100 Ideas: DC Round 2 (Part 2 of 4)

Alright guys, I know a month is a long time to wait between updates, but we haven’t really figured out a way to make it go faster yet (any ideas would be appreciated).  Here’s part 2 of DC Round 2.  A couple of shockers in this article.  I think there might be an upset or two on the leaderboard!  Also, I’m sorry to post this so quickly after a Council Update.  I personally don’t like to slide new content down so quickly, but I feel like the wait for this thing has been long enough.  So, without further ado…

Phantom Phone Booth [Vs.] All Hail Darkseid!

Dave (Davidus) and I (Scottkthompson)  did this one.  Phantom Phone Booth was the first deck I ever built, so that’s the one I went with! 

Game 1

Dave takes odds.

Turn 1 (50-50)

After a mulligan full of seven drops I end up with an Impervious, Man of Tomorrow, Linda Danvers, and Super Speed; followed by Men of Steel and Cir-El.
Dave draws Mad Harriet – Female Fury, Ego Gem, Mad Harriet – Female Fury, and Dr. Bedlam – Psionic Being followed by Ancient Throne and Speed Queen – Female Fury.

Dave recruits Mad Harriet.  I row Man of Tomorrow.

Turn 2 (49-50)

I draw Superman, Red and Superman, Kal-El; Dave draws Ego Gem and Have a Blast.  I row Impervious and miss.  Dave has Speed Queen with an Ego Gem.  He uses her twice to draw Darkseid – 8th Century and Darkseid – 8th Century.  Mad Harriet swings to the dome.

Turn 3 (48-50)

I draw Superman, False Son and Phantom Zone; Dave draws Dark Firestorm – Mockery and Created From Hate.  Dave recruits Dr. Bedlam.  I row Phantom Zone and throw out Linda (ditching Red) to absorb some damage.

Dave draws Kanto – Darkseid’s Assassin and Servants of Darkness with Speed Queen.  Then Dr. Bedlam goes into Linda.  I flip Phantom Zone to reduce his attack by 1 and stop the breakthrough.  I then take one more from Mad Harriet.

Turn 4 (44-47)

I draw Cadmus Labs and Kelex (waaaay too late little buddy); Dave draws Servants of Darkness and Knockout – Female Fury.  I row the Labs and flip Man of Tomorrow, ditching Kelex, to get Clark Kent.  Kent is recruited.  Dave also searches for his four drop, using Created from Hate to get the Apokoliptian Opressor himself, Darkseid.  I turn down my searcher with Created From Hate’s text.  Seeing all but one of my cards face down, Dave flips Servants of Darkness.  In response I flip Cadmus Labs, knowing it will be more costly to flip later when Darkseid, Ancient Thrones, and Servants of Darkness all make me pay dearly for it!

Clark Kent runs into Speed Queen.  Dave draws Dark Superboy – Mockery and Darkseid – Apokolips Now with her before she goes down.  Dave reinforces with the Darkseid behind Speed Queen, assuming Linda will take him down anyway.  I play Super Speed on Clark and send both Clark and Linda into Darkseid.  Not ideal.  I was hoping to have a pump for Linda to take down Darkseid all by herself so that Clark could take out another low drop.  Linda and Darkseid both go down.

Dave loses Speed Queen in the recovery (yes!  She only netted him 6 freaking cards!), but not before using Have a Blast on my Cadmus Labs.  I replace into another Phantom Zone.

Turn 5 (41-41)

I draw Superman, Man of Steel and Kara Zor-El; Dave draws Dark Matter Drain and Dr. Bedlam – Psionic Being.  Dave recruits Darkseid, 8th Century after flipping up an Ancient Throne to make all his Darkseids non-unique.  He also throws an Ego Gem on Mad Harriet (this is getting ridiculous!).  I row Men of Steel, but debate the merits of putting characters in my row instead.  Tough choice really.  I recruit Cir-El with everyone in the back row to take advantage of Men of Steel.

Mad Harriet taps to draw a card.  8th Century runs into Cir-El with a power-up.  I play Men of Steel from the row to bring Cir-El up to 11 DEF to his 10 ATK.  This burns me for 2 (Servants of Darkness), allows Dave to draw a card (his 4 drop), and allows him to turn his Have a Blast Down (Ancient Throne).  But he can’t get enough to climb her DEF and he goes down.  Darkseid (4) and Bedlam team into Cir-El.  She takes down Darkseid with her.  I finish the attacks off with a Kent into his Harriet (the safe attack).

Dave keeps 8th Century.

