Only Human

–

4 x Four Freedoms Plaza

By now we’d got over the disappointment of there being no bar on site at the venue. We’d found a pub next door to the event and as my deck tended to win or lose quickly was able to nip off for a pint of Abbot between each round…yum!

Will continue the report in part 2 which I’ll post on Friday. Tomorrow = Another QQ Article from Gary.

Decklists for those not making top 8

Sam Gibbs, Swiss 5th Place, Brave and Bold (DOR)
4 x Alfred Pennyworth – Faithful Friend

4 x Mirage – Miriam Delgado

2 x Dawn Granger <> Dove – Agent of Order

2 x Hank Hal <> Hawk – Agent of Chaos

3 x Commissioner Gordon – James Gorden

1 x Beast Boy – Garfield Logan

1 x Huntress – Helena Rosa Bertinelli

2 x Roy Harper <> Arsenal – Sharpshooter

1 x Dick Grayson <> Nightwing – High-Flying Acrobat

4 x Terra – Tara Markov

3 x Garth <> Tempest – Atlantean Sorcerer

1 x Batman – Caped Crusader

1 x Koriand’r <> Starfire – Alien Princess

1 x Raven, Daughter of Trigon

–

4 x Teen Titans Go

4 x Bat Signal

3 x Dynamic Duo

2 x Fizzle

4 x Brave and the Bold

2 x Heroic Sacrifice

1 x Total Anarchy

1 x Have a Blast

–

4 x GCPD Headquarters

4 x USS Argus

2 x Titans Tower

Alex Marsden, Swiss 6th Place, Checkmate/JSA ‘The Rock’ (DCR)
2 x Huntress – Reluctant Queen

1 x Carter Hall <> Hawkman – Eternal Champion

4 x Connie Webb – Knight

3 x Phantom Stranger – Wandering Hero

3 x Michael Holt <> Mr Terrific – Renaissance Man

4 x Terry Sloane <> Mr Terrific –  Golden Age Gold Medalist

4 x Atom Smasher – Al Rothstein

4 x Ahmed Samsarra – White King

4 x Surveillance Pawn – Army

1 x Adrian Chase <> Vigilante – Street Justice

–

4 x Threat Neutralized

–

2 x Brother eye

4 x Checkmate Safe House

1 x Dr. Fate’s Tower

1 x Secret checkmate HQ

4 x Brother I Satellite

1 x Checkmate Armoury

2 x The Rock of Eternity

2 x JSA Headquarters

–

4 x T-spheres

4 x Laser watch

1 x Cloak of Nabu

Nick Garver, Swiss 11th Place, Secret Society ‘Grodd Control’ (DCL)

1 x Doomsday – Engine of Destruction

1 x Gorilla Grodd – Psionic Simian

1 x Mr Freeze – Cold Blooded

1 x Deathstroke the Terminator – Killing Machine

3 x Black Manta – Underworld Marauder

1 x Sinestro – Yellow Lantern

4 x Gorilla Grodd – Grodd Awfall

4 x Poison Ivy – Intoxicating

2 x Dr. Psycho – Demented Dwarf

1 x Charaxes – Moth Monster

1 x Deadshot – Floyd Lawton

4 x Dr Sivana – Mad Scientist

3 x Cheetah – Barbara Minerva

1 x The Riddler – Riddle me This

1 x Chemo – Toxic

1 x Dr Polaris – Polar Opposite

–

4 x Path of Destruction

4 x Straight to the Grave

4 x Master Plan

4 x Forced Conscription

4 x Unnatural Selection

3 x Coup d’etat

3 x Monkey See Monkey Do

–

2 x Gorilla City

1 x Hidden HQ

1 x Remote Facility

Jaime Miguel, Swiss 12th Place, Brotherhood Reservist (MXM) 

4 x Rem Ram – Acolyte

4 x Chrome – Acolyte

4 x Amelia Voght – Acolyte

4 x Senyaka – Acolyte

1 x Polaris – Acolyte

3 x Spoor – Acolyte

3 x Harry Delgade – Acolyte

1 x Colossus – Acolyte

4 x Sabretooth – Savage Killer

1 x Fabian Cortez – Acolyte

3 x Joanna Cargill – Acolyte

1 x Magneto – Ruler of Avalon

–

3 x Hellhound

4 x Shake Rattle and Roll

3 x Boot to the Head

4 x Homo Superior

4 x Acolytes

4 x Sovereign Supressor

4 x Mutant Massacre

David Moakes, Swiss 13th Place, Secret Society ‘Grodd Control’ (DCL) 

