The number eight is a very powerful symbol. Just like the Vs. System Pro Circuit, it represents the completion of a second full cycle of growth. No wonder our 8-drops are so strong.

Vs. System character cards are like the old cliche—the bigger they are, the harder it is to get them into play. Serving up an average of 7 points of endurance loss per turn can be done in many ways, so it is easy to end a game before turn 8 ever rolls around.

This can be seen as a challenge. Over one-third of the Pro Circuit Top 8 decks have included at least one character card with a cost greater than 7. The big boys of our cardboard cosmos have contributed to well over one million dollars in prize money in only two full seasons of competition. That is no small feat.

The inaugural Pro Circuit took place in Indianapolis in August of 2004. When our first-ever Day 3 was set, the Top 8 contained two handfuls of character cards with a recruit cost of 8. Steve Horowitz had a Brave and the Bold strategy that peaked its curve at Raven and Craig Edwards was using a Rigged Elections concoction that used no characters bigger than a 2-drop, but the other six finalists played with multiple copies of Apocalypse and a single Dr. Doom, Lord of Latveria. Brian Kibler won the first championship trophy and a ride in the 1966 Batmobile by beating his brethren with the big beef.

Only four percent of all Vs. System character cards cost 8 or more. That gives us about fifty to choose from, if we have devised a strategy that can stretch the game into the later turns. When the second Pro Circuit descended upon Anaheim in December of 2004, that extension was reaching outrageous proportions and things got bigger than ever.

TOGIT stands for The Only Game in Town, and the team that bears its name placed three players into the Top 8 of our second Pro Circuit event. Day 3 saw an X-Stall deck that could extend the game to turn 9 quite often. Therefore, Onslaught got his day in the sun and we had a 9-drop in the spotlight. Antonino DeRosa, Eugene Harvey, and Paul Sottosanti piloted the deck into the quarterfinals. It came to be known as “X-Stall” since it gained endurance with X-Corporation to stay alive long enough to get large. The deck cleared the table for its giant late-game Onslaught by using the beautiful ability of Jean Grey, Phoenix Force. That particular 8-drop will always be my first love when it comes to Vs. System art, and it was amazing to see it in action on the big stage.

The second Pro Circuit Day 3 also included seven other 8-drops—David Fielder and Ray Punzalan both packed three copies of Apocalypse for late punch. David added the goliath to a Gotham Knights deck, while Ray’s Gamma Bomb schemes also included one Dr. Doom, Lord of Latveria.

The PC: LA 2004 Top 8 contained twenty-five character cards with a cost greater than 7, which remains a record for our sport. On that given Sunday, they were not enough to win the ring. Team Realmworx was in full swing, and Ryan Jones grabbed the first off-curve crown in PC history. The champion’s list topped its Teen Titans off at two 6-drops. The Pro Circuit found out that big money can be won with small packages.

Pro Circuit Amsterdam ushered in the Marvel Modern Age and showed our 8-drops the door. The format was so fast that it quickly set a new record for the least number of Day 3 character cards costing more than 7. There were none. In fact, only three red cards costing more than 6 made the Top 8: Stuart Wright with one Varnae, First Vampire, and Scott Hunstad with a pair of Doctors named Strange and Ock. It was the smallest showing to date for our very largest of characters.

When the Pro Circuit hit the Big Apple, it was not a huge hit for colossal characters. Bastion killed so efficiently on turn 7 that it seemed useless to plan for an extra turn. At least that’s how it seemed. Jason Hager let loose some exhausting control with his New School, which lasted long enough for Dr. Doom, Lord of Latveria to take control so that Dr. Light, Arthur Light could impersonate a 9-drop with his boost ability. Nothing was large enough for Adam Bernstein’s twin copies of Apocalypse at Pro Circuit New York. Bigger was better and the 8-drop addition to Curve Sentinels gave us the only shiny purple championship title on the Pro Circuit.

The second Pro Circuit pass at Indianapolis saw the first DC Modern Age and another low for late-game big boys. There were zero 8-drops on Day 3. If it weren’t for Dave Spears and the Realmworx Qward deck with its lonely 9-cost Anti-Monitor, it would have been a complete shutout.

Returning to Anaheim allowed Day 3 of the PC to retrieve its Common Enemy. This time, Silver Surfer, Norrin Radd was around to finish things off when they went to turn 8. Half of the Top 8 tried to close things out with that grand gesture, but Karl Horn went New School on the field and triumphed with big Doom and Fearsome Five’s faux 9-drop. It was a large accomplishment.

Things weren’t actually peachy for 8-drops when the Vs. System Pro Circuit went down south to Atlanta. Quang Nguyen and Matt Oldaker both drove Mental into the Top 8 with single copies of Rachel Summers ◊ Phoenix, Phoenix of the Future, but the second Marvel Modern Age was just a bit too fast for her to make the finals.

