I had so much fun at the first Mega-Weekend in L.A. that I decided to make the trip to the Chicago Mega-Weekend as well. I stayed with fellow Pro Circuit regulars Tim Rivera and Niles Rowland, and we played in three of the major tournaments, starting with Friday’s Nintendo DS Silver Age tournament. Tim ended up winning that tournament, while I finished 4-3 with an Insanity deck. Insanity was a blast to play, and the highlight for me was drawing my entire deck by turn 6 in one game. The other two major events we played in were Saturday’s Silver Age tournament and Sunday’s Modern Age tournament. Testing was not as intense as for the first MW, but my team and I did test for both Silver and Modern Age—even though I was the only one from our group to make the trip—and it helped me tremendously.
After the first MW, we were worried about the power of the Bizarro decks for Silver Age. We were saved in the form of UDE clarifying the Four Freedoms Plaza location: a player has to actually control four separate characters to use it. With the Bizarro deck out of the way, we quickly assembled our gauntlet of decks. After the City Championships, we had these decks in our main gauntlet:
-JLA / Gotham Knights (or any variation of JLA curve decks)
-Punisher / Fate Artifacts variants (Checkmate or just mono-Marvel Knights)
-Deadshot strategy decks
-Quicksilver decks (Sinister Syndicate / Inhumans or 12-man Inhumans w/ Fate Artifacts)
-Skrull and IG concealed
-Darkseid / Gotham Knights
After witnessing firsthand the raw draw power of Paul Sung’s Darkseid / GK deck, we decided that tuning that deck to perfection might be the way to go. We loved the fact that we could draw so many cards, but we had to decide what we were going to draw into. At the first MW, Paul needed to draw a lot of cards to keep recurring Have a Blast! with Ancient Throne to really disrupt the Bizarro decks. Since Bizarro would not be a threat anymore, we had to find new cards to flesh out the deck. The answer came in the form of combat pumps—more specifically, defensive combat pumps. The deck needed more functions than just disruption and negation—it needed a defined win condition. Combat was the best way, we thought. We kept the basic engine and skeleton intact (adding Alfred Pennyworth so our mulligan condition would be Speed Queen or Alfred), but we felt that the negation and Team-Ups were expendable. Thus, we replaced those with four copies each of All Hail Darkseid! and Lord of Apokolips. Combined with large DEF stats and Fate Artifacts, these combat pumps should be enough to easily brickwall even the largest of team attacks.
Since the deck focused more on Darkseid, I decided to also focus my drops 6-8 on Darkseid himself. This change necessitates getting the Ancient Throne online by turn 6, which usually won’t be a problem. On turn 7, the opposition could be staring down three Darkseids, all capable of brickwalling an attack. The last bit of changes came at the 5-drop slot. Tim suggested that I could cut Kate Kane ◊ Batwoman and add “tech” drops since I played Enemy of My Enemy; he suggested Sabretooth, Savage Killer and Red Shift, Rift Walker. I now had “silver bullets” against the hidden decks as well as Fate Artifact decks. I could also substitute Dark Superboy, Mockery in on turn 6.
There were 78 players at the tournament, and here was the deck that I played:
Characters
4 Jaime Reyes ◊ Blue Beetle
4 Alfred Pennyworth
4 Speed Queen
1 Dark Firestorm
4 Barbara Gordon ◊ Oracle, Hacker Elite
4 Darkseid, Apokoliptian Oppressor
1 Red Shift, Rift Walker
1 Sabretooth, Savage Killer
1 Dark Superboy
1 Darkseid, The Omega
1 Dark Kryptonian
2 Darkseid, Apokolips Now
1 Darkseid, Nemesis
Plot Twists
4 All Hail Darkseid!
4 Lord of Apokolips
4 Enemy of My Enemy
3 Created from Hate
3 Have a Blast!
2 Omnipotence
Locations
3 Ancient Throne
3 Dr. Fate’s Tower
Equipment
1 Ego Gem
1 Reality Gem
1 Helm of Nabu
1 Amulet of Nabu
1 Cloak of Nabu
Round 1 – Jim Landis (Jean Grey / Fate Artifacts)
On turn 6, Jim had Dr. Doom, Richards’s Rival; Jean Grey, Phoenix Rising; and Samantha Parrington ◊ Valkyrie. He also had the Cloak of Nabu and Helm of Nabu on his Jean Grey, who came into play with five +1 / +1 counters. I had my draw engine going with Barbara Gordon ◊ Oracle, Hacker Elite and Darkseid, Apokoliptian Oppressor, who was fully suited up with the Artifacts. I also had Dark Superboy and Dark Kryptonian in the hidden area, ready for a counterattack. I flipped Omnipotence, which he had no response to (forgetting to use Samantha Parrington’s ability), so I named Samantha Parrington. He had one good attack, which was into Darkseid, and after a couple of combat pumps and some power-ups, I was able to brickwall and achieve the stunback. The ensuing counterattack was enough to secure the win. Turn 6 win; 1-0
Round 2 – Eric Banuelos (X-Men / Morlocks Physical)
In this match, I had Speed Queen with Ego Gem and Barbara working overtime, as well as a Fated-up Darkseid. Eric had Cannonball; Wolverine, Skrunucklehead; and Professor X, Headmaster on the board. After a flurry of combat pumps—including two Savage Beatdowns from Eric—I was able to brickwall two attacks on turn 4, but he had Special Delivery to avoid the stunback. On turn 5, I played Dark Superboy, and he played Sunder. After some one-sided stuns, he only had Sunder left on his side. On turn 6, he underdropped and paid a resource point for Sunder’s effect, while I dropped Darkseid, The Omega. I brickwalled the first attack, and the ensuing counterattack put him at -3. Turn 5 win, 30 to -3; 2-0
Round 3 – Vince Blasko (Checkmate / Heralds of Galactus)
Vince played a very cool control deck that basically stalled the game until he could play Silver Surfer, Last Zenn-Lavian, which would get him to Galactus, Devourer of Worlds. I had Alfred, Speed Queen, and Barbara after three turns, while he had Ahmed Samsarra. After he flipped Worldship, I activated Alfred to search for an equipment, and Vince got rid of Speed Queen. On turn 4, I had Darkseid fully suited up, and a one-sided combat ensued on Human Torch, The Invisible Man. On turn 5, Vince dropped Maxwell Lord, Black King with an Amulet of Nabu and Helm of Nabu. I played Sabretooth, Savage Killer; used his ability on Darkseid; and substituted in Dark Superboy in the hidden area. I then flipped Omnipotence and debated over whether to name Maxwell Lord or Brother Eye. I concluded that my opponent couldn’t fit equipment hate in his deck, so I named Brother Eye. This concerned him a bit as he team attacked into Darkseid with his 4-drop and 5-drop. After a plethora of combat pumps, I was able to brickwall a 23 ATK team attack. As I was able to attack his hidden zone, the ensuing swing-back resulted in both of his Kings stunning. Turn 5 win, 41-29; 3-0
Round 4 – Charles Griffith (mono-JLA)
Charles and I have played on a couple of other occasions, most notably when he knocked me out of Day 2 at PC Atlanta! Charles was playing a very cool (and expensive) JLA deck that abused Terminal Velocity with Barry Allen ◊ The Flash, Founding Member. I had my engine going again in this match, and I had a lot of combat pumps for my fully-Fated Darkseid. Charles had Batman, Founding Member; Wonder Woman, Ambassador of Peace; Superman, Metropolis Marvel; and Barry Allen on turn 6. The endurance totals were pretty close, with him leading 22-17. After he stunned my Darkseid, The Omega with Superman, he played Terminal Velocity and swung directly with a Savage Beatdown on his Barry Allen to bring me down to -6. He then re-readied Barry Allen with his effect. I figured that he was going to team attack with Wonder Woman as well, and I did the math—unless he had another Savage Beatdown, he would be unable to stun my Fated Darkseid 4-drop. Instead, he played another Terminal Velocity and swung right at me for another 12. Turn 6 loss, -18 to 10; 3-1
Round 5 – Ralph (Torch / Punisher.dec)
Ralph played a very innovative deck that took advantage of the interaction between Human Torch, Nova Blast and Punisher, Frank Castle. He had a good opening with Black Cat, Nine Lives; Empire State University; Punisher with M60s; and Human Torch by turn 4. At that time, I had Alfred, Barbara, and Darkseid fully Fated. I was able to stop his engine by playing Have a Blast! on the Empire State University. He played Rogue, Power Absorption on turn 5, while I played Red Shift, Rift Walker. The key play was flipping Omnipotence, naming Punisher. He couldn’t use the ability, and thus I was able to brickwall an attack and clear his board on the swing-back. On turn 6, I played Dark Kryptonian, while he played Mimic, Exile to go along with Human Torch. After combat, the score was 26 to -6. Turn 6 win; 4-1
Round 6 – Todd Carlson (Injustice Gang concealed)
