If you’re new to drafting or need a little work on the basics, I recommend checking out my Manual series. It’s more about the strategies and theories of drafting in general. This series will be far more specific and deal with individual cards and their impact on the format. In short, this series will not tell you how to draft; it will tell you what to draft.

I want to start by explaining a few differences between Justice League of America Draft and its predecessor, Avengers Draft. The major difference is where the curve begins. In Avengers Draft, 1-drops were of the utmost importance. The Faces of Evil archetype wanted them as the meat of the deck. The Avengers deck wanted them to enhance their team attack strategy. Even Squadron Supreme wanted them, because making early drops meant less cards in hand later. The fact that all of these decks wanted them meant that the other decks had to have them just to defend themselves.

The current format is a bit slower. Turn 6 kills are a little less feasible and many of the reasons for the multitude of 1-drops are gone. This once again makes the 2-drop the more important early character. It also means that the game goes to turn 7 more frequently, which changes the value of certain cards. Keep all of this in mind when examining the cards, and much of this will make sense to you.

This week, I’m going to focus on one of the most powerful teams of the new set, the Secret Society. Secret Society is meant to abuse the KO’d pile as another resource. They have various effects that put the top cards of a deck into the KO’d pile. They then use their multitude of cards that bring cards back from the KO’d pile, as well as cards that key off of the number of cards in the KO’d pile, to generate a very powerful advantage.

I’m going to save the plot twists for later because I want to examine all of the teams first. This way, you can become more acquainted with the strengths, weaknesses, and goals of all the teams in this set. That will make it easier to evaluate the plot twists, since many of them vary in power level depending on the deck in which they are played. I want you all to understand what each team’s plan is before we dive too deeply into the cards that help them achieve those plans.

I’m going to run this off as a list with a bit of discussion about each card. I highly recommend reading the entire thing in order to get all the information you’ll need to build a good deck, but if you want to skip ahead to any cards that you have questions about, everything is in alphabetical order. As a side note, the values of some of these cards may change as I get more and more play in, so I’ll either make a statement in another article or simply change this one and re-post it; check back frequently to see how the format evolves.

Captain Boomerang, “Digger” - This guy is a solid 2-drop, if unspectacular. He’s got a nice 3 ATK / 3 DEF body, which isn’t really anything to write home about, but he is big enough to stun some characters without being stunned back. His ability doesn’t really reinforce the Society’s theme, but the extra 2 endurance loss might come in handy after he’s lived out his usefulness.

Captain Cold, Leonard Snart - This guy isn’t too bad. He starts off as a 5 ATK / 5 DEF 3-drop. I said in a previous article that I didn’t think that was too great because many of the 3-drops in this format are 5 ATK / 4 DEF characters. However, there are also a number of characters that are 4 ATK / 5 DEF, and this guy is able to take them out with out getting stunned back. His ability is also decent, as it will help you to prevent your opponent from pressing an advantage later in the game if you happen to stumble in your curve.

Charaxes, Killer Moth - Charaxes, in all his incarnations, loves killing things. This time, however, he shows no prejudice. All you have to do is put a few characters on the bottom of your deck—something you should easily be able to do—and he wipes out a character an opponent controls. Pretty sweet deal. He’s even able to attack those pesky support row characters. His 13 ATK / 11 DEF frame is perfectly suited for taking out opponents’ 6-drops for his ability to deal with permanently. This guy is very good.

Copperhead, Slithering Assassin - As far as 1-drops go, this guy is pretty good. He’s a 2 ATK / 1 DEF that can also fill a 2-drop slot if needed. He comes equipped with evasion, so he isn’t a liability later, and he has the ability to take out many of the 2-drops in the format. Overall, this makes him a worthy addition to the deck. His only real downside is the lack of flight and range.

Crystal Frost ◊ Killer Frost, Cold-Hearted Killer - I really like this card. First off, she’s big. Very big. Secondly, her ally ability is absurdly good. On your initiative, she stops your opponent’s next attacks. On your opponent’s initiative, she stops reinforcement from some characters and really messes up formations. She’s very flexible, able to kill other 5-drops without stunning back, and has the potential to lock an opponent out of the game with enough power-ups.