When the second full season came to an end in San Francisco, it seemed there might be a break in the big character drought. G’Lock decks had been very successful for months, and now they had a champion. Captain Marvel, Champion of Magic promised to buy enough wins to send his owner into Day 2 with a chance. He did. Alex Etzel marched to turn 8 and snatched a 9-1 record for second place on Day 1 with this:

Alex Etzel

10th Place, Pro Circuit San Francisco

Characters

1 Aquaman, King of the Seven Seas

1 Arisia, Green Lantern of Graxos IV

1 Black Hand, Dark-Hearted Villain

1 Captain Marvel, Champion of Magic

4 Dr. Light, Master of Holograms

1 G’Nort, Green Lantern of G’Newt

1 Gorilla Grodd, Simian Mastermind

1 Hawkeye, Clinton Barton

4 Katma Tui, Green Lantern of Korugar

4 Kyle Rayner, Last Green Lantern

1 Madame Xanadu, Cartomancer

3 Malvolio, Lord of the Green Flame

1 Mikado and Mosha, Angels of Destruction

2 Olapet, Green Lantern of Southern Goldstar

1 Psycho-Pirate, Roger Hayden

1 Roy Harper ◊ Speedy, Mercurial Marksman

3 Salakk, Green Lantern of Slyggia

1 Tomar Tu, Green Lantern of Xudar

1 Zatanna, Zatanna Zatara

Plot Twists

1 Breaking Ground

1 Conscription

4 Enemy of My Enemy

4 Helping Hand

3 Lanterns in Love

1 Rain of Acorns

1 The Conclave

4 The Ring Has Chosen

Locations

2 Birthing Chamber

4 Book of Oa

Equipment

2 Catcher’s Mitt

I think Alex’s deck should be called “Buy It or Steal It.” The two 8-drops triumph in such completely different ways that the win condition seems a bit bipolar. I had been keeping my fingers crossed for a Psycho-Pirate sighting in the feature match area on Day 3, and the buzz on the forums had suggested he might jump the G’Lock ship like this. Alex Etzel agreed and added the alternate win condition as well. Alex made a nearly perfect run through the top level of competition on Day 1 and then came through with a strong showing that nearly sent his two big characters into the Top 8. He just missed the cut, finishing in 10th place with a hefty reward.

My crossed fingers were not left wanting. Massive men known as The Donkey Club had perfected a method of pulling a game kicking and screaming past the seventh turn for the new Silver Age. Their preferred 8-drop was Psycho-Pirate.

Psycho-Pirate failed to reach the finals. Vidi Wijaya and Ian Vincent defeated the Ivy League scheme that had secured the four seats on Day 3. We had yet another Pro Circuit championship devoid of 8-drops when it was over.

Eight championships, three with 8-drops. That is the legacy our large cardboard friends are facing as we move forward into a new season and a new cycle. Will the Pro Circuit see successful stalling strategies that swell games into the stratosphere beyond the seventh switch of initiative? Only time and the top tables will tell.

Unless it’s the kitchen table. Playing for fun with friends not only stretches the length of the game, but it also stretches the imagination. A few weeks ago, one of our readers gave the call for large to take charge. It’s time now.

The Big Bomb Format

“A strictly casual experiment devoted to having a Large Time.”

Rule #1: You cannot win the game unless you recruit a character with a printed cost greater than 7.

Rule #2: If you reduce your endurance to 0 or less before turn 8, you lose.

Rule #3: If you reduce your opponent’s endurance to 0 or less before turn 8, you lose.

Rule #4: Opponents cannot target resources.

Rule #5: No alternate win conditions are allowed.

Rule #6: You must have fun.

You may be able to tell immediately what happens in this alternate format—big fights. It is a fascinating framework for frisky fun, and the casual calisthenics get crazy. Try it out and see if you have any suggestions. Send me your best big beat decks. See if you can find any hefty cardboard that should be excluded from the party for sheer size. The bigger they are, the happier I get.

Speaking of happy me, I’d like to end this with a parable. There is a moral to this story.

It started eighteen years ago in Miami. An expansion team was added to the National Basketball League. The team was named after a temperature reading, and its idea of a “quality big man” was Rony Seikaly. There was an art teacher living in the Magic City at the time and his middle school was given eighteen season tickets to use as rewards for the problem kids of the inner city. Rony Seikaly turned out to be a 5-drop at the most.

Seven years and many Jordan-beatings later, Pat Riley was asked to take over the team from top to bottom. Pat Riley is the Jason Hager of the NBA. Pat Riley stayed on the telephone from midnight until dawn one night because a true 7-drop with a boost ability to negate all lay-ups was available to add to his deck. Alonzo Mourning said yes. A glorious era with a Longshot named Tim Hardaway was never rewarded with a ring. The team needed an 8-drop.

Shaquille O’Neal is an 8-drop. He has a boost ability that gives a +12 ATK and +12 DEF to a target Miami Heat player for the turn. Dwyane Wade is Dr. Light, Master of Holograms with one big difference: the Dallas Mavericks couldn’t errata him. To see Shaq sitting there as the 8-drop who didn’t score in double digits in the clincher and happier than at any of his other three championships was a beautiful thing. The World Champion Miami Heat that took eighteen years to get here was built on caring, community, and cardboard.

The team printed hundreds of thousands of cards when the season started. Each card said “15 Strong.” They wrote on them; their kids painted on them; they attached photos and lucky charms to them. They threw over 200,000 of these cards into a large pit in the locker room as a bonding ritual. It worked. The 8-drop boosted the 3-drop beyond anyone’s dreams, and the warmth nearly melted our city. And we lived happily ever after.

Rian Fike is also known as stubarnes and he needed to reinforce the legs on his kitchen table because of the big beats of the Big Bomb format. Try it out and send your results to rianfike@hattch.com.