The holidays are a time of reflection. I always look forward to an appreciative trip down memory lane as one year rolls over into the next. When I look back on the last year in the life Vs. System, I realize what a long, strange trip it’s been.

Focusing exclusively on the good things in life increases its enjoyment. I don’t have nearly enough space in this article to cover all the fun we had together in 2005, let alone bother with anything negative. So let’s get straight to the happy nostalgia and talk about my favorite parts of the year gone by in our beloved game.

We’ll start with the freshest laugh of the year. Last night at midnight, Adam “ihatepants” Prosak gave me some helpful hints for future Risk Vs. Reward columns. I had asked the community to voice their opinions about my articles, and Adam’s quote on the forums of VsRealms.com had me rolling on the floor.

Stop writing about 1-drop Army characters! Like honestly, I could probably Mikado and Mosha your entire column.

Thanks, Adam, for making me laugh so loud that I woke the neighbors. I will make that my New Year’s resolution. I should be able to stick to it at least until February.

Rolling back the clock a little further, my year was brightened even more by the Justice League of America set. Let me state this in no uncertain terms: I love the orange Aquaman shirt. My wife is forced to bribe me just to get it off my torso and into the washer. I vow to win yet another one this Saturday at our local Pro Circuit Qualifier and give it to my son as a Christmas gift. The tradition must be passed on to the future, and there is nowhere else on Earth to find such fabulous funky fashion.

The cards in the Justice League of America set are even better than the shirt, believe it or not. Gorilla Grodd and Psycho-Pirate both cause a huge amount of good-natured moaning and groaning in our household every time they successfully confiscate an opposing character. The power of Satanus never felt so good. I could spend three more paragraphs extolling the wonders of a set that’s chock full of 1-drop Army characters, but I wouldn’t want to alienate my devoted Pro Circuit fans like Adam Prosak any further. Tune in next year to see how long I can hold back on my favorite way to play the game.

The best memory of 2005 is a very difficult choice. Cheering online as Adam Bernstein finally put my beloved shiny purple Sentinels over the top and into the history books is one candidate. I adored the entire weekend that was Pro Circuit Indianapolis 2005. My unexpected ten day Halloween break with its Justice League of America Sneak Preview tournament put Aquaman on my back, and my wardrobe will never be the same. The 2005 Orlando $10K saw me regurgitate Wild Vomit back into the feature match area, and I got to watch Matt “Skinless” Rhoden win money that day with his own Extended Art version of my favorite ancient archetype. He even had four copies of the alternate art Cover Fire from the Iron Man action figures!

One of my favorite albums is “Greatest Hits” by Sublime. One of my favorite pastimes is compiling “best of” lists like John Cusack did in High Fidelity. In 2005, I was given the mind-blowing opportunity to choose my two favorite Risk Versus Reward articles for an online encore to entertain the casual tourists who visit over the holiday break. That was really fun. Writing these columns makes me feel like a punk rock superstar. Pardon me while I send a big “Thank you!” to Omeed for starting this party and to Toby for being such a dynamite M.C. I deeply appreciate it.

Creating alternate formats for Vs. System was something I did for the first time this year. Collecting and publishing creative work from all over the world is something I have done for over two decades. In the spirit of celebrating the past and envisioning an even better future, I will leave you now with an alternate way to play the game with your friends. This alternate format was created by Michael Gilmore, and he was kind enough to provide us with an excellent extended survey of the best character choices. Have as much fun as you can, and I will see you next year.

A quick team-by-team view:

Anti-Matter: Qwardian Watchdog is a 5 ATK / 5 DEF wall that can be used to activate stuff after he gets sent to the hidden area. He’s worth it.

Arkham Inmates: Ratcatcher chews on endurance. Since this will be a game of whittling, he gets the nod. Ventriloquist is a definite maybe.

Avengers: Jarvis will be the king of this group for his repeatability; Beast likely won’t work in an early game situation. Hank Pym ◊ Ant Man will be nice for the mid- to late game. Rick Jones will be important.

Brotherhood: Here’s a team that shines in this format. Lorelei, Destiny, Mastermind, Phantasia, and Thornn are all very playable.

