Introduction
The Injustice Gang has been featured before in Vs System, and they yielded havoc with both of their themes of Army characters and “Hand flood” (maximizing cards in each opponent’s hands). Their old theme of Army characters was bizarre, using cards like World War III and Tattooed Man, Living Ink.
Their theme of hand flood is created by the powers of Lex Luthor, Nefarious Philanthropist and Scarecrow, Psycho Psychologist. Today’s Modern Age Injustice Gang re-features this themes, with much less control than previously however. Lex Luthor, Nefarious Philanthropist has to be replaced by Lex Luthor, Megalomaniac and Scarecrow, Psycho Psychologist has to be replace by Circe, Evil Enchantress.
The new theme incorporated with the Injustice Gang in DC Legends is a style of concealed beat down, with effects that benefit while you do not have the initiative. The characters with the version of Earth 3 share this theme, and it has been deemed as a very competitive deck, taking numerous spots in the top 8 of February’s Mega-Weekend.
- Earth 3, Modern Age: DC Legends
4 Catwoman, Cat o’ Nine Tails 4 Superwoman, Earth 3 4 Johnny Quick, Earth 3 4 Owlman, Earth 3 2 Black Manta, Deepwater Denizen 4 Jemm, Son of Saturn 1 Ultraman, Earth 3 4 White Martian, Earth 3 1 Prometheus, New Year’s Evil 4 Combat Reflexes 4 Flying Kick 4 Savage Beatdown 4 Crime Syndicate of Amerika 4 Blinding Rage 4 Big Leagues 4 Crushing Blow 4 Secret Files
Analysis
The Earth 3 deck is very aggressive, maximizing ATK pumps and lacking unnecessary DEF pumps. Only the Crime Syndicate of Amerika and Crushing Blow increases DEF, while each other plot twist is either to search for characters or to increases ATK. The deck entirely aims to remove the opposition’s board, then, once possible, to go for the win.
Catwoman is chosen as a 1-drop simply because of her concealed ability and her 2 ATK. The other 1-drops just don’t fit the aggressive style of the Earth 3.
Both Superwoman and Johnny Quick are excellent characters to recruit. Superwoman is preferred because of her flight, although Johnny Quick’s constant 3 ATK and ability to avoid stunning half of the time is great, the 5 ATK of Superwoman is slightly favoured.
Owlman is the first Earth 3 character that helps to gain board advantage. On-initiative, he is dull, with blank text, but off-initiative, his ability often spreads across 4 different characters. Black Manta is excellent if you opponent is lacking visible characters. Through the use of extensive ATK pumps, Black Manta’s +4 ATK easily comes in handy for direct attacks.
Jemm is preferred because of his 9 ATK, allowing him to stun any character on the board on turn 4. Ultraman is used as a back-up drop, because the Earth 3 deck doesn’t specifically care what it’s endurance is, Ultraman’s effect is unnecessary.
White Martian is the beginning of the end. If you have managed to get even initiative, then Owlman’s and White Martian’s effects will trigger, along with one of the chosen 2-drops. With the numerous plot twists, rarely does an opponent live through this rush.
Just in case the initiative didn’t go in your favour, Prometheus makes everything easier. Your opponent’ s will attack you directly with a decrease in ATK, then the Earth 3 will launch it’s attacks aiming for a win.
All of the attack pumps, Flying Kick, Combat Reflexes, Big Leagues, Savage Beatdown and Blinding Rage, are used for extra damage and stuns up-curve and to bring an opponent under 0 endurance.
Summary
Earth 3 is today’s aggressive deck. With Crime Syndicate of Amerika it makes it very difficult for your opponents to attack into the hidden area successfully. Usually my opponents just attack directly with each of their characters except one of them, which they leave ready to reinforce with. Superwoman or a single Flying Kick ruins that strategy.
As the Injustice Gang was previewed, and it was revealed that one of their themes was ‘not having the initiative’, a lot of people began to think of Crime Lords: defensive tricks. Rather, they turned out to be the opposite of that and ended up as the most aggressive Modern Age deck so far.