Turn 6 (34-26)

I draw Soaring to New Heights and Superman, Red; Dave draws Ancient Evils and Darkseid – Apokoliptian Oppressor.  I row Soaring to New Heights and recruit Kara in front of Cir-El, and move Linda in front of Kent.  Dave drops down Kanto.

I run Linda and Kent into Kanto.  Kent and Kanto bite the dust.  Kara runs into 8th Century for a one-sided stun.  Then Cir-El runs into Bedlam for another one-sided stun.  That turn went well for me.

Dave loses everyone except Kanto.

Turn 7 (30-5)

I draw Superman, Blue and Eradicator; Dave draws Darkseid – Nemesis and Apokolips.  Dave slaps down Darkseid, Apokalips Now.  I row Superman, Red and play ERADICATOR!  One of my favorite arts of the game.

Kanto pays 3 to target Cir-El.  I flip Man of Tomorrow, taking 2 END loss and pitching a Blue to get a Clark Kent.  Dave uses Ancient Throne to turn down Men of Steel.  I replace one of my Phantom Zones into a Man of Tomorrow.  I flip my other Phantom Zone and play Man of Tomorrow from my row (burning for 4) ditching Kent to find… nothing!  Have a Blast then targets my Phantom Zone, replacing it into another Men of Steel.  I now have 2x Men of Steel, a Red, Soaring to New Heights, and Impervious in my row.  None of which I can flip outside of combat.  Cir-El KO’s.  The final result?  I lose 6 endurance, a 5 drop, and the invulnerability on my Eradicator that was in front of her!  Good job Kanto!

Darkseid runs into my front row Eradicator, flipping up and activating Apokalips (which targets me) and adding 2 power-ups.  I play Impervious to lower Apokalips’ attack boost and add to my own defense.  Servants of Darkness gets me for 2 though.  I take 9 total.

With the totals 13 to 2 in my favor, Dave realized he had nothing left, so ran Kanto into Kara to put himself into the negatives.  He admitted a big play mistake on his part though.  Since he had not played Vs. in so long, he had forgotten that Ongoings could be played in multiples from the row, unlike locations.  He said that he could have had 2 Servants of Darkness up by turn 4 if he had remembered that, and this game could have gone VERY differently.

Final Score: 12 to -2

Game 2

Dave takes odds again just to keep it from me!

Turn 1 (50-50)

I draw Kelex, 2x Soaring to New Heights, and Cadmus Labs; followed by Eradicator and Men of Steel.
Dave draws Speed Queen, Dr. Bedlam, Kockout, and Darkseid – Apokolips Now; followed by Ego Gem and Ancient Throne.

I row Cadmus Labs.

Turn 2 (50-50)

I draw Kara Zor-El and Impervious; Dave draws Servants of Darkness and Dark Firestorm.  I row Impervious and play Kelex, but don’t use him ’cause I don’t want to pitch Kara or Eradicator (in case my Cadmus gets replaced like last game).  Dave drops Speed Queen and Ego Gem (dang!).

I run Kelex into Queen.  She double draws Servants of Darkness and Speed Queen.  She adds a power-up to her side of the battle, and it ends up being a brickwall.

Turn 3 (48-50)

I draw Superman, Red and Superman, Kal-El; Dave draws Darkseid – 8th Century and Mad Harriet.  Dave once again plays Bedlam, but this time I have Superman, Red.  My resource was a Men of Steel.  Dave flips Servants of Darkness and I respond by flipping up my Cadmus Labs, then he responds by flipping another Servants of Darkness, so I still end up taking 2 END.  He proclaims that he will not make the same mistake as last game!  I hide my Superman behind Kelex on the hopes he’ll survive the turn.

Dave draws Ego Gem and Ancient Evils with Speed Queen.  Bedlam runs into Kelex and I reinforce to take 2.

Turn 4 (44-50)

I draw Phantom Zone and Cir-El; Dave draws Have a Blast and Mad Harriet.  I completely miss.  No four drop, no search, no Linda… ouch!  Dave has Knockout.

Red goes into Knockout with 8 ATK on her 7 DEF.  He takes 5 to my 3.  Kelex can now swing at the Speed Queen that Knockout was protecting.  Speed Queen draws Darkseid – 8th Century and Darkseid – Nemesis.  Both 2 drops go dirtside and are lost in the recovery phase.

Turn 5 (39-43)

 I draw Kelex and Superman, Orange Soda Man (False Son); Dave draws Dr. Bedlam and Darkseid – Apokoliptian Opressor.  He recruits 8th Century and flips Ancient Throne.  I row Kelex and play Cir-El, who is a rockin’ 9/9.  Ugh.