Todd and I have played a few times, the last time at the first MW in L.A., and I was able to pull out a very close win. This time, he was playing the new hidden deck of choice: IG concealed. I had my engine going again, while he had Catwoman, Cat o’ Nine Tails; Johnny Quick, Earth 3; Black Manta, Deepwater Denizen; and Jemm by turn 4. I had initiative on turn 5, but the deck sputtered for the first time. Not only did I have just a Helm of Nabu on Darkseid, but I also missed my 5-drop and had to settle for Dark Firestorm in the hidden area, while Todd dropped Ultraman, Earth 3. Sabretooth would have been so good at that point, but he was nowhere to be found. I felt the chill of defeat coming over me, but after I brickwalled the first attack on his swing-back, I had a little hope. When he missed another attack, I knew I had a slight chance. I was dangerously low on endurance—11 to be exact—but at least we were going to the next turn. I played Darkseid, The Omega on turn 6, and again I was able to brickwall two attacks, leaving me at 5 endurance to his 22. On turn 7, I played Darkseid, Apokolips Now, which was enough to seal the game. Turn 7 win, -7 to -45; 5-1
Round 7 – Wesley Givens (Skrulls)
I was in for another beatdown from the hidden area, this time by the Skrulls. I had my engine going to perfection: Alfred Pennyworth; Speed Queen with Ego Gem; and Barbara Gordon to his Lockjaw, Inhuman’s Best Friend; Franklin Richards, Creator of Counter-Earth; and Captain America, Skrull Impostor. Unfortunately, he had the perfect foil for my plans on turn 4: Ronan the Accuser, Starforce. I wasn’t able to flip my Dr. Fate’s Tower and Ancient Throne after that, so I figured that I had to somehow stun Ronan. My plan was to replace my opponent’s Team-Ups after he team attacked so I could take care of Ronan. I was able to get a couple Have a Blast! cards as well as Reality Gem, but he had three Pathetic Attempts to stifle me. We ended up going to turn 8 because he was just team attacking my board, fearful of defensive pumps. Since I couldn’t flip Ancient Throne, I was forced to replace my Darkseids. Turn 8 loss; 5-2
Round 8 – Shane Wiggans (X-Men / Morlocks Burn)
One of TAWC’s finest, Shane (as well as the rest of TAWC) epitomizes what “pro” players should be: not only great players, but also great people. Shane played Michael Barnes’s innovative Above and Below deck, which abuses The Alley and X-Men Assemble!, as well as Cable, Nathan Summers and Bodyslide for massive endurance loss. By turn 5, Shane was able to amass Electric Eve; Bishop, Age of Apocalypse; Shadowcat, Phase Shifter; Artie; Healer; Tommy; and Cable. I was at a very low 11 endurance, and all he had to do was stun my Darkseid (who only had an Amulet and Helm) and swing directly for the win. Unfortunately for him, I was able to replace his Alley and his Team-Up with my recurring Have a Blast! (thanks to Ancient Throne), so he could not team attack with all. I also flipped Omnipotence, naming Fastball Special, which further limited his options. I was able to brickwall a team attack from the X-Men characters (even with two Flying Kicks) and swing back, causing a significant amount of endurance loss and board loss. When turn 6 came, my advantage became too much. Turn 6 win, 11 to -11; 6-2
Round 9 – Niles Rowland (Checkmate / Marvel Knights)
This round was the bubble match for me. If I won, I would make the Top 8; if not, I wouldn’t. Niles was playing a very powerful Checkmate / MK deck that made good use of Punisher, Guns Blazing and equipment. It also had a very good draw engine in Black Thorn plus New Baxter Building. Unfortunately for Niles, his deck didn’t function as planned. He missed Ahmed on turn 3 and had to recruit him on turn 5 along with Jacob Lee; these joined Punisher, who had some Artifacts. I had about as good a draw as you can get, getting Alfred, Speed Queen with Ego Gem, and Barbara. I had Red Shift on turn 5 to deal with Punisher, and then I flipped Omnipotence and named Ahmed Samsarra, which was enough to get the scoop. Turn 5 win; 7-2
Top 8 – Michael Barnes (Moloids / Doomed Earth)
I was matched up against another TAWC great, this time the innovator, the Turbo Dream, Michael Barnes. On paper, we both knew that I had an advantage, but in game 1 Michael Barnes proved why he is still one of the very best in this game: he completely changed his strategy. In testing, we knew that flipping Doomed Earth was just KO’ing your characters, as the Darkseid deck can easily replace it over and over again. Thus, instead, Michael would search for Savage Beatdown or A Proud Zinco Product. He never KO’d his board, so he would have enough characters to team attack and get over my big defense. The big blow, however, was Divinity knocking out my 4-drop, which severely put me behind.
Game 2 was a lot closer, and we actually got to turn 7, but he just had too many combat pumps, as well as an enormous board. I thought I would be able to brickwall an attack, but he after he played two Unthinkables and two Big Leagues to get me well into the negatives, it was moot. I have to give big props to Big Spooky on his masterful play.
The deck performed as I had hoped. Players knew that the Darkseid deck was about disruption and negation, and I thought that my opponents would prepare for and play around those. I figured that a Darkseid deck that was about combat would totally take the field by surprise. I don’t know if the deck is as good as its results would indicate, because now players will know what to expect. No more surprise, folks! Will the deck be as powerful at Worlds? I don’t think so, but I think it will be a solid choice, and one that definitely has to be tested against.