1 x Chemo – Toxic Waste

4 x The Riddler – Riddle Me This

3 x Deadshot – Floyd Lawton

2 x Charaxes – Moth Monster

2 x King Shark – Jaws of Death

2 x Poison Ivy – Intoxicating

1 x Dr.Pyscho – Demented Dwarf

4 x Gorilla Grodd – Grodd Awful

1 x Sinestro – Yellow Lantern

2 x Black Manta – Underwater Marauder

1 x Darkseid – Destroyer of Life

1 x Deathstroke the Terminator – Killing Machine

1 x Mr Freeze – Cold Blooded

1 x Mark Desmond <> Blockbuster – Mindless Brute

1 x Doomsday – Engine of destruction

–

1 x Shadow Strike

1 x Nasty Supprise

3 x Total Anarchy

2 x Duty Calls

1 x Blind Sided

3 x Unnatural Selection

4 x Path of Destruction

4 x Straight to the Grave

4 x Forced Conscription

2 x Monkey see Monkey Do

1 x Coup d’etat

–

3 x Remote Facility

3 x Gorilla City

2 x Hidden HQ

Artur Luczynski, Swiss 14th Place, JLA Curve (DCL) 

2 x Dinah Larual Lance <> Black Canary – New Wings

1 x Aztek – Champion of Quetzalcoatal

1 x Ray Palmer <> The Atom  - Tiny Titan

1 x Red Tornado – Elemental Android

1 x Roy Harper <> Red Arrow – Coming of Age

2 x Plastic Man – Plastic Fantastic

1 x Oliver Queen <> Green Arrow – Bullseye

2 x Hal Jordan – Founding Member

2 x Batman – Founding Member

3 x Fire Storm – Ronnie Raymond

3 x Wonder Woman – Ambassador of Peace

2 x Wally West <> The Flash – Keystone Cop

3 x Superman – Metropolis Marvel

2 x Aquaman – Lord of Atlantis

2 x Martian Manhunter – Founding Member

1 x Wonder Woman – Founding Member

1 x Superman – Founding Meber

1 x Hal Jordan – Fearless

–

4 x Mightiest Heros

3 x Nasty Suprise

3 x Magnificant Seven

2 x Reform the League

2 x Blind Sided

2 x Blinding Rage

2 x Truth Justice and Peace

2 x Atomise

1 x Indestructible

1 x New Era

1 x Duty Calls

1 x Battle Training

1 x From the Shadows

–

2 x Hall of Justice

2 x The Watchtower

–

2 x Nth Metal

Matthew Cooper, Swiss 15th Place, Checkmate/JSA ‘The Rock’ (DCR) 

1 x Roy Harper – Arsenal

4 x Terry Sloane <> Mr Terrific – Golden Age Gold Medallist

3 x Michael Holt <> Mr Terrific – Renaissance Man

4 x Surveillance Pawn – Army

1 x Kate Spencer – Manhunter

4 x Atom Smasher, Al Rothstein

4 x Ahmed Samsara – White King

3 x The Phantom Stranger – Wandering Hero

1 x Christopher Smith – Peacemaker

2 x Huntress – Reluctant Queen

3 x Connie Webb – Knight

1 x Adrian Chase – Vigilante

1 x Black Thorn – Elizabeth Thorne

–

3 x Relentless Pursuit

–

2 x Brother Eye

3 x Checkmate Safe House

4 x Brother I Satillite

1 x Secret Checkmate HQ

2 x JSA Headquarters

1 x Checkmate Armoury

1 x Dr. Fate’s Tower

2 x The Rock of Eternity

–

1 x Clock of Nabu

4 x Laser Watch

4 x T-Spheres

Ross Silcock, Swiss 16th Place, MK/F4 ‘Heroes of the City’ (MVL) 

3 x Black Widow – Femme Fatale

4 x Luke Cage – Steel Hard Skin

4 x Punisher – Suicide run

3 x Invisible Woman – First Lady of the Fantastic Four

1 x Marvel Boy <> Noh – Varr

3 x Punisher – Guns Blazing

1 x Wolverine – Covert Predator

1 x Captain america – Loyal Patriot

1 x Thing – Heavy Hitter

1 x Mr Fantastic – Dimensional Explorer

1 x Human Torch – Flame On!

1 x Thing – Ever Lovin’ Blue Eye’d Thing

1 x Punisher – Angel of death

1 x Silver Surfer – Norrin Radd

–

4 x Wild Ride

4 x Neighbourhood Watch

2 x Heros of the City

3 x Its Clobberin’ Time!