Dave runs Darkseid and Bedlam into Cir-El (not wanting a repeat of last game’s brickwall!.)  Cir-El and Darkseid both go down.  I lose an extra 4 to Darkseid’s text.  Knockout uses her text to return Bedlam to hand, putting Cir-El in the resource row where my Cadmus used to be .  Knockout then runs into Superman for 10 damage.

Turn 6 (20-38)

I draw Superman, Blue and Superman, Red; Dave draws Ancient Throne and Dark Firestorm.  I recruit Kara in front of Red after rowing another copy of Red.  Dave misses and drops Dark Firestorm who draws him Created From Hate (of course!) along with Dr. Bedlam.

I run Kara into 8th Century; Dave takes 8.  I then run Red into Knockout with a power-up and a Soaring to New Heights (from hand).  Both go down.  Not wanting to lose another character, Dave passes his attacks.

Turn 7 (17-26)

I draw Super Speed and Cir-El; Dave draws Kanto and Dark Matter Drain.  Dave drops Apokolips Now.  I have Eradicator (after rowing Super Speed).

Dave sends 8th Century, Dark Firestorm, and Bedlam into Eradicator.  I lose 7 to 8th Centurie’s text and 8th Century is removed from the game thanks to Eradicator’s text.  Darkseid (7) smashes Kara, but Superman reinforces her.

I lose Kara.

Turn 8 (4-21)

I draw Man of Tomorrow and Cadmus Labs; Dave draws Apokolips and Dark Superboy.  I pay 1 with Red to make Superman non-unique.  Then I play Man of Tomorrow, ditching Cir-El to get the Man of Steel himself!  But Dave has Darkseid, Nemesis to ruin my fun.

Dave stuns his 7 drop to Remove-from-game my 8 drop.  Not fair!  I team my 3 and 7 drops into his 8, removeing HIS 8 drop from the game.  It’s only fair right?  Unfortunately, I was in the negatives already, so that was game.

Final score: -4 to 6

Two close games!  Let’s see how both decks do down the home stretch!

Game 3

I take odds for the first time, just to see what happens!

Turn 1 (50-50)

I draw Kelex, Impervious, Supes (3), and Man of Tomorrow; followed by Clark Kent and Soaring to New Heights.
Dave draws (after a mulligan) Created From Hate, Created From Hate, Apokolips, and Dark Firestorm; followed by Have a Blast and Kanto – Darkseids Assassin.

I row Man of Tomorrow and neither of us have a 1 drop.

Turn 2 (50-50)

I draw Linda and Soaring to New Heights; Dave draws Darkseid – Nemesis and Ancient Evils.  I row Soaring to New Heights and drop Kelex after Dave drops nothing (ouch!).  Kelex gets me my Labs, ditching Linda.

Kelex swings for 3!

Turn 3 (50-47)

I draw Cadmus Labs and Cir-El; Dave draws Ancient Throne and Servants of Darkness.  I row Cadmus Labs and recruit Red.  Dave has Dark Firestorm who nabs him a Darkseid – Apokoliptian Oppressor.  Luckily, since Firestorm is hidden, I can swing for 11 unfettered.  Dave flips Servants of Darkness, so I respond with a Cadmus Labs.  I don’t mind exposing it, since I can put another one in the row next turn.  Dave ends the attack step by sending Firestorm into Red, and taking away his counter.

Turn 4 (45-33)

I draw Superman, Orange Soda Man and Super Speed; Dave draws Darkseid – 8th Century and Dr. Bedlam – Psionic Being.  Dave recruits Darkseid.  I row my other Lab and recruit Clark Kent, but not before activating my face-up Lab.  I put Kelex in front of Kent, and Red in the back next to Kent.  Dave Have a Blasts my Labs before combat, so I can’t get its secondary ability.

Dave runs Darkseid into Red.  I tap Kent to pull the attack to him.  Neither stun.  Firestorm runs into Red.  Both stun.  I then play Super Speed to ready Clark Kent and send him and Kelex into Darkseid.  Kelex and Darkseid go down.

Turn 5 (37-26)

I draw Clark Kent and Alpha Centurioun; Dave draws Speed Queen and Dark Superboy.  I flip Man of Tomorrow from my row (Dave nets a Darkseid-Apokoliptian Opressor from Darkseid’s ability and I lose 2 to Servants of Darkness).  I ditch Alpha Centurion to get Blue.  I then row Impervious and recruit Blue (after paying 1 with Red’s ability).  Dave has Dark Superboy, who he recruits visible in the back row, next to Darkseid.

