I’m not inspired easily, but today was an exception. The USA World Cup team had by far the hardest first round group and had already been beaten 3-0 by the Czech Republic—but you wouldn’t know this from the way they played against Italy. The USA was completely fearless, and there was nothing that Italy or the card-happy referee could do to change that. The game ended 1-1, and the USA’s dreams of reaching the knockout stage were still alive. (As you can tell, Ian wrote this a few weeks ago. We all know how the story ended. - TW)

Why another boring sports analogy, and what does soccer have in common with Vs. System? The answer is, a lot less than the American version of football*—but a positive attitude is just as important for whatever game you choose to compete in.  

The biggest advantage of being a top player or being on a top team is the fear that this can place in the hearts of your opponents. The top pros know that a fearful opponent is likely to take too many risks or become timid, either of which can give them free wins. Flashy team shirts and big talk can be attempts to encourage this, so try to ignore both.**

It was hard not to be concerned when I saw the pods for the first draft of Day 2. I recognized every name in my pod, including four Donkey Club members (Karl Horn, Adam Bernstein, Doug Tice, Adam Prosak) and a player who’s been described as the best in the world for Lord of the Rings and Vs. System: Michael Dalton of FTN.

I joked with some of the judges about having a recount on tiebreakers (I was the top 7-3 after Day 1 and the only one in the pod), but they seemed as unlikely to consider the request as to laugh. I know recounts can be a touchy issue in some parts, but I figured it was my rather dry sense of humor they were having issues with.

After my joke had gone down like a lead balloon, I tried to hunt down some friendly faces for a quick chat and some advice. The seatings went up shortly before the round was due to start; Dalton was on my left. This was going to be interesting.

By the end of the draft, I was wishing I’d switched into an Energy/Mental control deck, but double Drain Essence and double Image Inducer along with eleven other respectable support cards would have to make up for a ropy-looking curve with singleton 1- and 2-drops. The decklist (below) had 1-2 written all over it.

Characters

Lockheed, Saurian Sidekick

Viper, White Warrior Princess

Beast, Feline Geneticist

Sage, Xavier’s Secret Weapon

Xorn, Shen Xorn

Anne-Marie Cortez, Acolyte

Bishop, XSE Commando

Psylocke, Armored Empath

Jetstream, Hellion

Firestar, Hellion

Mystique, Freedom Force

2 Colossus, Organic Steel

Juggernaut, the Unstoppable

Rogue, Anna Marie

Plot Twists

Psychic Armor

2 Drain Essence

X-Men United

The Evil Eye

Kill or be Killed

Angel of Mercy

X-Treme Maneuver

Turnabout

Locations

X-Corp: Paris

X-Corp: Hong Kong

X-Corp: Amsterdam

Equipment

2 Image Inducer

Acolyte Body Armor

First up was Adam Prosak. I figured my mulligan condition was Lockheed, Saurian Sidekick or Viper, White Warrior Princess, as recruiting nothing in the first two turns is generally fatal. Adam was kind enough to shuffle into both for me. I was more than happy to keep my hand but was a little worried by Adam having the even initiative.

Turn 4 turned into a bit of a slugfest with Adam attempting to get character advantage by attacking up and down the curve. I countered with Turnabout, but after a Planet X and another trick from Adam, it was clear he was going to win the fight. I’d lined up Xorn in the back row, and Drain Essence kept both 3-drops off the board going into turn 5.

Turn 5 would be as unimpressive as turn 4 had been spectacular. Adam couldn’t find anything to discard to his Sovereign Superior and had to take it back,*** and my own 5-drops were being just as shy. The game was tense to the end, and the additional damage from hitting both my low drops seemed to make all the difference, putting me at 8-3.

Next up would be Doug Tice, who was just as nice with his shuffling as Adam had been, giving me both low drops in my opening four. However, my own shuffling was just as generous, and by the time I missed my 3-drop Doug had done so much damage with his army of Morlocks that there was no way back; I dropped to 8-4. We had a friendly chat about how the draft went, and it sounded like the table was below average on power level. Maybe my deck wasn’t as bad as it looked . . .

After two rounds of playing players with more wins than I, I got paired with one of the 0-2 drafters. That sounds like good times until you realize that despite my best efforts, Michael Dalton was the 0-2 player. From the two-thirds of his deck I’d seen, I expected a tough matchup.

After two turns of no recruits, we found ourselves at 50 apiece going into turn 3. This is generally favorable for the Hellfire player—as his or her deck is relatively slow—but I was quite happy knowing that I was light on low drops anyway and was already abusing X-Corp: Paris.