4 x Force Field Projection

2 x Mobilize

3 x Signal Flare

3 x Savage Beatdown

–

4 x Desert Eagle

3 x M60’s

3 x Katana

Michael Masters, Swiss 17th Place, Checkmate (DCR) 

4 x Connie Webb – Knight

1 x Sasha Bordduex – Knight

4 x Sarge Steel – Knight

4 x Ahmed Samsara – White King

2 x Arthur Kendrick – Knight

1 x Valentina Vostok <> Negative Woman – Bishop

1 x Amanda Waller – Queen

2 x Harry Stein – King in Check

4 x Roy Harper <> Arsenal – Knight

1 x Maxwell Lord – Black King

4 x Huntress – Reluctant Queen

1 x Sasha Bordeaux – Autonomus Prototype

–

4 x Threat Neutralized

1 x Check and Mate

4 x Knightmare Scenario

–

4 x Brother I Satellite

2 x Dr Fates Tower

3 x Brother Eye

2 x Secret Checkmate HQ

1 x Leslie Tompsons Clinic

1 x Thanagar

1 x Checkmate Armoury

–

2 x Cloak of Nabu

3 x Amulet of Nabu

3 x helm of Nabu

1 x Knight Armour

Well 7 of them so far anyway

Felix Hughes – MKKO (MVL)
3 x Black Widow – Femme Fatale
3 x Black Cat – Thrill Seeker
4 x Punisher – Suicide Run
4 x Blade – Vampire Slayer
3 x Echo – Masterless Samurai
3 x Ghost Rider – The devils Rider
1 x cloak – Shadow Master
3 x Wolverine – Covert Predator
2 x Daredevil – Horn Head
4 x Captain America – Loyal Patriot
2 x Ghost Rider – Spirit of Vengeance
1 x Hulk – Savage Hulk
–
4 x Wild RIde
4 x Mobilize
4 x Devistating Blow
4 x Savage Beatdown
4 x Quick Kill
4 x Finishing Move
3 x Encircle

Connor Phoenix – Good Guys (DJL)
4 x Ted Kord <> Blue Beetle – Heir of the Scarab
4 x Sue Dibny – Charasmatic Coordinator
3 x Connor Hawke <> Green Arrow – Son of the Archer
4 x Booster Gold – Michael Ion Carter
1 x Joseph Jones <> General Glory – lady Liberty’s Champion
4 x Shayera Thal <> Hawkwoman – Thanagarian Enforcer
1 x Crimson Fox – Vivian and Constance Daramis
4 x Katar Hol <> Hawkman – Thanagarian Enforcer
1 x Oliver Queen <> Green Arrow – Hard-Traveling Hero
1 x Dinah Laurel Lance <> Black Canary – Blonde Bombshell
2 x John Henry Irons <> Steel – Steel Drivin’ Man
2 x Fire – Beatriz Dacosta
–
2 x BWAHAHAHAHA!
4 x World’s Greatest Heroes – Team Up
1 x Trial by Force
4 x Magnificent Seven
2 x Heroes Welcome
2 x Disband the League
2 x Reform the League
–
4 x Kooey Kooey Kooey
2 x JLI Embassy
–
1 x Justice League Signal Device
4 x Nth Metal

Josh Ralls, Avengers Reservist (MAV)
4 x Quicksilver – Mutant Avenger
4 x Wonderman – Simon Williams
4 x Dane Whitman <> Black Knight – Heroic Paladin
4 x She-Hulk – Gamma Bombshell
4 x Natasha Romanoff <> Back Widow – Super Spy
4 x Black Pantha – T’challa
2 x Beast – Furry Blue Scientist
4 x Rick Jones – A Heroes Best Friend
4 x Hawkeye – Clinton Barton
4 x Hercules – Son of Zeus
3 x Carol Davers <> Warbird – Galactic Adventurer
–
4 x War of Attrition
4 x Heroes in Reserve
4 x Call Down the Lightning
4 x Legendary Battles
–
3 x Avengers Mansion

Josh Lockyear, Kree Press (MHG)
1 x Supremor – Starforce
2 x Shatterax – Starforce
1 x Bron Char – Lunatic Legion
1 x Korath the Persuer – Starforce
1 x Ultimus – Starforce
1 x Ronan the Accuser – Starforce
4 x Admiral Galan Kor – Lunatic Legion
3 x Commander Dycon Cir – Lunatic Legion
3 x Mar Vel <> Captain Mavel – Soldier of the Empire
3 x Colonol Yon-Rogg – Commander of the Rebelion
3 x Captain Att Lass – Star Force
3 x Lietenant Kona Lor – Lunatic Legion
4 x Dr. Minerva – Starforce
–
2 x Strategic Retreat
3 x Remnant Fleet
3 x The Lunatic Legion
4 x Live Kree or Die
–
3 x Penal Colonies
3 x Stargate
1 x Battleworld
4 x Hala
–
4 x Universel Weapons
1 x Power Gem
1 x Nega Bands