I run Red into Superboy.  Dave responds by flipping Ancient Thrones.  I flip a Soaring to New Heights from my row (again, I lose 2 and Dave gets a card; this time a Darkseid-Apokolips Now).  Dave uses Ancient Thrones to turn down my Man of Tomorrow.  I flip Impervious from my row (This time Dave nets an Ancient Throne) so that Superboy can’t stun Kent for free.  I then play Soaring to New Heights from my hand, going for the one-sided stun.  I’m now a 10/12 and there’s nothing Dave can do, so Superboy goes down.  I then send Blue into Darkseid for another one-sided stun (after we both power-up), and Kent smacks direct for 7.

Turn 6 (30-10)

I draw Super Speed and Kara; Dave draws Speed Queen and Ego Gem.  Dave drops Kanto next to Superboy.  I row Super Speed and recruit a boosted Cir-El (who is a 12/9 after giving everyone their counters back),

Dave targets Red with Kanto’s power.  I flip Man of Tomorrow, ditching Kara to get Man of Steel.  I also flip Cadmus Labs.  I lost 4 endurance thanks to Servants of Darkness, but I didn’t lose Red, so I considered it a good trade-off.  Superboy then runs into Kent, and I power-up with my newly searched Man of Steel.  After both go down, Kanto goes into Blue with a newly flipped up Apokolips.  I power-up with the False Son in my hand, and replace Cadmus to bring my attack up to 11.  Kanto goes down with Blue, and Dave drops into the negatives.  Cir-El and Red rub salt in the wounds.

Final Score: 13 to -18

Thoughts:  While Darkseid probably had the better clone deck, whenever it misses Speed Queen/Ego Gem, it falls apart.  It needs that element to set up quickly.  It needs Ancient Throne/Darkseid (4)/2x Servants of Darkness up and running ASAP to really hurt opponents.  Though it might help to pack some pumps in the deck.  Defensive or offensive.  Dave found himself frustrated that power-ups were his only answer in combat.

Anti-Green Lanters [Vs.] Emerald Enemies

My furry friend Paul and I duked this one out.  He grabbed one of his favorite decks (AGL), and I took up one of my favorite dark horses, Emerald Enemies.  Here’s how it went down.

Game 1

I take odds.

Turn 1 (50-50)

I draw Empire of Tears, The Shark, Sonar, and Prison Planet; f0llowed by Goldface and Femme Fatality.
Paul draws 3x AGL and a Willworld; followed by a Blinding Rage and a Trial By Fire.

I row Prison Planet and play The Shark.  Paul has an AGL.  I flip the Planet and swing for 3.  He swings back for 4.

The AGL KO’s itself.

Turn 2 (46-47)

I draw Empire of Tears and Trial By Fire; Paul has Mega-Blast and Fiero.  Paul drops 2 AGL’s!  I row Empire of Tears and recuit no one.  I figure I’d just lose my Sonar if I put him down anyway.

I take 8.  Paul flips and uses Willworld to net one AGL.  He pitches Fiero, then loses both AGL’s.

Turn 3 (38-47)

I draw Major Force and Fatality; Paul draws 2x AGL.  Paul uses Willworld to net… nothing!  I row Trial by Fire and recruit Sonar and Fatality.  Paul recruits 2 AGL’s.

I use Sonar to tap an AGL, knowing it will KO and not get to attack back.  I then send Fatality and The Shark in directly with a Trial By Fire flipped and added to The Shark.  Paul takes 13 and sends his lone AGL back at Fatality.  Unfortunately, she stuns him back, and Paul’s allowed to keep a character for the first time this game.

Turn 4 (34-33)

I draw Obsidian and Dr. Light; Paul draws Willworld and an AGL.  Paul recruits one measley AGL.  I row Femme Fatality and play Goldface, ditching Dr. Light and Obsidian.

Paul runs an AGL into my Fatality.  I take 4 to his 1.  He then runs his other AGL into Goldface, adding a Mega-Blast and a Trial By Fire to make him a 12/4.  I take 7 to his 1.  My last 2 characters swing to the face for 7.

Turn 5 (23-24)

I draw Sinestro and another Major Force; Paul draws The Ring Has Chosen and Cosmic Conflict.  I row Empire of Tears and play Major Force.  Paul Willworld’s into 2 Xallaraps, but still has not seen Felix Faust, one of his deck’s key characters.  He drops Tatooed Man.