Darkseid, Heart of Darkness - This guy is not too bad. I’ve played him a few times before and have found a reason to use his ability once each time. He’s really powerful on your opponent’s attack. He can make attacks fail, and in the best case scenario, he can make your opponent’s characters stun while keeping yours alive. Add to that his 10 ATK, and you get a character that is easily able to take a single plot twist and attack up the curve. He is a relatively solid 5-drop.

Deadshot, Floyd Lawton - This guy has the potential to provide a great service. If he can survive until turn 4 or so and your deck is capable of putting ten cards into the KO’d pile, he will outright KO your opponent’s 3-drop. That is if your deck is capable of those things. This guy’s a rare, and I’ve honestly never seen him played, but he seems like he could be really powerful in a good deck. He’s more than capable of taking down other characters of his own cost and even a few of the weaker 3-drops. If you do get to use his ability, it’s like using a Finishing Move on a character your opponent controls; you were probably going to lose him anyway, and now you’re free to attack other characters.

Dr. Sivana, Thaddeus Bodog Sivana - This guy is really stellar. He has a killer ability and what is becoming an average 3-drop frame. If you can keep him safe, he instantly recovers all of your adjacent characters that may have gotten stunned. On your attacks, when you can control who stuns and who doesn’t, this ability is especially powerful. Dr. Sivana is one of my 3-drops of choice in any deck featuring Secret Society.

Floronic Man, Jason Woodrue - This guy had better get something stellar back from the KO’d pile. He’s a 5 ATK / 4 DEF character without flight or range who has to KO himself to use his ability. He can use this ability while exhausted, so he could be used after attacking down or after reinforcing on a turn when you would have KO’d him anyway. However, I am generally against cards that have you KO characters without a good reason. If the card you’re getting back will make a bigger difference in the game than having this guy, I’m all for it. But if not, this guy’s ability just doesn’t seem worth it.

Funky Flashman, Salesman Supreme - This guy is amazing. As a 1-drop, he starts working for you on turn 2. He serves a dual purpose of filling your KO’d pile and drawing you additional cards to help with your consistency. He is only a 1 ATK / 1 DEF, but his ability is so good that it doesn’t really matter.

Gorilla Grodd, Simian Mastermind - Wow. This guy is absolutely ridiculous. First off, he’s a slightly above average 6-drop. Add the fact that his ability is absurd, and you get an amazing character. Sure, you have to sacrifice a larger character to get a smaller one, but you’re stealing it from your opponent. This guy can really mess up your opponent’s attacks by stealing the character he or she sends. He can mess up defenses by stealing characters in key positions. Heaven forbid if your opponent boosts a character! Play this guy once and you’ll understand why he’s so amazing.

Hector Hammond, Mind over Matter - This guy is average. His stats are weak enough that he makes for a good wall, but he can’t really do much on offense. His ability has potential to do some cool things if the right situation arises, but it’s most commonly used to break up formation or to throw off leader abilities. All in all, this guy just isn’t the best choice of 4-drops.

Henry King ◊ Brainwave, Sinister Psionic - Henry’s papa comes with a slightly larger cost for his services, but I’ve seen him do some truly devastating things in the late game. He can KO useless characters or characters that were going to be KO’d anyway to generate an effect that will help you win the game. Add to that the fact that it increases your KO’d pile, and his ability seems pretty decent. Especially in a tight game, you can chuck a guy that has been used to reinforce at your opponent and take the lead.

James Jesse ◊ Trickster, Giovanni Giuseppe - I really like this guy. He’s just an average 2-drop, but his ability is exceptional in a Secret Society build. He is capable of putting a huge chunk of your deck into your KO’d pile as early as turn 4. The more of your deck that ends up in the KO’d Pile, the better it generally goes for the Secret Society.

Lex Luthor, Criminal Genius - I like characters that team up via their leader ability, but I’m a little unsure about this guy. He’s close to average stat-wise, but his ability may not be the most useful. If you can’t find anything better to do with your characters on your attack than pump Lex, there’s something wrong. Occasionally it will be useful, but on offense it’s just not that great. On defense, however, it means that your opponent has to send a larger character or use a plot twist to break through him (at the potential cost of a reinforcement down the line). This is usually good for you. However, I think that the limited nature of this ability makes it less than stellar.

Manhunter Clone, Clone of Paul Kirk - This guy’s another very good 1-drop for Secret Society. His evasion combined with his ability makes for a steady stream of cards hitting your KO’d pile from your deck. That is always a welcome commodity for a Secret Society deck.

