I know everyone out there has been waiting for PC Los Angeles. It’s so exciting to see which professional teams broke the format. A few weeks back, everyone thought that PC Los Angeles was going to be a boring format full of Teen Titans and Curve Sentinels. Well, needless to say, $10K Orlando and $10K London happened. People realized that cards from the Avenger set were very powerful and synergistic with other Golden Age cards. Since $10K Atlanta, every major team in Avengers but Masters of Evil has seen its shining moment in the Top 8. The metagame looks quite healthy after counting up all the decklists. Even the major pro teams couldn’t all decide on the best deck.

Metagame Breakdown

Out of the 291 competitors, 57 (nineteen percent) decided to show up with Squadron Supreme. The deck is very straightforward; the plan is to empty your hand and end the game by turn 5. Most of the Squadron decks are very similar, but there are some differences in choice of plot twists and equipment. The inclusion of Jetpack or Dual Sidearms is a major difference between lists. Another is either Surprise Attack or AIDA. Both of those cards’ functionality is very different and both should be played in different expected metagames. Ryan Lockhart, Matt Boccio, Dan Bridy, and John Fiorillo came up with an interesting version of this deck. They decided to make it more consistent and “balls to the walls” with cards like Human Torch, Johnny Storm; Mammomax; Surprise Attack; and Flamethrower.

Forty-three players decided to show up with those hated Robots. Fifteen percent of the competitors decided that Sentinels would give them the best chance at achieving the necessary and very tough six wins. Sentinel will always be a popular deck. They have the best 5- and 6-drop the game has to offer. Most people in Los Angeles are playing cards like Micro-Sentinels, Search and Destroy, Flame Trap, and Total Anarchy to make sure their Nimrods and Bastions will see the light of day.

The Avengers Reservist deck was run by forty-one people, or fourteen percent of the metagame. This deck won the last two $10K events, so it’s no surprise how popular it is. Will Michael Jacob win this PC with one of his wacky signature decks? Or will the Hawkeye, Clinton Barton not be enough to keep those pesky Squadron Supreme characters in check?

Teen Titans was represented by twenty-eight competitors, or nine percent of the metagame. Accomplished pros like Adam Prosak decided to play this deck mainly because it’s still the one deck that breaks all the rules of the game. In TCGs, decks that do things that no other decks do are usually very powerful and deadly if they’re played well. Teen Titans’ ability to stun outside combat, not stun while attacking, and get lots of card advantage will allow Adam Prosak and others to make Day 2, even though the metagame flew past them.

This Pro Circuit is a great event for Vs. System. We have a healthy metagame. We have great competitors competing for the top prize. Will we see some crazy creation in the Top 8? Will the change in the number of rounds that makes the Draft as valuable as Constructed have a big impact? Whatever the answer is, you can only find out by staying tuned to Metagame.com all weekend long!