Total Anarchy has really impressed me lately. The impact it had on $10K Ohio intrigued me. It isn’t a standard card for the decks in which it saw play (Doom Control and Curve Sentinels). In fact, it’s not a standard card in anything—despite high hopes for Total Anarchy when DC Origins was released, it never really took off. In a field that was still 30 to 40 percent F4 Beatdown, the environment just wasn’t ready for it.
Fast forward to today, and Total Anarchy is set to be an influential factor in both of its relevant Constructed formats. It would rip apart many decks in Marvel Modern Age, as well, but it is, of course, a DC card. Vulture appreciates that fact.
Essentially, Total Anarchy is one of those cards that can be highly valuable in some matchups and nearly useless in others. Unlike Flame Trap, I can’t really find an argument to redeem it in its bad matchups. There isn’t a ton of cleverness involved in its use, and there are no timing issues to take advantage of. But, I can make an argument that Total Anarchy is a proverbial “big blunt object,” matched in its lack of subtlety only by its brutal efficiency and its splashability.
Total Anarchy is so good because it can wreck several popular decks. Teen Titans itself makes this card worth playing, but Cosmic Cops and even Spider-Friends make Anarchy more than just a one trick pony. Despite the presence of Foiled in many Titans decks, Anarchy is highly useful. All you need is one turn to be overly aggressive and take out a few key characters, and most Titans players will fall apart. While Heroic Sacrifice does give Titans a very useful level of stun management, Total Anarchy still hurts, whether or not it’s just killing off Dove. If you’re playing Anarchy, you’re likely running three or four copies (or you can seek it out via Boris or Alfred Pennyworth), so unless a Titans player is heavily teched against ongoing plot twists, the numbers are really in your favor.
Cosmic Cops dies to Anarchy when it’s used properly. Barring some sort of wickedly perfect draw, you’ll always make a couple stuns against the deck. The problem is that those stunned Invisible Womans and Mr. Fantastics tend to be recovered naturally in the recovery phase, and once A Child Named Valeria becomes a factor, they get exponentially more difficult to harass. Total Anarchy only has a threshold cost of 1, so it can easily outrace the Cosmic Cops deck’s defensive engine.
Lastly, Spider-Friends is slowly becoming more and more prevalent as its efficiency against Titans gets better and better. Ricochet is one of the big reasons for the deck’s strength, and the fact that he falls into the range of Total Anarchy’s effect is exceedingly nice for the Anarchy player. The fact that the deck loves using evasion is pretty convenient, too—if your deck revolves around stunning small characters to keep them around, you’re not going to enjoy how Anarchy interacts with your well-laid plans. Builds running Tragic Loss (which is so underrated that it would garner a column of its own, if not for its narrow focus) feel the burn even more, as their favorite trick—evading a non-defending low-drop (like Rocket Racer), and then having a current defender mourn the “unfortunate accident” for massive stat gains—gets cut off at the knees.
It’s a bit early to start appraising the worth of Total Anarchy in DC Modern Age, but I’ll go ahead and say that I have pretty high hopes for it. Total Anarchy is the kind of card that will always be worth keeping in mind as the environment shifts and changes, and it’s a good bet that Anarchy will be a solid choice for several decks once this format comes to the forefront.
Three types of decks use Total Anarchy to its utmost potential. The first is obvious—any deck that curves will be able to gain an advantage via this card against non-curving decks. While it’s an utter no-brainer for Curve Sentinels, I’m curious about how well the card would work in X-Stall, given that Jean Grey, Marvel Girl can sort of turn it off as needed through replacement. Most of X-Stall’s serious threats tend to come from TNB Blitz and Titans, so though it looks like an awkward fit, the theory itself seems sound. I like it in Doom variants, Common Enemy or otherwise, as part of Boris’s handy little toolbox. Doom can fetch Flame Trap to complement Anarchy as needed, and like most plot twists, Total Anarchy is easily splashed without taking up much deck space. While one could argue that Doom Control, Common Enemy, and Evil Medical School already have the means to deal with low-drop characters, I like the extra options Anarchy provides. It’s a more permanent solution than Reign of Terror, and it’s a lot easier to play.
