Shadowpact may not be the most popular deck in DC Modern Age, but the first four rounds have seen several Shadowpact variants posting impressive records. One of the most unique variants, of course, belongs to The Donkey Club. While initially testing a straight Shadowpact build, four of the Donkeys—Neil Reeves, Adam Bernstein, Gabe Walls, and Karl Horn—are playing an interesting concoction that splashes Secret Six. The result is something between ludicrous and phenomenal.
According to Neil Reeves, the primary focus of the deck is to utilize the powerful Shadowpact Magic plot twists with Manitou Dawn and Blackbriar Thorn. Manitou Dawn helps the Shadowpact player maintain his endurance, while Blackbriar Thorn becomes a formidable barrier for opposing attacks. In fact, Blackbriar Thorn is so important to the deck that the Donkeys are willing to underdrop him in later turns. Of course, Blackbriar Thorn needs a lot of help becoming a behemoth; that’s where the Secret Six comes in. Utilizing the little-used Team-Up, Help Wanted, the Donkeys are able to get Secret Six into the mix without actually having to recruit any Secret Six characters. Once teamed-up, Scandal searches out powerful ongoing Magic plot twists like Collecting Souls and Magical Lobotomy.
With over a third of the deck comprised of Magic plot twists, the Shadowpact player usually has little problem getting Blackbriar Thorn large enough to bounce most attacks. Then, the second phase of the Secret Six strategy comes into play, as the Shadowpact player uses Lex Luthor ◊ Mockingbird to bring out extra copies of Manitou Dawn and Blackbriar Thorn during the recovery phase. The core of the strategy is rounded out as It’s Not Over Yet keeps stunned characters around to foil opposing plans.
The incredible power of this strategy was shown to me in Neil Reeves’s third round match, where he was able to bounce a 17 ATK Bizarro, ME AM BIZARRO #1 with his 19 ATK / 19 DEF Blackbriar Thorn. As if this were not enough, he managed to sneak another copy of Blackbriar Thorn and Manitou Dawn into play at the end of the turn (thanks to Mockingbird). Facing down a 19 ATK / 19 DEF 2-drop going into turn 5, his opponent wasn’t able to put up much of a fight.
As Neil heads into round 5, he sits on a 3-1 record — proof enough that the Donkeys’ Shadowpact variant can hang with Good Guys and Checkmate/Villains United. Only time will tell if the deck is formidable enough to take him all the way to a PC title, but one thing is certain: Shadowpact/Secret Six is a deck that will definitely shake up the DC Modern Age.