Ben Waghorn, Good Guys (DJL) 
4 x Sue Dibny – Charismatic Co-ordinator
2 x Ted Kord <> Blue Beetle – Heir to the Scarab
4 x Maxwell Lord
2 x Booster Gold – Michael Ion Carter
4 x Shayera Thal <> Hawkwoman – Thanagarian Enforcer
4 x Rocket Red
4 x Katar Hol <> Hawkman – Thanagarian Enforcer
2 x Batman
3 x Fire – Beatriz Dacosta
3 x John Henry Irons <> Steel – Steel Drivin’ Man
1 x Dinah Laurel Lance
–
1 x Air Strike
1 x Membership Drive
3 x Reform the league
2 x New Era
4 x BWAHAHAHAHA!
4 x Magnificant Seven
4 x Worlds Greatest Heroes – Team up
–
2 x Kooey Kooey Kooey
2 x Satelite HQ
1 x The Watchtower
–
4 x Nth Metal
1 x Hyper Flare Gun

David Pyrah, Family of Four (MVL)
2 x Human Torch – Matchstick
4 x Luke Cage – Steel Hard Skin
2 x Mr Fantastic – String Bean
2 x Thing – Idol O’ Millions
4 x Invisible Woman – First Lady of the Fantastic Four
2 x Human Torch – Nova Blast
4 x Mr Fantastic – Critical Thinker
1 x Invisible Woman – Sight Unseen
4 x Thing – Heavy Hitter
2 x Human Torch – Flame On!
1 x Mr Fantastic – Dimensional Explorer
1 x Invisible woman – Shield of the Four
1 x Thing – The ever Lovin’ Blue Eyed Thing
1 x Silver Surfer – Norin Radd
–
2 x Finishing Move
4 x It’s Clobberin’ Time!
2 x Force Field Projection
4 x Signal Flare
4 x Mobilze
4 x Family of Four
4 x Savage Beatdown
1 x Torch and Thing
2 x Fire Wall
–
2 x Four Freedoms Plaza

Christian Dunn, Faces of Evil (MAV)
4 x Yellowjacket – Rita Demora
3 x Beetle – Mach 1
2 x Paul Ebersol <> Fixer - Problem Solver
1 x Nathan Garret – Black Knight
1 x Radioactiveman – Chen Lu
1 x Ogre – Weponsmith
1 x Joystick – Janice Yanizesh
1 x Dallas Riordan – Mayoral Aide
4 x Beetle – Armoursmith
3 x Melissa Gold – Sonic Carapace
1 x Shocker – Vibro Shock Villian
1 x Blizzard – Donna Gall
1 x Paul Ebersol <> Techno – Gadgeteer
1 x Melter – Bruno Horgan
1 x Meliss Gold – <> Screaming Mimi – Mini Schwartz
4 x Speed Demon 0 2nd Chance
2 x Marcus Daniels <> Blackout – Dark Bringer
1 x Heinrich Zemo <> BAron Zemo – Baron of Zeulniz

4 x Faces of evil
4 x Insect Swarm
4 x Windtorm
4 x Call to Arms
3 x Hard Sound Construct
3 x Stolen Power
3 x Mystic Summons
2 x Heroes Demise

Waiting for other top 8 Roy Raftery’s list

When I visit my Blog the sidebar isn’t showing. Is it the same for everyone else?

Heres Garys tournament report from the UK Nationals along with his deck analysis of his BYOS Legend deck:

Quintessentially Quirky – The Helmets take Manhattan

(Well, London… and less take and more visit and get some photos….)

One of my earlier QQ articles was about looking at a deck I took to a tournament and then analysing the performance and how the deck should have been changed. So essentially a tournament report and deck analysis in one… it was such an interesting process to go through that I thought I would do another.

How does it qualify for Quintessentially Quirky? Well, by now you should have realised that I really don’t do standard decks. So anything I take to a tournament will have some aspect that is not standard for that team. Therefore, they all qualify as slightly quirky decks.

Now last Saturday was the unofficial UK nationals, and I wanted to take something interesting, unique (hopefully) and fun to play. As it was Bring Your Own Set format, there were some tough decisions to be made… and I hate making tough decisions. So my final 5 options were:

MVL Legends: Fantastic Four.

Based around Four Freedoms Plaza rather than the traditional aggro build currently seeing favour, this deck looked to get all 4 family members in play and use a myriad of defensive tricks to keep them there. Had a lot of success with this at the Silver age Elite Series’ last year, going a total of 9-1 across two tournaments. Winning one and posting second in the other. However, I lost Against All Odds and the Heralds Human Torch, and Invisible Woman is likely to have a huge target on her head. Most importantly, other people might be playing the deck and that is a huge no-no.

DC Legends: JLA/League of Assassins.

