This final look at the world of Green Lantern Draft brings us to the Anti-Matter Universe, the undisputed masters of the hidden area in the Green Lantern Corps set. The unique take that this team has on the concealed mechanic revolves around the optional text, which allows an interesting decision point when recruiting characters. Endurance management is a tough skill to hone in Vs., and when you’re playing a team that isn’t visible for a great amount of the time, it’s even more crucial.
One of the tougher aspects of drafting the Anti-Matter team is that the average quality of Anti-Matter characters is relatively low. Having a great deal of them means they require fairly specific circumstances to be considered “good.” But this doesn’t make drafting them a lost cause by any means.
Anti-Matters of Importance: Who to Look for When Drafting Out of This Universe
The most powerful characters on the Anti-Matter team revolve around the 5- and 6-drop slots. You must always keep in mind that Anti-Matter is about endurance maintenance, not board maintenance. This means that understanding what you seek to achieve on each turn is quite valuable. You'll need to adjust your game plan constantly in response to your opponent's reactions.
Power Ring: This is my favorite Anti-Matter character, with a very favorable willpower and ATK for his cost. The most important thing is that he also doubles as a 7-drop, which is something that is in fairly high demand, given the slower nature of this format. Green Lantern’s Anti-Matter counterpart is important to prioritize because he’s often scooped up to enhance other willpower strategies, so you need to get him while he’s still around.
Element Man: One of the rare 5-drops with greater than 9 DEF, Element Man helps cycle through early resources that were misplaced, as well as giving you many more options when it comes to your endurance management strategy. He’s especially good with Kiman and Fiero, who are better (or have to be) in the hidden area in the early game, but act more efficiently as defensive road blocks in the late game.
Superwoman: This is a crucial reason why you will probably want the even initiatives if you are playing Anti-Matter. If you ever wondered why most of the characters with invulnerability have reasonably poor stats, play with this card. It often ends up causing an endurance swing of 10 or greater.
Banished to the Anti-Matter Universe: This card is the crux of pretty much any good Anti-Matter deck. Capable of creating situations that end up in humongous direct attacks, your opponents will always have to build their formation in fear of this card. If you have any reasonable amount of Anti-Matter characters, this will be your baby. The key (and obvious) use for this card is to remove your opponent’s largest defender, but there are a few other things to note.
When used on a character that is being reinforced (in response to the reinforcement ability), Banished to the Anti-Matter Universe will cause the ability to be negated, as reinforcement checks whether the character is adjacent or not upon resolution. The other (and often devastating) use of this card is to negate equipment recruit effects. The rules for equipment require that the equipment be recruited onto an unequipped visible character. So if you respond to the recruitment effect with this card, you will negate the effect, causing the equipment to go to the KO’d pile. Quite a package for such a little card.
Dead-Eye: The Qwardian Archer is a man feared by many, especially when coupled with aggressive combat modifiers. Brutal when combined with Cosmic Conflict, he is certainly under-drafted in a predominantly Anti-Matter deck. Certain synergies outside his own affiliation, especially those he has with Dr. Light, Master of Holograms, means that he will never be too late a pick.
Cosmic Conflict: This pick is certainly the closest to a no-brainer when it comes to drafting Anti-Matter. With the greatest density of concealed characters as well as the biggest common ATK bonus, there are not many commons and uncommons you’ll want to let go when you’re drafting the Anti-Matter affiliation.
Qwardian Council Hall: Again I’m loath to mention a rare, but this card is so powerful that it certainly merits noting. “It’s good.” There. I’ve said my piece.
It Don’t Anti-Matter: Overrated and Overdrafted Qwardians
Ultraman: The Crime Syndicate Superman-clone looks like he has a lot going for him until you realize that his ATK and DEF are pretty appalling for a 7-drop. Every team has a common 6-drop that stuns him, and his concealed—optional ability doesn’t really help for a 7-drop. Since he’s the only common or uncommon 7-drop on the team, I would look to other teams to fill this slot . . . unless you’re fortunate enough to see Nero, in which case, I would slam it in my pile and never look back.
Johnny Quick: Even though he has a theoretical 10 ATK when hidden, it basically invalidates the concealed—optional text, as his visible form (8 ATK, 6 DEF) doesn’t help very much as a 5-drop. In a team that has some of the best 5-drops, you can definitely do better.
Owlman: When it boils down to it, this guy is an 8 ATK/6 DEF 4-drop with no flight or range. Bleh. All the other options are more reasonable. Maybe he could be better than Fiero.
Anti-Green Lantern and Xallarap: Though I feel that these are reasonable in a well-formed Constructed deck, the situations that make these cards good don’t appear in a predominantly Anti-Matter draft deck. I’m a decent fan of these in an Emerald Enemies/Anti-Matter off-curve strategy.
Dark Anti-Matter: Hidden Gems in the Parallel Universe
Qwardian Watchdog: This card is perfect in the endurance management strategy that Anti-Matter is centered around. It soaks up a reasonable about of damage, and you can move it to the visible area later to shore up reinforcement channels. Don’t pick it too highly, because no one else does.
St’nlli: Less impressive due to his poor ATK and DEF, his ability allows you to control the position of your concealed characters for maximum tactical value. Combined with the optimal 5-drop, Element Man, he can give you significant plot twist advantage on that turn, replacing as many resources as you have characters.
In Evil Star’s Evil Clutches and Coast City: With endurance management so high in the priorities of an Anti-Matter deck, keeping your formation tight is important. Both of these cards allow you to manipulate your opponent’s choice of attacks so that you can take the least amount of breakthrough. In Evil Star’s Evil Clutches has the side effect of being synergistic with Element Man—as all cards seem to be.
Lanterns in Love: This card is particularly good with small hidden characters, which are replete in this affiliation. Another huge benefactor from the concealed—optional ability.
Back to the Anti-Matter at Hand: Things to Remember When Drafting Anti-Matter
Apart from me mentioning one more time that “endurance is the most important resource,” you should realize the other things that are going on in an Anti-Matter draft deck. First, your characters have a lower than average ATK value, so the small ATK pumps (both on attack and defense) are more valuable to you than they are to other players. Make sure you aren’t short on these.
Second, there is no good default on where you recruit your concealed – optional characters, even if they have area-specific abilities. Look at your long-term game plan (i.e. the way you intend on winning) and try and make the game last until then. Finally, don’t be too worried about dipping into other team affiliations in order to find your late game. Anti-Matter has a fairly lousy 7-drop character (unless you get the rare Nero) and has no natural 8-drop. One thing that often comes up is that I draft a relatively early Hal Jordan ◊ Specter and move towards this strategy, knowing that it’s very hard to lose if turn 8 rolls around.
That’s the last in this series of the world of Green Lantern draft, mainly because we have the exciting Avengers previews next week. Make sure you tune in next week where we take a first look at what I think is the best and most powerful set of Vs. since Marvel Origins . . . and maybe even better than that!
Good Gaming,
TBS