OK, in the first article in this series I talked about taking two random teams and attempting to throw them together regardless of whether they like each other or not. Basically its a bit like being a Vs version of Fearne Cottonand Holly Willoughby.

Here in the second article in the series I'll talk through the thought process of each step in the construction of my latest deck, which as of now is still un-named.
With this version of deckbuilding I tend to take a single character and try to make the deck revolve solely around him or her. With a lot of characters this can be quite easy, especially when you have multiple drops to work with. The task is made even easier with a number of Marvel characters with the release of the latest expansion, Marvel Legends. PT's not just teamed stamped but character stamped. This is a direction for the game that I really like and I eagerly await DC Legends, with my hopes being pinned on either some Green Arrow stamped cards or at least a Green Arrow/Black Canary card.

Anyway, back to the task at hand and on this occasion I've decided to run with the 2-drop version of the Thunderbolts character, Erik Josten*Atlas, Kosmos Convict.

First up a quick rundown, for those of you who don't know, on who Erik Josten is.
Erik first appeared in Avengers #21 as the supervillain, Powerman. Over his years as a supervillain he took on another couple of identities, the Smuggler whilst he had been de-powered by Count Nefaria, and Goliath after he'd utilised Pym particles to allow him to grow to giant size.
However it is as Atlas, a good guy, one of the Thunderbolts that I came to know him. Originally formed as a foil by Baron Zemo to disguise the identities of The Masters of Evil, the Thunderbolts grew to enjoy their popularity as heroes, with most of them staying the course and staying on the straight and narrow.
First decision is how many flavour cards do I want in the deck. These are the cards that i feel have to be included to give the feel of the character in the comic. In the case of this deck the number of supporting characters is fairly low, they are going to be included mainly to facilitate the team up so as to allow the lone wolf strategy to work.
I'm looking to create a deck that has Erik as the lone character from start to finish, growing for the duration of his stay on the board as per his superhero powers. However I'd like to see some of the influential characters from the T-Bolts make it in there too, even if just for cameo appearances, only to be Ko'd to boost the cause of Atlas.

So at this point we've got an initial selection of 15 character cards.
4 Erik Josten*Atlas, Kosmos Convict
1 Helmut Zemo*Citizen V, Tactician
1 Melissa Gold*Songbird, Sonic Carapace
3 Phat, William Reilly (The backup plan)
3 El Guapo, Robbie Rodriguez
3 Coach, Manipulative Mentor

Then we get to the PT's and locations. As we are running a lonewolf strategy most of the team stamped cards will have to come from the X-Statix team.
However, New Identity is a must from the T-Bolts and Project Liberator and Justice like Lightning could also be considered strong contenders.
With regards the X-Statix cards, Falling Stars is a must as are Go in swinging, Mind Over Matter, Star of the Show, Spin Doctoring, X-Statix Cafe and X-Statix HQ
Seeing how many of these cards are shue ins I'm guessing at this point that this wil be a character light Plot heavy deck. I need to guarantee hitting Erik so Enemy of my Enemy. Stromfront will be my team up of choice.
I had to make a decision over whther i went for Atlantean trident or Mindtap Mechanism as the equipment for my character. In the end i decided on consistency over potential so plumed for the mechanism.

I have to say that as the deck gradually comes togehter it seems weird running with so few characters. I hope that the sheer size that Erik can become will prevent this idea from falling flat on his face. It is at this point that I realise that I'm missing Glory Hound from my potential build.

So here we have it, the preliminary build.

Jossy is Giant!!*
4 Erik Josten*Atlas, Kosmos Convict
1 Helmut Zemo*Citizen V, Tactician
1 Melissa Gold*Songbird, Sonic Carapace
2 Ogre, Weaponsmith
3 Coach, Manipulative Mentor
3 Phat, William Reilly
3 El Guapo, Robbie Rodriguez
2 Venus Dee Milo, Dee Milo
2 Sluk, Byron Spencer
1 Plasm, Protoplasmic Protagonist

3 X-Statix Cafe
1 X-Statix HQ
4 Stormfront-1

3 Mindtap Mechanism

1 Marvel Crossover-Team Up
3 Glory Hound
3 Spin Doctoring
2 Mind Over Matter
2 Go In Swinging
2 Justice like Lightning
3 Enemy of my enemy
2 Star of the Show
2 Project Liberator
3 Falling Stars
4 New Identity