An interesting deck to use Aquaman and Batman to support the Ra’s Al Ghul and his Tower of Babel in bringing down the opponent. Using power-ups to swing combat, Batman to control resources and Bat-computer to fix draw and location replacement. However, it just lacked some power and a little consistency. But with a decent draw it caused opponents a lot of trouble. Tower of Babel would be potentially huge in BYOS where team affiliations will be rife.

DC Legions: Darkseid

With the potential for resource row dependence with Checkmate and other teams, the idea of running Darkseid had some appeal. Plus I have used them in tournaments before (My Golden Age deck being especially interesting). However, their dependence on other sets for key resource hate (namely anti-team-up) and minimal offence made them less attractive.

DC Green Lantern: Emerald Enemy/Anti-matter Resource KO Beats

A favourite deck of mine from times past, mainly because it took no brains to play. Simply make big anti-matter characters to smash face, bringing them visible for defence if necessary. Then drop Major Force and start KOing your own resources to finish the opponent. A bit too unreliable for proper tournament play, even if there was no way anybody else would be playing it.

And lastly the deck I actually took: Juggs and Magneto take Manhattan.

Not only is this Marvel Legend BYOS legal, it is also Legends Legal for both Juggernaught and Magneto.

Characters:

1 Drops.

4x Scarlet Witch

Emergency drop for enabling mobilize for a 3 drop but mainly there for the -2 Def or pay for Underground Resistance

2 Drops:

3x Quicksilver

My main 2 drop simply due to not owning enough copies of Nocturne, but he does have decent stats and a useful ability.

2x Nocturne

If only I owned more copies. Easily the best 2 drop for this deck, a psuedo-KO effect that helps start the field advantage.

3 Drops:

4x Juggernaught

He has huge stats but an annoying drawback. Recruiting a Juggernaught is important for my late game, and with his hat, the 11 ATK is very respectable. The downside does limit his attacks, but as you actually want to reach the late game, save his attack for your initiative. So if the opponent declines to attack on his initiative and you have evens, I would wait.

1x Random

He makes up the three drop places… and has a very strong effect. There is some argument that if you consistently hit Juggernaught on turn 5 that he should be your primary 3 drop. That is personal taste, and I prefer the big hitter myself.

4 Drops:

3x Magneto

I only have 3, but that seems to work as a number. His effect is great, and the plot twists and characters he enables are also excellent. You have to accept that his effect is situational… but between Nocturne KOing herself and Metallic Assault, you can often be in a position on turn 5 off-initiative being able to stun their 4 drop.

1x Mystique

Would I swap this for Magneto if I had a 4^th copy? Not sure. Sometimes you need a spare Juggernaught to put the hat on, and 13 attack is not too be sneezed at. Plus if you miss Magneto she can still pretend to be him, and enable the plot twists. She is a versatile addition to the line up.

5 Drops:

3x Juggernaught

The plan for this guy is that he hits hard and can disrupt resource rows. The replacement is rarely an issue as the plan is to use metallic assault to remove 3 drop Juggs from the field and help clear the opponent’s side too. The solid 10 ATK is also a useful addition.

1x Mammomax

For the odd occasion when I don’t want to replace the 3 drop Juggs or need to save some endurance, this guy is very solid. The defence is low, but chances are Magneto will be dealing with lower drops anyway.

6 Drops:

3x Sentinel Mk VII

This card has solid stats, flight and range, which on its own would be enough for consideration. His ability when Magneto is in play is simply ridiculous when you have initiative and annoying for your opponent when you don’t.

7 Drops:

2x Juggernaught

He is a big, bad, resource destroying monster that can even wear a nice hat that makes him utterly ridiculous on the offensive. His ability essentially reads “I WIN” against any deck looking to stall to the late game. He is also more than capable of bringing the beats when you need to beat your opponent down.

1x Magneto

Sometimes Brute force isn’t required, and simply maintaining a field presence advantage is the route to victory. In which case, the reprinted 7 drop Magneto is still one of the best cards available.

8 Drops:

1x Xorn.

This card has one of the most under-estimated effects in the game. Pulling your opponent in to the front row opens up the opportunity to bring the beats. But even more amusing is the ability to push your opponent to the support row on his initiative. Unless they have range, which is not as common as you might think, they cannot attack. Savage Hulk really doesn’t want to see this guy hit the table, neither does Wolverine.

Equipment

3x Juggernaught’s Helmet

When you read this card, the initial reaction is “OMG”. +5 ATK is huge, and being un-targetable is mean. Sure it can only be equipped to a Juggernaught, but that is usually not an issue with this deck.

Location:

3x Underground Resistance

This is another card I wish I had 4 copies of. It allows you to filter through the deck and improve the quality of your cards. Once it is in play, it can often find that one key card you would have missed without it.

