Introduction
In the previous instalment of the JLA, they devastated players with their keyword: Ally. The crossover of the JLA and JLI became known as the “Good Guys.” It curved with the characters Ted Kord, Booster Gold (+1 DEF to each power-up), Kendra Saunders (+1 ATK to each power-up), Kator Hol (+1 DEF to each power-up) and Fire (-2 burn to each power-up). On top of all that, it equipped each character with an Nth Metal, allowing each ally ability to trigger whenever any character entered combat. I for one, am glad that these characters did not return in DC Legends, even though they retained their theme of powering-up.
The new themes of the JLA include their retained powering-up, a newer “being outnumbered theme”, benefiting from cards like Atomize and an interesting theme of using the legend cards of the magnificent seven. I don’t believe that their powering-up theme is large enough for an entire deck list, but rather it fits into other decks as a means of defence. Their theme of being outnumbered is interesting, and I have more information listed on it here. The theme that I believe is most beneficial is their magnificent seven, using cards like Emerald Rebirth and Indestructible.
- The Magnificent Seven, Modern Age: DC Legends
4 Elongated Man, Stretchable Sleuth 4 Roy Harper Red Arrow, Coming of Age 4 Batman, Founding Member 1 Hal Jordan, Founding Member 4 Wonder Woman, Ambassador of Peace 2 Barry Allen The Flash, Crimson Tornado 3 Superman, Metropolis Marvel 1 Wally West The Flash, Keystone Cop 1 Batman, Justice’s Shadow 2 Barry Allen The Flash, Founding Member 1 Aquaman, Lord of Atlantis 1 Hal Jordan, Fearless 1 Wonder Woman, Founding Member 1 Martian Manhunter, The Last Martian 2 The Watchtower 1 Poseidonis 1 Keystone City 1 Hall of Justice 4 From the Darkness 4 Battle Training 3 Mightiest Heroes 3 New Era 3 Indestructible 2 Emerald Rebirth 2 Mobilize 1 Best of the Best 1 Lasso of Truth
Analysis
Now, because most of the plot twists for the JLA are character-stamped, they often can’t use them. However, because they are character-stamped, their abilities are significantly greater than any normal plot twist. Hal Jordan’s Emerald Rebirth has a much better effect than Magnetic Force, and Batman’s From the Darkness is the same as Bat Got Your Tongue?, only with a different cost. These plot twists are always great to throw an opponent for a loop. Superman’s Indestructible always yields a heavy sigh.
Elongated Man is probably the best 1-drop out of all DC Legends. During your attack step his 3 ATK is awesome, and for a simple exhaust his DEF cruising up to 3, swapping with is ATK. Because of his activate he stays on the field for a long time, and his high ATK is easily used to stun a 2-drop.
Roy Harper is great for his high stats also. Although his ability seems weak, on the later turns it helps to essentially KO an opposing character. You can return Roy Harper and target a 5-drop, then either your opponent will keep a 5-drop that is exhausted or recover their 4- Kind of a win-win situation.
On turn 3, there is a split between Batman and Hal Jordan. Batman is mostly preferred, he allows the use of From the Darkness while he remains ready, along with a great way to replace resources in himself. Hal Jordan is used as a back-up, and he can be used to search for any specific card as well. Also, when the late game rolls around, Batman can be used to play Best of the Best, which has a great effect for the simple return of a 3-drop.
Wonder Woman is the more playable character over Barry Allen on turn 4, because she nearly cancels the use of certain plot twists. Cards like Flying Kick, Finishing Move, Chilly Reception and Mental Blast all become useless while she’s on the field. Barry Allen is a great character with a great ability. He helps to essentially stall, by negating an attack. He can also be used for the cost of Keystone City. Throwing a Lasso of Truth on Wonder Woman is a great way to stress the opposing player.
Superman is the best character to recruit on turn 5 usually, but depending on the opposing field that can change. Batman is used well if the 3-drop Batman was not recruited, and Wally West is great for attacking the hidden characters that are all too annoying, like Invisible Woman, First Lady of the Fantastic Four and The Riddler, Riddle Me This. Because of Superman’s excellent card, Indestructible, he rarely isn’t recruited.
As turn six comes up, it’s easy to tell who you need. On the defensive, Aquaman is great to return a helpful card like From the Darkness or Indestructible, while Barry Allen is better on initiative for two attacks. Aquaman can be used for Poseidonis as well, which can return any needed card, like Emerald Rebirth for the following turn. Mixing Barry Allen with a few copies Battle Training can just cause insanity, a 20 ATK character attacking twice.
Hal Jordan and Wonder Woman are both fantastic 7-drops. Hal Jordan is best used off-initiative, and Wonder Woman is best on-initiative because of her power. Wonder Woman’s Lasso of Truth is useless while in play with the initiative, but well for off-initiatives. Hal Jordan is used great with Emerald Rebirth, yielding a useless 6 or less drop for the opposition.
Once the later turns come around, Martian Manhunters high stats, concealed and flight can ensure a victory over any 7-drop. His only problem is a face-off against the other high drops, like Kara Zor-El, Claire Connors.
Summary
The legends of the JLA are great. They were made well, each with their fitting supporting cards. Each member has cards worth using, all with effects quite diverse. As these legends were previewed many people thought it would be great, and others thought that it was taking power away from the JLA as a team. Perhaps it did, but it can be demonstrated that a deck with numerous different legend characters and support can work.
Now, this is something different. There was one card from DC Legends that just got everybody mad. Today, I’ve used that card, and made a deck around it. It works, and is very aggressive and consistent.
- Fighting for Metropolis: Sea Creatures, Modern Age: DC Legends
4 Winslow Schott Toyman, Child’s Play 18 Sea Creatures, Army 4 Professor Emil Hamilton Ruin, Power Suit 4 Aquaman, Founding Member 4 Birthing Chamber 3 New Baxter Building 4 Battle for Metropolis 4 Dimensional Deal, Team-Up 4 Savage Beatdown 3 Burn Rubber 2 Heroes of Two Worlds 1 Hostile Takeover 4 Ego Gem, Unique * Infinity Gem 1 Mind Gem, Infinity Gem
Analysis
No, this deck is not a joke. It’s a Sea Creatures deck that runs and it runs good. It uses the vengeance power of Professor Emil Hamilton to search out first, Dimensional Deal, Team-Up, then numerous Battle For Metropolis‘s. It recruits Sea Creatures on turns 2, 5 and 6. On turn 5 it aims for a full out 5 Sea Creatures, which is possible through Ego Gems, Mind Gems, New Baxter Buildings and Birthing Chambers. Aquaman’s power is a great key to this deck as well. He is able to return a Sea Creatures from your KO’d pile for no cost, provided that you control a single Sea Creatures at least. Usually by turn 6, this deck will have about 8 characters on the field and 3 Battle for Metropolis’s out. This makes each Sea Creature a 6/3 while in the front row. On the defensive it uses Hostile Takeover and Burn Rubber to cause stun backs and to nullify breakthrough. This deck actually runs so surprisingly well, I’m hoping that someone takes it to the upcoming Mega-Weekend in Chicago.
Conclusion
Well, hopefully that Sea Creatures deck there gave you an insight to what’s out there. The major problem though, is that each Sea Creature is a rare, making it near impossible to actually get a hold of 18 of them. And since UDE has been having some issues with production, I don’t think anyone ever will get that many of them. Other than that, the JLA legends build is very fun and competitive. Usually the immense power of Superman throws the average player for a loop, especially if you are playing a Sea Creatures deck and have 8 characters on the field!
Watch for the rest of the series,
wiiman