Now I'm sure there are a number of people out there going, what the flip is that pile of dung called a decklist getting aired in public for.
Now in reply to that I don't really care as I am and always will be a scrub player. I enjoy the concept of the game and playing the game far more than taking a slightly tweaked version of a top deck and piloting it to a tourney win.  
I don't expect this deck to win more than a handful of victories, but you can rest assured that I'll savour those games.
The deck will be a) inconsistent, b) have too many cards vying for resource row space and c) wont pack enough board presence but hey what the heck...see you on MWS

*note deck name in homage to the 'classic' kids program, Jossy's Giants

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After my slightly bizarre ramblings about e-words in my last Blog entry I thought it was only right that I reverted to a more orthodox tack on this occasion.
Just count your lucky stars I didn't get on to the subject of E-Numbers, or ATT and DEF values in Vs parlance.

I am not an orthodox deck builder. As a comic reader and shop proprietor the characters mean more to me than just their ATT, DEF and abilities, however I am not a purist as a couple of the newer players in he shop are. I have no problem with mixing DC and Marvel yet at the same time my decks are always a bit like installments of the What If series of comics.
What if Wolverine and Batman fought side by side?
How would the Inmates fare alongside Doom?
In my first stint playing the game I teamed up just about everyone regardless of whether there was good synergy or not. I used to keep around sixteen decks on the go at any one time, tinkering with all, perfecting none.

This time round I'm a little more selective. Four decks currently sit it my deck tins, more than enough to provide a sufficient fix to feed the habit.

When I start putting a deck together I tend to go one of two ways, either picking out two teams at random to team up or selecting one character to act as a focal point for the deck. I was using this method prior to the Legends cards coming out, a set that has made this fun means of deck building a playable, viable reality.

Lets look at the first method, Two Random Teams.
By random I do mean random. I often roll dice to determine which teams will figure in the deck. Once the teams are selected I will then get out all the characters and team stamped PT's and locations for those teams and start to look at a number things.

What does each team do well? As rule each affiliation has something that they excel in. With Arkham in DOR it was KOing exhausted characters, Squadron Supreme in MAV benefited from having no hand and Injustice Gang in DGL it was either running Army characters or filling an opponents hand.

Are there any glaringly obvious synergies between the two teams? If not are there any crossover characters with regards each teams strong points?
For example, Joystick, a Thunderbolts character had fantastic synergy with the no-hand principles of the Squad Supreme, thus she made it into most Squad builds as a four of.

Next up is to decide on the running style of the deck. Curve, Off-Curve, Aggro, Control, Stall, Burn.
Then I tend to look for optimum drops, comparing each drop from each team, weighing up abilities over raw stats, assessing the number of characters required at each drop according to the availabilty of appropriate search or card draw in the deck.
Then it is a case of adding in the support cards, each of which has to be weighed up against the 'classic' PT's according to how well their effects interact with your characters.

(Classic PT's and Locations include, Flying Kick, No man escapes the Manhunters, Finishing Move, Death Trap, Mega Blast, Acrobatic Dodge, Savage Beatdown, Enemy of my Enemy, Mobilize, Avalon Space Station, Slaughter Swamp.)

By now I've got a rough mix of sixty cards, whereupon the goldfishing would begin.  Running through draws and playing out imaginary turns to see the kind of draws that the deck produce. If the deck draws badly on a regular basis, then I would re-assess, adding in various consistency enhancing elements.

Then comes the limited play testing, although my opportunities for this have been greatly enhanced by the use of Magic WorkStation (MWS)

This is where you find out all the decks strengths and weaknesses, as they are  bared to the world. You wouldn't believe how many decks look good on paper then, when reality is added to the equation,  it all goes pear-shaped.

The other method is somewhat trickier but ultimately more rewarding and will be discussed alongside my attempts to build an Erik Josten deck in my next Blog

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Some words just look better on paper than others.
Personally I've got a thing for words beginning with E.
The fact is they look funky, not wrong, but at the same time not exactly right.
A few examples of cool E-Adjectives, none of which apply to me.
Erudite
Egoistical
Egregious
Echinate
Eminent
Enigmatic
OK, nothing particularly unusual about those words (although how many of you had to Google Echinate) nor the last adjective I'm going to bring up.
Enthusiastic
This time a word I'd like to believe applies to me.
Over the last two months I've found my enthusiasm for Vs renewed in spades. From a playgroup of one I now have about sixteen newcomers to the game, ready to throw down heroes and villains on the table at the drop of a hat. It would appear that my enthusiasm for the game has finally paid off.