Plot Twists:

2x Unstoppable

A late addition to the deck, but it definitely proved its worth. Two stuns for one attack is fantastic. It makes a mockery of one of the most powerful defensive tricks in the BYOS metagame (Sarge Steel and Talia). It breaks formations and punishes your opponent for being defensive.

4x Iron Extraction

A KO effect with no cost other than you must have used a specific character to stun the target is a decent effect. One of the best support cards for Magneto.

4x Metallic Assault

A very different effect to Iron Extraction, but this is one that could win more games. Simple boards make for simple games, and minimise play errors. But forcing a checkmate player to KO Ahmed is just funny.

4x Pecking Order

+2/+2 on attack or defence is very useful. The fact it is restricted to your highest cost character is a potential issue, but if your opponent is playing around Insignificant Threat then he will find it difficult with out attack pumps.

4x Insignificant Threat

This prevents your opponent using the usual cross-curve attack process to leverage board advantage. It also really punishes any deck that team attacks. If you resolve one of these the game is likely to be getting away from your opponent.

4x Eviscerate

Sometimes you just need to stun an opposing character, and +3ATK is often enough. It has a downside, but can be used on offence or defence, so the versatility is very useful.

4x Mobilize

There has to be some character search in here, and for a single team deck this is the default selection. Combined with the Underground Resistance, this provides a surprising level of consistency.

So the aim of the deck is to build a field advantage through out of combat stuns and KO effects, leading to a late game where Juggernaught and Xorn reduce the opponent’s options to nothing.

Evens is your preferred initiative as a combination of 2 KO effects (whatever they might be) should guarantee you a big field advantage on turn 5. Along with enough stun effects to control their attacks. Sentinel and Magneto will continue the pressure on turn 6.

Odd initiative is less straightforward. You are looking to stun the board on turn 3 so that on 4 you can stun their 3 drop with Magneto and cause issues for their 4 drop. Again, any combination of KO effects should be enough to swing the game.

So how did the tournament go…?

Game 1: Secret Society.

Things were going ok until turn 5 when he had 2 Path of Destruction in the KO pile and then was able to fly over in to Magneto with Black Manta. 2 more Path of Destructions and then one brought pack from the KO pile gave him +22 ATK. I used a couple of cards to minimize the damage but ultimately the pain came hard. Mind you, on my initiative he had to under drop and as a result I was able to stun his board with Sentinel MK VII and Magneto. I then used 2 Metallic Assaults to clear the field. So on turn 7, he had an END advantage, but no 6 or 7 drop in the KO Pile and no cards in hand. I had my 7 drop. So I recruited Juggernaught. He pinched a Sentinel MKVII from my KO pile and recruited it. After resource KO he still had enough attack pumps to get the stun, which won the game. He hadn’t seen any 6 or 7 drops and I hadn’t seen the Insignificant Threat that would have won me the game. (I had my 8 drop in hand, and he was back to turn 6).

So 0-1

Game 2: Ashley – Marvel Knights KO

This was interesting. I hit nothing on turn 1 so Black Panther brought the pain. Turn 2 I still had nothing and he hit Punisher. Turn 3 I get a Nocturne and he sees Echo. So I gamble on getting the breakthrough with an Eviscerate. He has the +2 Def to avoid both the stun and the breakthrough. Punisher KOs my 2 drop. Magneto comes down for me, but no other character to use his effect. He drops Punisher and a couple of equipments. So I send Magneto in to Punisher and then use Iron Extraction so both hit the KO pile. Turn 5 and I re-recruit Magneto. He gets Moon knight I think. I stun Black Panther with Magneto as Echo swings in to get the stun. I don’t have the Iron Extraction to get the KO. He Quick Kills Magneto. Turn 6 has a solo sentinel for me and he drops wolverine 4 drop. Unfortunately he still has Echo visible. So I get some breakthrough but take a beating. Turn 7 we both drop some low stuff and the combat is a bust. Turn 8 and I get Juggs (not Xorn unfortunately) and he drops Savage Hulk at +18/+18. I don’t have enough to stun Hulk and he still has Echo. So I pound him through Shan Chi and Echo to -40. He gets me to -43 thanks to the Hulk. Great game, just not able to deal with Echo!!!

Now 0-2 and feeling a bit sad, but the deck is doing what it is supposed to. But I need some way to get to the late game with END, so decide that Burn Rubber would have been extremely useful.