I run Goldface into the Tatted Man, and he responds by popping one of Tat Man’s counters to get an AGL from his deck (he didn’t have 2 in his deck to use both counters).  Paul takes 11.  I then activate Sonar to tap one of his hidden AGL’s.  I flip one Empire of Tears, KOing Goldface and Sonar to its cost.  The Shark swings with a tap of Empire of Tears to become a 7/1.  I then flip the other Empire of Tears, KOing the original Empire of Tears and Trial by Fire.  Major Force swings as a 17/15 after I power him up.  Paul runs back with his last AGL and 3 attack pumps into my Shark.  I take 16, he takes 1.

Final Score: 7 to -12

Game 2

Paul takes evens.

Turn 1 (50-50)

I draw (after a mulligan of 4 and 5 drops) Prison Planet, Dr. Light, Emerald Dawn and Golden Death; followed by Obsidian and Trial by Fire.
Paul draws (after a mulligan to try and find a Chomin) AGL, Willworld, Blinding Rage and Cosmic Conflict; followed by an AGL and Shadow-Thief.

I row Prison Planet and have no one drop.  Paul has an AGL and sends 4 to my face.  His Willworld net him an AGL, ditching a Blinding Rage.

AGL KO’s.

Turn 2 (46-50)

I draw Empire of Tears and Trial By Fire; Paul draws AGL and Mega-Blast.  He drops 2 AGL’s to my nothing, and smacks me for 8.  He Willworld’s into nothing (sending a Chomin to the bottom of his deck).

Turn 3 (38-50)

I draw Dr. Polaris and Golden Death; Paul draws Cosmic Conflict and Felix Faust.  I row Trial by Fire and play Dr. Polaris.  Paul Willworld’s into Xallarap.

I attack with Polaris, flipping Prison Planet to make him a 7/3.  Xallarap exhausts and then KO’s.  Poor Xallarap!

Turn 4 (38-43)

I draw Sinestro and The Shark; Paul has Blinding Rage and Xallarap.  Paul drops Faust and I row Emerald Dawn and play Obsidian.

Faust goes into Obsidian with a Mega-Blast.  I take 10.  Faust KO’s and brings in 3x AGL’s.  Uh-oh!  An AGL takes out Polaris, and the other 2 attack directly.  Since I’m losing him anyway, I play Emerald Dawn, KOing Polaris to get Major Force.

Turn 5 (16-38)

I draw another Major Force and Goldface; Paul gets Banished to the Anti-Matter Universe and Tattooed Man.  I row a Golden Death and play Major Force.  Paul drops Tattooed Man.

I run Major Force into Tat Man and play both Golden Deaths (one from row, one from hand).  I then pop a Golden death with Obsidian’s ability and flip Trial By Fire.  I also Power up to make Major Force a 27.  Obsidian then runs into Paul’s face with a Trial By Fire from hand.  I also flip up Empire of Tears, KOing both plot twists in my row to add 2 attack.  Obsidian is a 16/6, and Paul drops to -3.  Paul uses Banished to the Anti-Matter Universe to send Obsidian hidden.  Uh-oh!  Two AGL’s team attack into Major Force with a Cosmic Conflict and a Blinding Rage.  I take 5 to Paul’s 1.  His last AGL runs straight in with a power-up, but it’s not enough.

Final Score: 6 to -3

Thoughts: That’s right, AGL LOST!  Missing Chomin is brutal, but the fact that Sonar and Dr. Polaris could tap down hidden attackers was HUGE in this matchup.  I’m personally glad that this underdog deck has made it so far in the tournament.  And if you read the matchups (this round and the last) you’ll see that Dr. Light was never a factor.  In fact, if I recreated this deck, I’d probably drop him entirely.

 Teen Titans [Vs.] Arkham Exhaust

Continuing the trend of playing a different friend for each matchup, this time I hooked up with Rob.  Rob grabbed Titans because it’s always been a favorite of his.  I grabbed Arkham, because I like to lose

Game 1

Rob wins the die roll and picks odds.

Turn 1 (50-50)

I draw 2x Charaxes (3), KGBeast, and Fear and Confusion; followed by Bat’s Belfry and Hush, Silent and Deadly.
After a mulligan of USS Argus, Roy Harper-Arsenal, Garth and Vic Stone, Rob drew 2x Terra, Optitron, and Press the Attack; followed by Connor and Red Star.

Rob plays, flips, and uses Optitron, ditching Terra to get Hank Hall.  I row Bat’s Belfry and we both pass.