When the game first broke on to the scene in the UK I got involved in big way, running a website (now extinct) that sold Vs singles, published articles which I paid others to write and I also tried to compile a database of all the Vs events going on around the UK. All that really happened was I acquired a lot of swaps and after a while nobody used the website forums or read the articles, basically a bit of a White Elephant.
This time round I'm not getting delusions of grandeur, I'm just enjoying the fact that I'm finally getting to play the game. Until the two recent tournaments I had experienced a barren spell of 18 tournament-less months. You can imagine therefore how much happier I am with Vs once a week.

With regards E-words in the game of Vs there are few that stand out, unlike in my sons CCG of choice, where in his world E-Heroes rule the roost.
Emerald Enemies (The only E-Team in Vs although no longer really viable without Dr.Light)
Enemy of my Enemy (One of the two key search cards in the game)
Ego Gem (A handy little hand filler)
Nothing too challenging about putting together a deck featuring these cards
These were the three E's that spring to mind first of all but being a comic reader and a big fan of the Thunderbolts the next E that popped in their was Erik Josten*Atlas, Kosmos Convict.

I kind of loved this card when it was released yet never got round to building a deck around him so I've decided upon this as my next task in hand rather than just regurgitate old news about Arkham stuff.

My initial thoughts are to combine him with X-Statix in a lone wolf style deck. Run multiple copies of New Identity, whack a Mindtap Mechanism on him then watch him grow.
I guess that all I have to do now is go and do a little experimenting, yet another word I'm partial to.

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One of the regulars in the shop has expressed an interest in taking up the game and has set me a task.

Being as he is a big comic fan, rather than a gamer he is more interested in the flavour of the deck rather than the gameplay.

The task is to build a playable deck for under $25 (about $50) that incorporates all of the following characters.

Manhunter, Paul Kirk
Deadshot
Deathstroke the Terminator
Anarky
Azrael
Creeper

I've got a week, then I'll post what I've come up with along with a play guide.

If anyone else wants to have a crack at it email me on grinningdemon@blueyonder.co.uk

All characters must be from the DC Universe

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After a hard fought victory in game 1 I was apprehensive about game 2 versus Rob Mills, piloting a Spiderfriends evade deck.

Round 2 vs Rob Mills (Spiderfriends evade)
Turn 1: Neither of us recruited
Turn 2: I recruited Poison Ivy, Rob Recruited Dusk and a jetpack, then for some bizarre reason played Rabbit Fire. OK it ups his attack and gives him flight and range when attacking but when I have the initiative, who cares? I swing with Ivy, mutual stun
48-48

Turn 3: Rob drops Ricochet, the bane of this deck, forcing me to go with Iron Man over Hatter. Rob swings Ricochet pumped with Flying Kick into Ironman, who I activate his free ability getting +3ATT, not that it matters as he passes and both characters stun, without me reinforcing. He then swings at Ivy with Dusk, I exhaust to play kidnapping on Ricochet then KO Iron Man to search out a Latverian Embassy. Both characters then stunned.
41-43

Turn 4: I play Hatter, Boris and use the remaining point to steal Dusk, who Rob Evades so as to prevent me getting the best use out of him. Rob recruits Ricochet. I pass my attacks, whereupon Rob declared an attack on an unsupported Mad Hatter. I play a Nasty Surprise causing both characters to stun. I then KO Dusk with Ivy getting a Dooms Throne Room and kidnap Ricochet again for good measure.
38-39

Turn 5: Rob plays White Tiger to my Scarecrow. I use Boris to get a Mask of Doom, KOing Hatter to get my 6-drop Doom. Rob flips Empire State Uni to get a card, I'm guessing because he was missing drops. I plow Scarecrow into White Tiger, causing no damage to him, but allowing me Kidnap yet again
33-39