Game 3: League of Assassins/JLA (The Flash)

We are down at the bottom table, and playing for pride. We both hit a 2/3/4 drop but it is my initiative and I have a helmet on Juggernaught to stop Merlyn stunning him. Using Unstoppable, Juggs stuns Ubu and Merlyn (who reinforces rather than stun the concealed Nocturne). Mags stunned the remaining 2 drop. Nocturne then does some damage and steals Merlyn. Combination of Iron Extraction and Metallic Assault clears his entire board. His attacks on turn 5 with Wally West gets him KO’d as he goes after Magneto and I use Eviscerate to get the stun. Add another Iron Extraction and he has no 5 drop in play. My initiative and I have my 3/4/5/6 in play to his 6 drop. That is game.

1-2 and the deck did exactly what I hoped it would.

Game 4: Jo – Marvel Knights with F4

2 drops exchange and he draws cards thanks to Luke Cage. Random on turn 3 to his thing allows me to stun his board. Turn 4 sees Magneto for me and Punisher with 1 equip for him. (I am relieved). We exchange some stuns. Turn 5 we both under drop. I get Nocturne and Juggernaught… not a bad combination. He drops Dead girl for field presence. My initiative, I am unable to stun his board and let Nocturne through, so settle for having Random and Juggs stunned. He gets Dead girl stunned by Magneto, I then Metallic Assault twice, sacrificing the vulnerable Nocturne and Random and do not recover Juggs. On turn 6 he drops Human Torch and I drop Sentinel. Now he forgets to bring back Dead Girl but we don’t realise until turn 7. I stun Punisher with Magneto and then Human Torch stuns Sentinel. Turn 7 sees Juggernaught come down against Thing. Sentinel and Magneto stun Thing and then Sentinel’s effect takes care of the Punisher. Juggernaught then runs over the Torch.

2-2 and a comeback is on the cards. My tie-breakers suck, but things are getting hopeful.

Round 5: Tyler – X-Men short curve/wolverine

I first met Tyler at Gencon 07 where he was demonstrating the Star Wars Pocket Gamer game, and is a most excellent person to play against. Well, the game began with a Multiple Man and Forge bringing the beats against my empty field. Turn 3 saw Wolverine for him and Juggernaught for me. Not willing to take the risk, he team attacked Juggernaught with Wolverine and Multiple Man, and Forge decided to go get some cards. Turn 4 saw Magneto come down for me against just Gambit for Tyler. Juggernaught was Unstoppable when attacking Multiple Man and stunned the Forge hiding behind as well. Magneto then flew over and beat up on Gambit. Turn 5 saw Forge and Beast come down for Tyler and I dropped Mammomax. I stunned Gambit with Magneto at the start of combat, and Tyler decided that rather than risk combat, he should Fast Ball Special Mammomax. But with no other stuns feasible, that was combat over for the turn. Turn 6 and I dropped Sentinel against the 5 drop Wolverine. Now an attack in to Wolverine with the Sentinel stunned him and Gambit. Magneto then stunned Beast. Looking at a clear field, I declared the team attack for the game. At which point Wolverine’s healing factor kicked in and I had to send Juggernaught in to attack with orders to eviscerate him. Again I got the stun, and then Mammomax looked for the victory. Once more the Wolverine regenerated, so I declared the attack to get the stun. So Tyler has still stunned my board. Turn 7 saw no recruit for Tyler and Juggernaught for the game. He didn’t have the power to get through the WMD and scooped. But the game was most enjoyable.

3-2 and things are continuing to improve.

Round 6: Another Heroes of the City Marvel Knights/F4 deck.

This was more interesting because it hit turn 9, and because I didn’t get a Juggernaught 7 drop in to play the Silver Surfer was almost able to steal the game. Especially when supported by the 7 drop Punisher. We had both missed key drops, and I had been able to KO Invisible Woman before she could bounce too many attacks. (I was loving Magneto’s ability by this point). It could have gone either way, but in the end I managed to win out. Juggernaught eventually showed up sporting his hat which allowed me to declare an attack in to Punisher with out fear of being KO’d.

4-2 and I am trying not to be too hopeful.

Round 7: Josh – Avengers Reservist.