Turn 2 (50-50)

I draw Calendar Man and Smiles Everyone; Rob has Garth and Tamaran.  I row Smiles Everyone and play KGBeast.  Hopefully, if Rob has a 2, I can Smiles Everyone it right away.  But Rob has other plans and uses Optitron again, ditching Conner Kent to get Tim Drake.  He has no recruit, so KGBeast swings for 4.

Turn 3 (50-46)

I draw Smiles Everyone and Hush, Mystery Man; Rob draws Optitron and Ray Palmer.  Rob boosts Hank to get Dawn in play.  I row Fear and Confusion and play Charaxes, Drury Walker.  Unfortunately, he can stun my whole board with this play.  At least he’s losing board as well though!

His 4/4 Hank goes into my front row Charaxes.  I reinforce.  Dawn then runs into KGB for the double stun again.  I lose KGBeast, but he loses Dawn, making Hank a measley 2/2 again.

Turn 4 (45-43)

I draw Two-Face and Fearmonger; Rob draws Garth and Blinding Rage.  I row Smiles Everyone and play Hush, Silent and Deadly.  Rob drops down Terra (Noooo!).

I flip Bat’s Belfry ditching Two-Face and Calendar Man.  I then run Charaxes into Hank Hall and let Terra pop him (replacing Optitron into a Roy Harper-Speedy).  I then run Hush into Hank (I really wish I had flight!).  Hank exhausts to Bat’s Belfry, and Rob takes some breakthrough in addition to losing Hank to Hush’s effect.

Turn 5 (42-36)

I draw Crushing Blow and Fear and Confusion; Rob draws Removed from Continuity and Press the Attack.  Rob drops down Garth, and I recruit Scarecrow after I row a Crushing Blow.

Terra attacks Charaxes and I reinforce with Hush in the back row.  Garth then runs into Scarecrow with a Tamaran activation to see what he can get in his trash, turns out it’s just a Vic Stone.  He then Powers up the old fashioned way for the one-sided stun.  Garth then pays 3 to return the Garth from his trash to his hand.

Turn 6 (32-33)

I draw Hush, Mystery Man and Bane; Rob gets Teen Titans Go and Argus.  I row Fear and Confusion and play Bane, moving everyone to the front row in case Starfire hits the table.  Rob flips and uses Optitron to ditch Garth, getting Roy Harper.  Roy and Tim then hit the table.  Tim and Terra in front of Garth and Roy respectively.

I use Bat’s Belfry, removing the same 2 cards as before.  I run Hush into Terra.  Terra, Garth, Roy, and Tim all tap to Roy’s effect, making him a 12 attack.  Rob then plays Press the Attack to ready Roy.  Roy taps to stun Hush, KOing Press the Attack in the process.  Fearmonger then attacks Terra.  Garth pays 3, to get back and play the same Press the Attack.  Roy taps, KOing a Roy 1 drop in the row to stun Fearmonger.  Finally I run Bane into Terra, flipping a Smiles Everyone.  He has a 3rd Press the Attack to ready Terra so that Smiles Everyone does nothing.  Still, he takes some damage.

I lose Hush.  This game has turned quickly against me!

Turn 7 (23-21)

I draw Anarky and The Penquin; Rob draws Heroic Sacrifice and Roy Harper-Arsenal.  Rob recruits Red Star and uses one of his resource point to burn me for 5.  I row Fear and Confusion and think about who to recruit.  If I drop Two-Face, I’ll have 18 stun damage on board to match my 18 endurance.  Considering Roy can do that himself, I have to underdrop.  But after considering my options, I realize I’ve lost anyway and recruit Two-Face for the “Bad-Ass” factor.

Rob teams everyone but Roy into Bane.  Tamaran powers up Red Star and puts a Teen Titans Go in his KO’d pile.  Bane stuns, but Tim redirects my stunback to his unstunnable Red Star.  Teen Titan’s Go readies his board and he sends them all (except Roy again) into Two-Face.  Again, Red Star makes the stun one-sided.  Garth replays Teen Titans Go! from the KO’ed pile.  Terra and Red Star then go into Fearmonger for another one-sided stun.  Tim and Garth tap for Roy’s ability to make him an 8 attack.  Roy attacks to my face with a power-up.

Final Score: -9 to 18

Game 2

I take odds this time to see what happens.

Turn 1 (50-50)

After a mulligan I draw 2x Anarky, Charaxes, and Hush followed by The Penguin and Crushing Blow.
After a mulligan Rob draws Optitron, Press the Attack, Ray Palmer, and Teen Titans Go; followed by Press the Attack and Blinding Rage.