Turn 6: 6-drop Doom for me, a replay of White Tiger for Rob. Scarecrow deals with Hector Ayala, then Doom and Ivy laid some smackdown.
33-23

Turn 7: Rob made a big play mistake this turn. He laid his 7-drop Spidey, then exhausted my field, using his only 7-drop in hand in the process, I had played Mystical Paralysis on Spidey during this period. I then recruited Sub-Mariner, who pounded into White Tiger causing breakthrough damage, but unfortunately as the defender was in the front row his ability didn't kick in,
33-18

Turn 8: All over bar the shouting. I secret origined a Two-Face, whereas Rob activated Avalon Space Station to get a Scarlet Spider. He then recruited Dusk with boost fetching a Ricochet.
After my attacks it was game over, especially as Rob decided to evade a couple of times.

Although I feel I made no mistakes, my game was made a lot easier by the number that Rob made. However all the players in our play group have been playing for 2 months or less so this can be forgiven.

Round 3 vs David Moakes (Hellfire Club)
I'm going to give a synopsis of this rather than a play by play as it is now 1.09am.

The first couple of turns saw little action with me droping a robot sentry and David a Hellfire initiate. Mastermind and Ironman followed . Then kidnapping did its stuff on turn 4 when i team attacked a visible Maddy Pryor then bounced to top of deck. Shinobi Shaw (how good is this card) and Scarecrow followed. Sondra Locke came next to Davids Magneto, whilst Shinobi scuttled away to the hidden area. Surprisingly David stunned Shinobi to stun Ivy. I teamed on Magneo then kidnapped. Dave then team attacked Mastermind and 2 initiates into Ironman who I promptly KO'd with For the Glory of Doom.
At this point I was beginning to wonder if I was running any Doom cards. I played my 6-drop Doom on turn 7 in response to Davids Seb Shaw who had a convenient spot in the hidden area to run to so as to use his effect. I then reigned the two initiates and mystic p'd Seb. Shinobi then ran into my scarecrow. Turn 8 brought Two-Face and Mags into the equation. After some selective team attacking and KOing Sondra to For the Glory of Doom I bagged the win.
Final Scores
3 plays -10

So what did I learn?
My victories were helped by inexperienced play from my opponents.
Maxie Zeus serves no purpose in the deck as even when he was in hand I never wanted to recruit him.
Lose a reign, add a Savage Beat, just for when the situation demands you swing 1 character up curve
KIDNAPPING ROCKS!!!!!
And finally I had a great time, reminding me just how much I love this game

Prizes
1st Graham Beadle (me) 3-0
4 X-Men boosters
2nd Brendan Whiting 2-1
3 X-Men boosters, set of MAV commons, set of MAV uncommons and a set of DJL commons plus 3 EA cards
3rd Rob Mills 2-1
2 X-Men bosters, set of MAV commons, set of DJL commons, 2EA cards
4th David Moakes 1-2
1 X-Men booster, set of MAV commons, 1 EA card
5th Andrew Palmer 1-2
1 EA card

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Haven't blogged for a couple of days, mainly because I've been getting to do something that I don't do often, actually play Vs, rather than just wax lyrical about it.

As I hadn't played for a while my wife, who is also a To, arranged an invitational 6-man event round at my house. The main reason being so we could practice in a competitive situation in readiness for our City Champs, taking place the last Monday of the month.

I was running my AI/Doom deck now entitled Reign of Arkham. The decklist was as follows

Reign of Arkham
4 Boris, Personal Servant of Dr.Doom
4 Poison Ivy, Deadly Rose
4 Mad Hatter, Jervis Tetch
1 Robot Sentry
1 Iron Man, Illuminati
4 Dr.Doom, Diabolic Genius
1 Poison Ivy, Kiss of Death
1 Maxie Zeus, God Complex
1 Matt Hagen*Clayface, Mudpack
1 Catwoman, Jewel Thief
2 Scarecrow, Fearmonger
1 Kristoff Von Doom, Pretender to the Throne
1 Doctor Doom, Victor Von Doom
1 Bane, The Man who Broke the Bat
1 Sondra Fuller*Clayface, Mud Pack
1 Sub-Mariner, Ally of Doom
2 Two-Face, Split Personality
1 Dr.Doom, Latverian Monarch

4 Doomstadst
1 Metropolis
1 Latverian Embassy
1 Dooms Throne Room

3 For the Glory of Doom!
4 Enemy of my Enemy
1 Faces of Doom
1 Mask of Doom
4 Kidnapping
4 Reign of Terror
3 Nasty Surprise
2 Mystical Paralysis

The only change made from the previously posted version was to drop a Penguin for the 8-drop Doom.