A turn 3 Beast, Feline Geneticist with X-Corp: Amsterdam was more than Michael could stun, and I fetched my first Image Inducer. I played a turn 4 Psylocke, Armored Empath with Acolyte Body Armor, and my board started to look a little scary. Psylocke’s ability is rarely useful in an X-Men deck, as those tend to be focused on Energy rather than Mental. A Sage discard was enough to get around the first Army of One of the game, and Beast fetched a second Image Inducer.

Turn 5 saw a Hellion giving me the second team affiliation for Image Inducer, and my turn 6 Colossus, Organic Steel got his three +1 ATK / +1 DEF counters. Two more Army of One gave me a real scare, but in the end, the game gave me my first victory in the feature match cage and a massive confidence boost. I’d come out of the toughest draft table of the round with a 2-1 record. There was nothing left to fear as I went into draft 2 with a 9-4 record.

Nine wins left me at the bottom of pod two again, but that was probably a good thing this time around as I “only” had the likes of Adam Bernstein, Michael Jacob, and Scott Hunstad to deal with. Pod three, on the other hand, had gained some pretty impressive names from above and below.

Two tables along from my next draft, there’s a blind player. I’m not sure whether I was more impressed with the professional way Upper Deck handled that table’s draft or by a blind player making Day 2. I’ve played blindfold chess before, and I can tell you that having to remember the board position makes it seriously difficult to think anything through. Anyone who manages to overcome the obstacles life throws at him or her and compete at the top level of his or her field has earned far more than my respect.

I opened my first pack and looked for Blackbird Blue—again with no luck—so I checked the rest of the pack. Backs Against the Wall was staring at me, and it didn’t have to stare for long. My only thought was, “Looks like I’ll be forcing Morlocks this time ’round.”

The second pack didn’t have any good Morlock cards. Even Brits know how to force,**** but this draft was going to require a bit more subtlety. I took a good X-Men card, knowing that both teams have good Physical characters, thus giving me the option of switching.

The third pack (the one Michael Jacob opened) came, and I couldn’t believe my eyes. I checked the rest of the pack to see what I was passing before putting Blackbird Blue into my pile. The rest of the draft felt like I had two teammates on my right, and other than Callisto, Morlock Queen (who’d I’d not tested in an X-Men deck), the list is textbook stuff.

Characters

Lockheed, Saurian Sidekick

Archangel, Angel

Jubilee, Jubilation Lee

Longshot, Hero of Mojoworld

Dazzler, Rock Star

Cannonball, Blast Field

Friedrich Von Roehm, Black Rook

Beast, Feline Geneticist

Xorn, Shen Xorn

2 Havok, Critical Mass

Roberto Da Costa, Heir to the Throne

Wolverine, The Best at What He Does

Firestar, Hellion

Cyclops, Blue Leader

2 Callisto, Morlock Queen

Juggernaut, the Unstoppable

Plot Twists

The Evil Eye

Rebirth

Turnabout

2 X-Treme Maneuver

X-Men United

Locations

2 X-Corp: Paris

X-Corp: Hong Kong

Sewer System

Harry’s Hideaway

Equipment

Blackbird Blue

For those who are wondering what textbook suggests that Blackbird Blue (associated with weenie rush decks like X-Faces) is best used with a curve that stretches all the way to 7, I should explain. It’s the textbook with a chapter dedicated to the Thunderbolts and X-Men Modern Age deck I mentioned in the preparation article. The two decks play with the same sense of controlled aggression, relying heavily on recovery effects and X-Treme Maneuver to survive the opponent’s initiative unscathed.

The games against Adam Bernstein, Gabriel Willmon, and Michael Jacob were like a dream, and like most of my dreams, I remember very little from the three wins. I can tell you that in one game, Longshot, Hero of Mojoworld got to use his deck-stacking ability every turn from turn 2 onward. I would normally feel badly for an opponent who had to face a draw like that, but at this point I was too deep in the zone to feel sympathy as I hit 14-5.

You’ll have to wait until the second part for the final draft. In the meantime, stay fearless!

Ian “With a Big Lineman Inside Bursting to Get Out” Vincent

* I played for two seasons and will write that article one day, but not today.

** Except against me, where you’ve got good reason to be really scared . . . honest!

*** Replacing your team-up is often painful, but I can’t help feeling that Adam was a little unlucky with this one.

**** The lack of good British drafters in other games has been a running joke for quite some time.