Crime Lords: Don’t bother . . . unless you want to run Honor Among Thieves and use Vanessa Fisk for a team-up.

Darkseid’s Elite: GOLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A little burn never hurts. Kurin has no targets in this format other than Gole, so Kurin gets the axe.

Doom: Boris works if you can pull your one copy of him with your one copy of Doomstadt. That doesn’t seem worth it.

Emerald Enemies: They have three characters that are all worth playing. The Shark, T. S. Smith is the nastiest one. He is one of the top picks in this format.

Fantastic Four: Ant Man gets the nod for his ability. Alicia Masters is useless. Frankie Raye has flight and range, so she might get in on merit. Invisible Woman is definitely useful; she becomes a Nimrod in this format. Wyatt is also very useful and reusable. Valeria probably won’t get in because her ability condition won’t be fulfilled easily.

Fearsome 5: Gizmo is not likely, but he could help with cycling. Equipment could be really important in this format.

Gotham Knights: Alfred will rock here. Of the four remaining Gotham characters, only Spoiler and Lucius Fox are worth running.

Green Lantern: If you use willpower characters, they are all good.

JLA: Snapper Carr is going to be really nice in this format. Gypsy will be, too. Ray Palmer ◊ The Atom can be a life saver if you can KO a character.

JLI: Ted Kord ◊ Blue Beetle is another top pick. Go get your War Wagon. Oberon is big. 

Injustice Gang: Army only—not going to make the format at all.

Kang Council: There’s only one choice. If you can get the team-up, Kang, Rama Tut is a reusable power-up. But it’s not very likely.

League of Assassins: Josef Witschi might be really good. Once everyone starts topdecking, he could be a royal pain for the opponent. 

Manhunter: Lana Lang can really tick people off. Run her for sure.

Marvel Knights: Dagger, Micro-Chip, and Mikado are all good, but they are only one-shot deals. The real reason to run them is to get Punisher, Judge recruited. He will win you the game if you get him into play.

Masters of Evil: There’s lots of potential, but nothing feels very solid.

Sorry, no New Gods.

Non-Affiliated: King Snake and Lady Vic are both excellent choices. We were considering making J. Jonah Jameson mandatory for all decks. That’d be funny.

Revenge Squad: Prankster is broken and banned. Hope can be useful . . . once. Talia is good for cycling. Winslow Schott actually does well in this format. Bizarro Ray is awesome! It’s worth running Winslow just for that.

Secret Society: Run all of them.

Sentinel: Are Boliver Trask and Senator Kelly worth using just to get the team-up for Prime Sentinels? Probably not.

Sinister Syndicate: They are the heavy favorite in this format.

Spider-Friends: MJ and Prowler could be really important for card draw. Rocket Racer has evasion. He gets in just for that.

Squadron Supreme: Ape X is really nice. Quagmire is a plot twist that can’t be negated easily. Doctor Decibel works well in this format.

Team Superman: Perry White is a pain, and he doesn’t care what team he’s on.

Teen Titans: Roy Harper ◊ Speedy is killer. We probably should ban him too, but he messes with your card draw if you use him too much, so he stays. Pantha is good, and so is Bart Allen. Garth is a scary card in this format. Mirage, Dawn, and Omen are all pretty but useless.

Thunderbolts: Dallas Riordan, Mayoral Aide is needed. Joystick is inevitably going to be 4 ATK / 4 DEF or 5 ATK / 5 DEF all the time. Ogre really helps. Beetle ◊ Mach 1 is great for grabbing a team-up. They will see lots of play in this format.

Underworld: Lilith rocks if you can reveal another Underworld character. Orb? Shoot me if I use this card.

X-Men: Longshot likes Thinking Outside the Box. That combo can set up your next draw like nothing else in the format. Siege Perilous, Danger Room, and Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters look crazy good if you can set them up.

X-Statix: Here lies the king of the format: Phat! He’s the 8-drop, 7-drop, or 6-drop you use to seal the game. He is the reason Roy Harper ◊ Speedy isn’t banned.

Rian Fike is also known as stubarnes, and he almost made it through an entire article without using the word “risky.” He has enjoyed one of the best years of his life with you here on this website. Send your favorite Vs. System memories and your dreams for the future to rianfike@hattch.com.