The other decks being played were as follows
Brendan Whiting (Squad Supreme)
Andrew Palmer (X-Men/Heralds - Not a stall variant)
David Moakes (Hellfire Club)
Rob Mills (Spiderfriends Evade)

Round 1 vs Brendan Whiting (Squadron Supreme)
With me running so many targeted effects (Reign, Mad Hatter etc) I was quite pleased that Brendan was only running 1 copy of Aida in his deck. I knew this before we commenced as he had recently bought one off me as he was unsure whether to run more.
Nonetheless the game started badly for me.

Turn 1: Brendan laid Joystick and played a surprise attack, I laid a resource. Then in the attack step he swung with Joystick, socking me for a load as he pumped her with a Mega-Blast and a Might Makes Right, emptying his hand at the same time...Ouch
31-50

Turn 2: I played Poison Ivy, Brendan laid Melissa Gold. I made no attacks as I couldn't get at his Melissa. He swung back at me with Joystick first then Melissa stunning Ivy.
20-50

Turn 3: Fortunately for me Brendan could only play a Thunderjet whereas I was able to play Hatter stealing his Melissa with Jet. This is where I came back into the game as Brendan surprisingly swung at Melissa so as to prevent me 'coming back at him'. The characters mutually stunned each other. I then used Kidnapping on Joystick, then used Ivy's effect to KO Melissa and replace the used Kidnapping with a Doomstadt. Ivy swung to an open board
16-46

Turn 4: I got lucky here, drawing into Doom when I had no means of searching him out. I played Doom and flipped For the Glory of Doom. I attacked into Shape with Doom, then attacked with Ivy and Hatter to an open board.
16-38

Turn 5: Brendan dropped Albert Gaines, whereas I laid Kristoff Von Doom. I then tapped out Albert with a Mystical Paralysis. Brendan declared No attacks and I swung Kristoff into Shape.
16-32

Turn 6: I played an Enemy to get my 6-drop Doom, recruiting him, I then flipped and activated Latverian Embassy. Brendan recruited Albert Gaines and played a Surprise Attack. I swung my 6-drop Doom into Albert, reigning Shape so as to lower AG's ATT and DEF, although I cocked the timing allowing reinforcement. I then swung with the remaining characters.
13-14

Turn 7: Brendan bunged a Dual Sidearms on Albert and laid Shape. I recruited Iron Man and Hatter, stealing his Shape, then Koing it with Mask of Doom to find my 8-drop. After playing MP on Albert I forgot about his no cards in hand effect, swinging KvonD into Albert. I stunned, he didn't.
8-14

Turn 8: 8-Drop Doom for me, nothing for Brendan. With Attacks, Koing of characters for second attack steps, victory was secured.
8 - minus 28

Some shaky play from both of us, although I was worried up till the point I pulled my 4-drop Doom.

to be continued...need sleep

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Welcome to the second installment of Musings of a scrub, where I can be found shooting a breeze on various subjects, not just things pertaining to Vs System

Suggestions
With the lack of prize support for versus in the UK and Europe I was wondering if their were any players out there that had any suggestions for promoting the game within my local area. Now bearing in mind we haven't had any money tourneys since the 10K at GenconUK 2005 and Hobby League is a no go over here as we can't get that either.
Up till now I've been giving away free starters in the shop which seems to have created a small playgroup of around sixteen people. Our first tournament got 10 entrants and I reckon on 14 to 16 for the next. However when compared to our Yugioh and MtG events this is pretty poor, they get around 30 and 25 respectively.
Now although I rate both those games for what they are they're not a patch on Vs or L5R so how would you suggest I pick up additional players?

US Open Tennis
Fair performance from Andy Murray in the singles going down fighting in the 3rd round. This was respectable considering his recent injury problems. 
Meanwhile his brother appears to be in danger of making his second consecutive Grand Slam Mixed D Final as he is currently a set up in his semi.
Shame we have now seen the last of Tim Henman, who gave us years of highs and lows without ever really fulfilling the potential he undoubtedly had. Beautiful to watch him serve volley when on the top of his form though. Hopefully he can bag a win in his final Davis Cup appearance.