This was a very close game that came down to the wire and was decided through a formation error more than anything else. Josh started strong with a Turn 2 Natasha and a Turn 3 Quicksilver to my turn 3 Juggernaught. The team attack came in and Quicksilver was stunned along with Juggs. Turn 4 saw Magneto arrive for me, and Black Knight with resource payment and Beast for Josh. Juggernaught was unstoppable as he hammered in to the Black Knight and Magneto stunned Beast. Turn 5 arrived and She-Hulk cam out for Josh and I had Juggernaught which KO’d by lower drop. Using Magneto’s ability I stunned the Black Knight, and then Juggernaught stunned back She-Hulk. Through a combination of Iron Extractions and Metallic Assaults I was able to get the board cleared so that Juggernaught stood alone. Turn 6 saw Sentinel against Wonder man. Juggernaught declared in to Wonder man for the stun as his helmet granted him enough strength to bring the opponent down. Sentinel then attack to the face. Round 7 came, and I dropped Magneto to Hercules. Now this is where I made a huge error. I needed to stun Hercules back, the END was close, but I really needed to avoid the double attack. So with 3 characters in play and a few attack pumps to use, my formation should completely not have been Juggernaught in front of Sentinel with Magneto off to the side. If I had hidden Juggernaught behind Sentinel then it would have prevented Hercules attacking in to Juggs, as I needed both eviscerates to have the chance of the stun, and he only needed one Call Down the Lightening to avoid it. Not saying I would have won. Josh is an excellent player, but it would have been much closer.

4-3 and the wheels look like they could fall off the tournament for me. Still, one game to play…

Round 8: David – Fantastic 4

Now I have played David a few times and they are usually good games. And we had been sat side by side for the last 3 rounds. So his stalking had finally paid off. I would like to report that this was a cut and thrust game with both players vying for control. However I missed drops on turns 2, 4, 5 & 6 and he didn’t. Which was a real shame as it was an anti-climatic end to what had been an excellent tournament.

4-4 final result.

I was disappointed not to make the top 8, as I have put in some good finishes in other tournaments. But the games were good, the atmosphere was excellent and the number of players and diverse decks was impressive.

I was also happy with how the deck I had put together had played out. Some observations though:

1) Not enough 2 drops. Not sure what to take out (I do have a lot of late drops) but I need more useful 2 drops. Maybe swap out the Scarlet Witch, but without the Underground Resistance they could be dead cards. Even just swapping in more Nocturnes could be the way forward.

2) Get the 4^th Underground Resistance. It is an awesome card and takes the pressure off of Mobilize to hit your late game curve. It also gets rid of dead characters and brings in useful plot twists.

3) Decide on smash or delay. Given the aggressive metagame, I think the biggest error in deck building was not providing someway of minimising the damage I took. Either defence tricks or reinforcement. Given the BYOS nature of the tournament, not making space for 3 or 4 Burning Rubber was a huge mistake. Either of my first two games could have been won with that card, and it would have made a huge difference in game 7 too. The deck wants to take combat decks to turns 7 and 8, so I REALLY should have been including some way to protect my END. Either that or add in some more attack pumps and smash face!

Other than that, the deck did what it was supposed to. Magneto is awesome at controlling the field. His plot twists stop your opponent building field presence, and on turn 5, stunning their 4 drop for free is always nice.

Unstoppable was a god card, it was always useful and always punished the opponent for conservative formations. Free stuns definitely help win games.

So what would my ideal build be…?

Characters: 28

1 Drops. 3

3x Scarlet Witch

Take her down by 1 to make room for the extra 2 drop

2 Drops: 6

2x Quicksilver

He is good but not my main 2 drop.

4x Nocturne

Need to find 2 more copies….

3 Drops: 6

4x Juggernaught

2x Random

Not going to change this. Maybe add one more Random.

4 Drops: 4

3x Magneto

1x Mystique

I will keep the Mystique and the number of Magnetos. It just seemed to work well.

5 Drops: 3

2x Juggernaught

Take 1 out to reduce card count and add a 3 drop for consistency.

1x Mammomax

Still a good back up.

6 Drops: 2

2x Sentinel Mk VII

This card is too good not to play

7 Drops: 3

2x Juggernaught

1x Magneto

It may seem like a lot, but this seems to work quite well.

8 Drops: 1

1x Xorn.

Great finisher.

Equipment: 2

2x Juggernaught’s Helmet

Only need to see one, and with more deck filter this should be enough.

Location: 4

4x Underground Resistance

I need a 4^th copy, it is simply too useful not to run 4 of it.

Plot Twists: 26

2x Unstoppable

Keeping them because they rock

4x Iron Extraction

Always a good card to pull out.

2x Metallic Assault

While it is a strong card, I think that it is not one I want multiples of.  

4x Pecking Order

It is a great card, and needs to be a 4 of.

3x Insignificant Threat

You probably only need one to resolve and you are going to gain field advantage.

4x Eviscerate

Aggressive cards are good

4x Mobilize

There is no way I want to reduce the consistency of the deck.

3x Burn Rubber

Free reinforcement and moving the character are both useful tricks. The fact that they help me reach the late game, where the deck wants to be is simply an added bonus.  

So that is how I would change the deck. It is still Legends legal for both characters, which is kind of pointless I know, but is important to me.

And yes, I do know that the last time I did an article like this I said that testing was critical and I wouldn’t take an untested deck to a tournament… Oops. But then, that is also quite Quirky!