Mark Desmond ◊ Blockbuster, Mindless Brute - If your deck has had an average performance going into turn 7 and it’s your initiative, pray that you have this guy. He is a monster. An 18 ATK character is nothing to sneeze at . . . especially one that can’t be stunned when attacking. Even if it isn’t your initiative, he’s going to take down whatever attacks him. End of story. This guy is simply an amazing way to put your opponent into the ground on the last turn of the game.

Poison Ivy, Kiss of Death - I love this card. It’s only average as far as stats go, but both abilities are really good. Early on, it never hurts to have more characters than your opponent. If you can steal a guy as opposed to just stunning one, you get a bigger advantage. On top of that, KO effects are always incredibly powerful. This card is great and I look for it every time in my 4-drop slot for my Secret Society deck.

Psycho-Pirate, Roger Hayden - Drool. If only Draft games went longer . . . I’ve been wrecked by this guy more times than I can count in Sealed Pack. Let’s just say that Psycho-Pirate + Gorilla Grodd = mutiny. However, we’re discussing Draft here, and, with few exceptions, Draft games don’t hit turn 8. That brings this guy’s value way down. After all, what good is a character if you never get a chance to play him?

Quakemaster, Robert Coleman - Flavorful as he is, Quakemaster just isn’t among the best 3-drops Secret Society has to offer. He is merely of average size with an ability that isn’t the most useful. I will admit that against another Secret Society deck, the ability to kill Slaughter Swamp and Gorilla City is pretty good. Other than that matchup, though, there just aren’t enough playable locations to make it worth a whole lot.

Remoni-Notra ◊ Star Sapphire, Zamoran Champion - Nothing amazing here. She’s got slightly above average stats for a 6-drop, flight, and range. However, her ability is not the most useful. It would take a dire circumstance for me to consider missing my 7-drop to return a resource to my hand.

Scarecrow, Fearmonger - This may very well be the best 5-drop in the set. There are a couple of other cards that may be able to challenge this one, but it definitely deserves the mention. He has the potential to get bigger every turn and to make your other characters bigger. This guy can really do wonders for a team. Add to that his 10 ATK / 9 DEF body and the fear really starts to fly. This guy can take down characters bigger than himself with only a modest amount of help. His counter-transferring ability comes in handy with some of the other cards Secret Society has to offer. This guy will always make your deck and will frequently be a first pick in Draft.

Sinestro, Corrupted by the Ring - Never has under-dropping on turn 6 looked like a better proposition. This guy is almost guaranteed to be a 10 ATK / 9 DEF character when he hits play, and he’ll only cost 3! Do the math, this guy is very good.

Solomon Grundy, Buried on Sunday - You can’t kill me. At least not without using up most of your team. If I’m lucky enough to have no KO’d pile, then you really can’t kill me. I love reasons to say, “Solomon Grundy want pants, too,” and this guy is just as good as the last. He isn’t my 7-drop of choice, but I won’t turn him down.

The Mist, Jonathan Smythe - This guy makes turn 6 kills possible. Just run him into an attack that will stun him back and ship your opponent’s biggest guy into the hidden zone. Lather, rinse, repeat. A couple of turns later, you have a free pass to hit your opponent for an absurd amount to the face. I really like this guy.

The Wizard, William Zard - Sometimes, you find yourself with no good attacks after your opponent passes to you. This guy gives you something to do with those excess characters before the turn ends. His ability is also quite helpful for achieving that big KO’d pile as early as you can. He’s just an average 2-drop, but his ability makes him worth playing.

Ultra-Humanite, Evolutionary Antecedent - Another ape with another great ability. Both of his abilities have some value. He can steal up to your opponent’s 4-drop if he’s left on turn 7. He also provides a massive boost to your characters that will usually allow them to attack up the curve. This guy hits the table and all adjacent characters become giants. Seems good.

That covers the Secret Society characters. Remember that when drafting, it takes a lot to make a character better than a plot twist. Only a few characters listed here, including Gorilla Grodd; Ultra-Humanite; and Scarecrow, Fearmonger, are capable of changing the game enough to warrant picking them over a blue card. You must be comfortable with the strength of each character a team has to offer. In order to do well, you must be able to make good decisions about which characters to take, when to take them, and what role they serve. This guide should help to answer those questions. If you find that you still need a little bit more help, please let me know at the_priceis_right@yahoo.com.

Next week, JLI gets the breakdown treatment.