I love this song
Always loved this and its great to see it still being performed beautifully.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urw9e3qgooE&NR=1

Tennis ctd...
Jamie and Liezel dropped the second set 7-5 in the tiebreak as I'm writing this.

Updates to decklists I've blogged.
Recently re-acquainted myself with MWS so have been testing out the various decklists I've posted in previous Blogs.
The biggest problem with this though is the time difference as I normally have to log in after 11pm if I want to get a match. This then means I'm prone to some really daft mistakes through tiredness.
The biggest success has been the Bats and Spiders deck which has been winning a lot more than losing. However I have dropped a No Man in exchange for an Avalon Space Station. The option of re-using high drop characters used for the 7 drop Spideys effect is somewhat useful come turn 8.
The Doom Arkham build has also faired fairly well, again winning more than losing. I have had to add an 8 drop Doom though (the more recent version). Games were more often than not lasting longer than expected.
The Faces of Arkham the less said the better having gone 2-11 so far. Get the feeling that no amount of tweaking is going to help this baby.

Tennis update
This no third set mularky is such rubbish. I understand in lesser events but a supertiebreak instead of a third set is just rubbish in a grand slam.
As you can probably guess, Jamie just lost in the semis by virtue of a supertiebreak.

Lucky Day
After only 1 Mobilize in my first 2 boxes of LoSH, cracked 4 in 2 boxes today, two of which were foil.

Undecided
I like the new design of the cards in Marvel Legends, but at the same time I'm somewhat opposed to change. If they were this design from the off I would have been happier, but with a collection of cards of one type, not sure I want the newer cards to be different.

From the website of Mike Grell
The news below makes me very happy

The Modern-Day Thriller is Based on True Events of Paranormal Espionage from World War II

San Diego, CA - July 27, 2007: Veteran comic book creators Mike Grell and Mark Ryan announced today at Comic-Con International they are reuniting to produce a graphic novel called The Pilgrim, based on historical events of psychic espionage during World War II. The modern-day story is adapted from a screenplay written by Ryan (Transformers, The Prestige), which will be illustrated by Grell (Green Arrow, Ironman, Batman.) Ryan and Grell originally worked together in 1991 to develop the 50th Anniversary Edition of the comic-book Green Arrow for DC Comics. The team expects to build a strong following for The Pilgrim and plans to also develop it into a theatrical release.

Ryan, who has a military background, was inspired to write The Pilgrim upon learning about the use of psychics during World War II by Allied forces to infiltrate Nazi Germany. According to Ryan, "The Pilgrim is inspired by true events during World War II, yet it's a modern-day story that intertwines characters with paranormal abilities used to tap into terrorists' attack schemes to aide the military. It's been a labor of love, fifteen years in the making."

Grell, known for his distinctive and highly detailed depictions of story adaptations, had this to add, "From the first time Mark told me the story of THE PILGRIM, I've been pestering him to write it just so I could read it. Getting the chance to illustrate it is a bonus. This is a story that would give Stephen King the willies and I'm very excited to be part of bringing it to life. And it is, you know... alive, I mean."

The Pilgrim will be developed as a graphic novel with an adult format. The team believes the story will appeal to fans of dark comics as well as sci-fi and horror. They are in negotiations for publication and will announce distribution details for The Pilgrim shortly. Ryan and Grell announced the new project at Comic-Con International, the world's largest comic book event. 









 

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Playing with the Loons - Part 2
I am Doom...I am...NO really I am!!

I haven't blogged for a few days because I've been on a vacation of sorts. My house was being used to film an episode for a British Comedy Sketch show, so myself and family were staying in a nearby Travellodge for three nights. After paying for hotel costs and eating out we were around £600 ($1180) better off for this, not bad for three nights away from home.