- Injustice Flood, Modern Age: DC Legends
4 The Penguin, Gentleman of Crime 4 Captain Boomerang, George Harkness 3 Lex Luthor Megalomaniac 1 Power Ring, Earth 3 3 Felix Faust, Soulless Mystic 1 The Joker, Headline Stealer 2 Circe, Evil Enchantress 1 Lex Luthor, Metropolis Mogul 1 Scarecrow, Chiroptophbic 2 The Joker, Killer Smile 1 Abra Kadabra, Magical Rogue 1 Lex Luthor, Sinister Scientist 1 Vandal Savage, Cro-Magnon Man 2 Injustice Gang Satellite 4 Secret Files 4 Against All Odds 4 All Too Easy 4 Criminal Mastermind 4 Power Siphon 3 Blind Sided 3 Laughing Gas 2 Reset 2 Burn Rubber 2 Only Human
Analysis
As the previous Injustice Gang’s hand flood, the team aims to fill the opposition’s hand of cards and to limit them from using them. Later, it manages to use the cards in their opponent’s hands to their advantage with cards like All Too Easy and through burns like Laughing Gas.
The Penguin is an excellent candidate for any hand flood, to fulfill the cost of Criminal Mastermind and to increase the opponent’s hand by direct attacks.
Captain Boomerang is the best low drop for any control deck. Just by recruiting him, you can essentially negate the recruit of an opposing character with cost 2 or less. Quite often he is recruited, then exhausted for Criminal Mastermind, then his effect is used to return the opposing character. He also helps The Penguin to get more direct attacks in.
Lex Luthor is the key to locking the opposition’s hand. Each turn during the draw phase, before the 2 cards are drawn, always activate Lex Luthor to ensure that no plot twists are played from the opposition’s hand that turn. He is able to remain on the field until the late game because of Against All Odds, dodging him a stun while in combat with another 3-drop. In the late game, Burn Rubber helps in keeping Lex Luthor reinforced, avoided excess damage.
With Felix Faust as a 4-drop, opponent’s lose the need to power-up their characters, Because powering-up requires a discard, the 2 endurance burned is often not worth the +1/+1. He helps in locking each opponent’s hand and keeping it large for the higher drops.
Circe is the main 5-drop for crazy burn, of anywhere between 4 and 18 endurance. On-initiative it is usually smarter to attack rather than activate, but occasionally activating, then using a Burn Rubber benefits. Circe’s burn quickens the game, especially because it has no restriction to a certain phase. Scarecrow is played as a back-up drop to avoid those swarm decks like X-Men and Outsiders.
If turn 6 is on-initiative, then recruiting The Joker with a Laughing Gas is the best play. When mixed with a Blind Sided his effect is game ending. By attacking into a 5-drop, then stunning the adjacent 6-drop and causes a Circe-like burn players just cannot recover.
Lex Luthor is also a 7-drop, just in case the games have gone on too long. By attacking with him and an All Too Easy to ensure his stun, he also causes a Circe-burn. Vandal Savage is an 8-drop as well, because I’ve seen his effect cause victories before. One Power Siphon and he is nearly guaranteed to remained non-stunned until the recovery phase.
Summary
Injustice Gang were too powerful when featured in JLA because of Lex Luthor, Nefarious Philanthropist. Back then, the way to defeat the Injustice Gang was simply to just remove him from play. Now however, opponents have to find ways around the power of The Joker equipped with a Laughing Gas, with a Blind Sided in hand.
Conclusion
The themes of Injustice Gang are not easily related. To be able to combine the offensive beat down and controlling card flood would be amazing to see. However keeping their themes separate demonstrates each on their own. I prefer to play the card flood, just because it has been deemed as under-rated by most people. They compare it to the older version, and see it as inferior. The usual player also sees the Earth 3 as very powerful because of it’s victory at the Mega-Weekend, however I believe that with enough control through Only Human, Burn Rubber and Blind Sided the card flood will be able to come back. I’ll be testing this deck even more on MWS now.
Watch for the rest of the series,
wiiman