I row Crushing Blow and recruit Anarky.  Rob has an Optitron, ditching Ray Palmer to get Hank Hall.  Rob takes 2 to the face.

Turn 2 (50-48)

I draw Glass Jaw and Calendar Man; Rob draws Removed from continuity and Roy Harper.  Rob has no play so I row Glass Jaw and draw a Two-Face with Calendar Man.  Also, Anarky smashes face again.

Turn 3 (46-50)

I draw Smiles Everyone and Arkham Asylum; Rob draws Terra and Tim Drake.  I row Smiles Everyone and play Penguin over Charaxes, ditching an Asylum to get a KGBeast.  Rob draws Roy Harper (1) off of Penquin and ditches Roy (1) and Press the Attack.  I form in a checkerboard so that Calendar Man can draw.  Rob drops Hank with a boost to get Dove.

Calendar Man draws No Man’s Land.  Anarky runs into Dove.  We both take 1.  Penguin then goes after Hank Hall.  This one’s one-sided.

Turn 4 (49-42)

I draw another KGBeast and Sucker Punch; Rob draws Titan’s Tower and Blinding Rage.  Rob drops Terra.  I row No Man’s Land and play Hush, Silent and Deadly.

Hank attacks Hush with 2x Blinding Rage.  Hush poops his pants and goes down like Igby.  Ouch.  I take 7 to his 2, but Hank is KO’d.  Terra then makes sure that Hush is “Removed from continuity”.  Anarky teams with Penguin into Terra to make sure she stays tapped into next turn.  Calendar Man draws me a Scarecrow, Fearmonger.

Turn 5 (39-36)

I draw Fear and Confusion and Hush, Mystery Man; Rob draws Garth and Argus.  I row Sucker Punch and recruit my Fearmonger, though in retrospect I should maybe have dropped Charaxes (3) and KGBeast.  Rob has Garth of course.

I send Penguin and Anarky into Terra again  with a Sucker Punch.  I then flip No Man’s Land, discarding Charaxes (3) to tap Garth.  Calendar Man taps to draw me a Charaxes (3).  Fearmonger runs into Garth with Smiles Everyone, and gains a counter in the process.

Turn 6 (39-26)

I draw Smiles Everyone and Matt Hagen; Rob draws Red Star, Koriandir.  Rob drops Starfire.  I row Smiles Everyone and play just Hush, Mystery Man in my hidden area, choosing not to use my last 2 resources on KGBeast, since his 1 DEF is a huge liabiliy off-initiative.  I move everyone to my front row.

Starfire goes into Calendar Man to do some beats.  He draws me a Fear and Confusion.  I take 11.  Hush goes into Terra, paying 1 endurance to keep her tapped into the next turn.  I also add a couple Fear and Confusions to make my four remaining characters +2 each.  My 11/10 Fearmonger goes into Starfire with a Smiles Everyone, a Glass Jaw, and a Crushing Blow to keep things one-sided, but Rob flips Titans Tower, ditching Red Star, to stun Fearmonger back anyway.  The Penguin and Anarky swing direct for 11 (12 after I power-up my Anarky), and the game is mine!

Final Score: 19 to -6

This is getting tense!!

Game 3

Rob takes odds.  Since odds has won each of us a game, this does not look good for the home team.

Turn 1 (50-50)

I draw Clayface, Charaxes, Smiles Everyone, and Anarky; followed by Glass Jaw and Hush-Silent and Deadly.
Rob draws Garth, Roy Harper-Arsenal, and 2x Teen Titan’s Go, but he mulligans for Blinding Rage, Tim Drake, Argus, and Removed From Continuity; followed by Optitron and Connor.

Rob flips Optitron, pays a resource and ditches Conner Kent to get Dawn.  I row Smiles and play Anarky.  Rob starts down 2 endurance.

Turn 2 (50-48)

I draw Charaxes and Fear and Confusion; Rob draws Tim Drake and Roy Harper.  I row Fear and Confusion, but have no drop.  Rob has Tim Drake.  I Glass Jaw Tim Drake and attack with Anarky.  I flip Smiles Everyone to KO him.

Turn 3 (49-44)

I draw Two-Face and Sucker Punch; Rob draws Teen Titans Go and Titans Tower.  He boosts Dawn, getting Hank.  I row Sucker Punch and play Charaxes.

Dawn runs into Charaxes with a Blinding Rage.  I can do nothing about it.  He passes his attacks and so do I.  He then plays Removed from Continuity, tapping Hank to KO Charaxes.  At least now I don’t have to replace with the 6 drop in my hand!

