KO effects have traditionally been some of the strongest in the game. Many might remember when Curve Sentinels was the most powerful deck. Finishing Move became powerful because its ability to KO an opposing Bastion often determined who would win the game. Removing your opponent’s key characters from the equation provides such an advantage that when formats are determined by key characters, the effects that remove them often rise to the top of those formats.

DC Modern Age is interesting in that it contains probably one of the most defining characters ever to be printed—Ahmed Samsarra. The beauty of the card is that, while amazingly powerful, it comes with a huge drawback. Since he has the “King clause”—if he gets KO’d, you lose the game—many strategists have been looking for ways to kill the King consistently. But without any generic cards that KO characters in the format, it happens much more rarely than people would like.

The format has replacements in the way of Removed from Continuity and Death Trap, but neither of them actually KO’s the character; they merely remove it from play instead. Because of this, many players disregarded them.

They don’t win the game against Ahmed, but since the format is completely curve-based, they’re still really good, and a lot better than most people give them credit for. Adam is sitting at 4-2 after round 6, playing the Shadowpact magic deck that features five copies of the faux KO effects. He says that he put them in the deck to allow him to keep up with the curve decks that play characters larger than his every turn. Here’s a quick look at what he played:

Characters
1 Black Alice, Lori Zechlin
4 Blackbriar Thorn, Druid of Cymru
4 Detective Chimp, Shoeless Gumshoe
3 Dr. Occult, Richard Occult
1 June Moon ◊ Enchantress, Bad Witch
3 June Moon ◊ Enchantress, Good Witch
4 Madame Xanadu, Cartomancer
3 Manitou Dawn
1 Shazam, The Sorcerer
4 The Phantom Stranger, Fallen Angel
4 Zatanna, Magical Manipulator

Plot Twists
4 Abjuration
4 Divination
3 Magical Conduit
4 Magical Lobotomy
4 Removed from Continuity
1 Death Trap
1 Stepping Between Worlds
2 The Conclave
1 Transmutation

Locations
4 Chimp Detective Agency

The other option presented by the format is to play some of the team-stamped KO effects. The most powerful of these probably belongs to Villains United. Namely, No Mercy can surprise opponents and earn “King wins” when your opponent least expects it. Keebler Powell played a pretty standard Checkmate / Villains deck today, but included a full play set of this powerful plot twists for exactly the reason I just mentioned.

Characters
1 Black Adam, Lord of Kahndaq
1 Deathstroke the Terminator, Ultimate Assassin
1 Sasha Bordeaux, Autonomous Prototype
1 Alexander Luthor, Diabolical Double
1 Huntress, Reluctant Queen
1 Dr. Psycho, Twisted Telepath
2 Mr. Freeze, Brutal Blizzard
1 Maxwell Lord, Black King
1 Annihilation Protocol ◊ OMAC Robot
3 Fatality, Flawless Victory
1 Elimination Protocol ◊ OMAC Robot
4 Ahmed Samsarra
1 Christopher Smith ◊ Peacemaker
1 Sarge Steel
4 Dr. Psycho, Mental Giant
4 Connie Webb

Plot Twists
4 Target Acquired
4 Knightmare Scenario
4 No Mercy

Locations
4 Brother I Satellite
3 Brother Eye
1 Satellite HQ
2 Dr. Fate’s Tower
2 The Science Spire
4 Checkmate Safe House
1 Slaughter Swamp

Equipment
1 Amulet of Nabu
1 Cloak of Nabu
1 Helm of Nabu

Keebler said that No Mercy was responsible for two King victories over the course of the day (he has a 4-2 record after round 6 also). In one game, his opponent tried to play Death Trap on his own Ahmed after Keebler had stunned him with Fatality, Flawless Victory. In response, Keebler played No Mercy to notch another win.

With parity being so important in a format defined by powerful curve decks, this group of wannabe Finishing Moves has defined the format more than people first expected. Keep that in mind next time you’re looking at a format similar to this one, and see what you can do to tip the scales of parity in your favor!