The second type of deck that can really put Total Anarchy to good use is one that runs direct stun effects. On a theoretical basis, that represents a wide range of potential. In practice, however, it basically means that it adds some oomph to Titans and nothing else. But hey, Terra handing out an auto-KO? Despite it being a concept destined for massive backfiring, it is tempting. What about a mirror match where Roy Harper is KO’d the moment he hits the table after turn 4? Or no Puppet Master for X-Stall? Or flaming Alfreds? Pretty nice. Unfortunately, the fact that Total Anarchy favors Curve Sentinels in a Curve Sentinels/Titans matchup keeps the card from being played in that instance. But it’s an interesting thought that may have merit, despite the obvious deterrents. If Titans gets the chance to strike first, it can clear out Curve Sentinels’ early game. Plus, Roy Harper ◊ Arsenal can do the Jean Grey trick I mentioned earlier, turning off Total Anarchy as needed. Risky? Definitely. Worth it? Maybe.
Again, X-Stall comes into the picture with the potential to use Sunfire’s ability to hand out Terra-like auto-KOs. Total Anarchy is another difficult call here—the danger in which it places Puppet Master is significant, but the chance for spectacular board wiping on turn 5 via Rogue, Power Absorption and Sunfire can’t be ignored. The deck can compensate for the cards it loses via Avalon Space Station, so the daunting discard cost can be worked around. Again, it’s not a hands-down brilliant concept, but it’s definitely one that warrants testing.
The final deck type I can see this card being played in is one I touched on earlier—anything that can search it out. It’s a nice little trick to put into your arsenal, right between a single copy of Flame Trap and a single copy of Unmasked. While Doom variants are obvious and already covered, I do think that Brave and the Bold could see a lot of value in Anarchy. Though most Brave and the Bold builds don’t aim to hit their curve in the slightest, the deck does of course have Dynamic Duo to protect itself on the offense. One good rush on turn 3 or 4, backed by Total Anarchy, balances the risk of a counter-attack. Besides, the deck has access to Roy Harper ◊ Arsenal, so it can remove Anarchy from play when it becomes a risk.
I think this is probably my favorite pick out of all the places this card could be used. I’m not sure it has all the promise of Anarchy’s use in Curve Sentinels, but the recent resurgence of Brave and the Bold has me itching for tech that will catapult it to the forefront, and Total Anarchy may be what the deck needs to take a $10K. The Brave and The Bold has early game abuse, a method of protecting itself, the ability to search for plot twists, and matchups that can benefit heavily from Anarchy’s presence. Total Anarchy is a control card—have no doubt about that—and Brave and the Bold may be the most dominant control oriented deck available in the current environment.
Okay, so I did exactly what I said I wasn’t going to do—looking over the list, I guess I did make an argument for Total Anarchy in virtually any matchup. While there are a few decks that absolutely should not run it (TNB, TNB Blitz, and umm . . . I guess Mojo/Wildebeest players wouldn’t think it’s too hot), it is dependant on its player’s tastes and strengths. Since it’s not yet a perennial fixture of Constructed play, the surprise factor is a big part of playing the card successfully. Its effect is so broad that it really changes how one has to approach a game. If you’re ready for the card to be played, it will usually benefit you more than your opponent. Also, with direct stun effects and low cost characters being so prevalent in most metagames, Total Anarchy fits into many different places. It’s a flavor card, so if you’re curious about it, I’d urge you to give it a shot and see if it works for you. Even if you don’t, take my word on it—you should definitely give it some time. Like Longshot, it’s one of those cards that will prove worthy of ongoing attention as the game changes.
-Jason Grabher-Meyer
Questions? Comments? Have a suggestion for an underplayed card that you believe could be serious tech? Email me at jason@metagame.com.