The act of staying in one hotel room with three children aged five and under got me thinking of another of my Arkham decks, AI/Doom. Doom is the ultimate machiavellian character manipulating people, pulling strings from afar. Control, thats his thing, something I also strived for in those three days, the only problem was, I often failed. The lunatics, my little cherubs, Cameron, Fox and Raghn had myself and wife run ragged. This one room, their Asylum was their domain, a place  where they ruled the roost. How would Dr.Doom cope if thrust into the middle of Arkham, much the same, his attempts at co-ordinating the inmates actions crashing in burning amongst a see of foaming mouths and maniacal laughter.

Now, back at home, order is restored and things are as normal as they can be with a trio of young boys. A routine is once again in place and now in familiar surroundings, the parents suroundings, our Doomstadt if you will, we are once again able to maneuver them the right way with gentle coercion, coaxing and the occasional bit of good old fashioned shouting.

Within Versus however there is a fair degree of synergy between Doom and the Inmates. Doom allows the re-use of Plot Twists and Boris can fetch them. The inmates have one real doozy of a PT in kidnapping, the lynch pin on which this deck is founded. I'd like to add that this wasn't originally the case, my early versions of the deck exploited turn 4 abuse of JL of Arkham forcing a no character/no resource drop turn from the opponent on either turn 4 or 5 depending on what initiative I was running on, then JL of A got itself banned.

So here we have it Doom/AI Control or as I like to call it
Reign of Arkham

4 Boris, Personal Servant of Dr.Doom
4 Poison Ivy, Deadly Rose
4 Mad Hatter, Jervis Tetch
1 Robot Sentry
1 Iron Man, Illuminati
1 The Penguin, Arms Merchant
4 Dr.Doom, Diabolic Genius
1 Poison Ivy, Kiss of Death
1 Maxie Zeus, God Complex
1 Matt Hagen*Clayface, Mudpack
1 Catwoman, Jewel Thief
2 Scarecrow, Fearmonger
1 Kristoff Von Doom, Pretender to the Throne
1 Doctor Doom, Victor Von Doom
1 Bane, The Man who Broke the Bat
1 Sondra Fuller*Clayface, Mud Pack
1 Sub-Mariner, Ally of Doom
2 Two-Face, Split Personality

4 Doomstadst
1 Metropolis
1 Latverian Embassy
1 Dooms Throne Room

3 For the Glory of Doom!
4 Enemy of my Enemy
2 Faces of Doom
4 Kidnapping
4 Reign of Terror
3 Nasty Surprise
2 Mystical Paralysis

The goal of this deck is to take the game by the scruff of the neck over the first few turns, hitting the early drops is vital, hence plenty of search. The deck then aims to steal a charcter with Hatter on 3, KOing with Ivy, then Reign of terroring their three drop on turn 4 along with Kidnapping their 4-drop. The deck works better on even initiatives, but runs nasty surprise in case you get stuck on odds.

The mudpack characters have good synergy with Enemy of my Enemy and the only reservations I have about the deck is the lack of ATT pumps and whether I need any 3-drops as I rarely aim to play one.

I've had great fun clearing an opponents board on turn 4 with this deck and as of yet whenever this has been achieved, victory has followed. The deck does lack punch, but the Hatter/Ivy Combo does stand it in good stead against rush decks.

All comments appreciated.

Graham Beadle
The Grinning Demon
www.grinningdemon.co.uk

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If you asked a lot of people who the coolest superhero was, you’d find the majority of people, including me,  would reply “Batman”. This, in my book begs the question, why?

Is it the costume? Well how many people think a gimp outfit with pointy ears is cool, not many I would hope, so it’s not that.

Is it the car? “Chicks dig the car”. Actually, no one is going to dig a car that looks like a tank with spoilers and has a turning circle the size of Nevada.

Is it the man? Well as the Batman he is admirable, worthy of respect and a host of adjectives, but at the end of the day too driven to be cool. Whilst as Bruce Wayne he plays the persona of  an effete playboy, again, some people might envy him, but he isn’t cool.

So what is it that makes The Batman so cool. I’ll tell you, Batman is cool by association. His adversaries are cool, with a few exceptions. The Joker is a prime example, deranged lunatic yes, but a deranged lunatic with class and style, again in a sick way yes. The Riddler, demented giggling fool yes, but a giggling fool with class and style, in a bizarre way yes. Apart from maybe Penguin and Killer Croc you could do this with just about all his foes. So there we have it the Batman is cool because he hangs with the right villains, oh yeah who happen to hang out in a mental institution.

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