Turn 4 (43-43)

I draw Charaxes (3) and No Man’s Land; Rob draws 2x Terra.  I row No Man’s Land and play Hush-Silent and Deadly.  Rob throws out his usual Terra.  Rob uses Argus to get Garth.

I run Hush into Hank Hall, flipping Fear and Confusion to tap Hank.  Rob flips Titan’s Tower, ditching Terra to add four to his attack.  Hoping to preserve my board a little, I flip Sucker Punch, stopping the stunback.  Rob takes 6.  I flip No Man’s Land, ditching Charaxes and targeting Terra with it.  Rob responds by replacing his Argus (into a Blinding Rage) with Terra to stun Anarky.

Turn 5 (42-37)

I draw Amadeus and Bane; Rob draws Red Star and Press the Attack.  Rob windmills down his Garth and I play Matt Hagen after rowing Amadeus.  I formed Clayface behind Hush to either force Dawn into Clayface first, or force Rob to make more than one attack to get to Clayface, which would make him bigger.

Unfortunately, he’s able to attack Dawn into Clayface with a Blinding Rage and a Titans Tower, ditching Red Star.  She’s a 9/1 into my 7/7.  Garth then ravages my Hush for 6.  Rob had then planned to remove one of my characters from continuity, but he forgot about Anarky’s attack back, which would lock down either his four or five drop for next turn.  So he’s forced to blow up Anarky with Terra’s text, replacing Optitron (into a Starfire).  Garth then retrieves Argus instead.  I lose Matt Hagen because Rob WILL have Roy Harper next turn (otherwise he would have gotten back Optitron instead of Argus to guarantee that Roy).

Turn 6 (28-34)

I draw Bat’s Belfry and KGBeast; Rob draws Optitron and Ray Palmer.  I row the Belfry and play Charaxes (6).  Rob drops Tim Drake, Roy Harper, and The Atom.  He then flips Argus netting an Argus.  Rob informs me I will not be attacking this turn.  Good.

Everyone taps to Roy’s ability, making him a 14 ATK.  Roy then activates, KOing Argus to stun Charaxes.  Press the Attack readies Roy, who then pops a Starfire from the row to stun Hush.  This is all still the build phase by the way.  Sad face.  Rob passes.  So do I.  Still sad face.  Garth pulls back Red Star before the end of the turn.  I keep Charaxes.

Turn 7 (18-31)

I draw Fear and Confusion and Glass Jaw; Rob draws Tamaran and Roy Harper-Speedy.  Rob recruits Red Star, burning me for 5 in the process.  A new Arguss flips up and nets Rob a Teen Titan’s Go.  I debate between Two-Face and Bane.  If I put down Two-Face, Rob can just Roy Harper both Two-Face and Bane for the 13 damage he needs to bring me to 0.  Since he can KO the Press the Attack in his row with Roy’s ability, and bring it back with Garth, I decide to boost Bane instead.

Everyone but Roy teams into Charaxes.  Teen Titans Go readies them all.  They all tap to Roy’s ability and make him a 16/3.  Roy taps, KOing his Press the Attack in the row, targeting Charaxes.  Charaxes stuns.  They all (excpet Roy) team into Bane.  Teen Titan’s Go then readies them all again and they all tap for Roy again.  He’s now a 28/3.  Garth returns Press the Attack.  Press the Attack readies Roy.  The attack resolves and Bane stuns back Garth, but Tim redirects to Dawn.  Roy then smacks me direct with a power-up for 29 endurance.  Ouch!

Final Score: -28 to 27

Thoughts: While I never really doubted that Titans would walk away from this one, they did not do it unscathed.  When Arkham curves out from turn 1-on and has odds, it seemed to do pretty well.  But unlike Arkham, Titans can recover from a bad draw.  And unlike Brave and the Bold, whom Arkham slaughtered, the pure Titans build prevailed.  Though that’s what you get when you pair a Tier 1 team against a Tier 7-ish.  The exhaust/KO theme isn’t terrible, but it’s only really effective against a curve deck that tries to match it drop-for-drop.  I found myself wondering if Amadeus Arkham shouldn’t be dropped so that we can simply up the number of locations in the deck.  He’s good, but situational, and if we hit Calendar Man we’d hit every location we’d need anyway.  Oh well, let’s see how the ‘other’ Arkham deck does…

Arkham Insanity [Vs.] Total Recall

The Ring Has Chosen crew was gracious enough to do this matchup for us.  Thanks guys!

http://vssystem.org/2010/01/15/the-ring-has-chosen-dc-100-ideas-round-2-special/