As you probably know by now, this is “old school” week at Metagame.com—time for stubarnes to wax nostalgic about Longshot, Rebel Freedom Fighter and Primary Directive, and for Michael Barnes to relive his view of Xavier's Dream. I suppose I could talk about my affection for Deathwatch or Teen Titans, but I figured I'd try something different.
The primary reason I play Vs. System is for the people involved. The game mechanics drew me to the game, but it's the wonderful people and great matches that keep me coming back for more. With that said, why should I just talk about my favorite decks and favorite cards? Instead, I'm going to talk about my favorite matches (that I've been involved in).
All of these matches involve pressure situations and opponents I have nothing but respect for. There were crippling mistakes and lots of great plays. Enjoy the ride.
Finals, $10K Las Vegas
Opponent: Tim Batow
For over a year, my calling card was Titans and $10Ks. This was the first time I played the Titans in a $10K, and I found myself in the finals against Tim Batow. Tim had an unconventional My Beloved deck which seemed to have all the answers against my deck. Both Fizzle and Tower of Babel were excellent at breaking up my big turns with Teen Titans Go! and Press the Attack. Still, I was able to use quite a few copies of Finishing Move to disrupt Tim's loyalty-heavy curve and take game 1.
The second game was the heartbreaker. I made two crucial mistakes in that game. The first was on turn 2, when I played Roy Harper ◊ Speedy with the initiative and immediately used it to KO Tim’s Alfred Pennyworth. The mistake was obvious to me when Tim simply recruited a second copy of Alfred. If I had merely waited until he recruited a character, Tim wouldn't have been able to use his Alfred to find the key Flame Trap. The second mistake was on turn 6, when I had a board with Roy Harper ◊ Arsenal, Sharpshooter; Garth ◊ Tempest; and three characters that would get stunned by Flame Trap. Before Tim played a character on turn 6, he played the powerful plot twist. I had a pair of Press the Attack in my hand, but I only made my Roy Harper 10 ATK, stunned Tim's only character, and readied Roy Harper before letting the Flame Trap resolve. If I used the second Press merely to give him another +2 ATK (I could exhaust my Garth if necessary), I would have been able to stun whatever 6-drop Tim played, as none of them had more than 13 ATK. As it stood, Tim had a Tower of Babel and an Acrobatic Dodge to leave me unable to accomplish anything with my turn 6 initiative.
Game 3 wasn't much better, as Tim's Utility Belt on Spoiler ◊ Robin proved entirely too difficult for me to deal with effectively. The thing that hurts, though, is that there shouldn't have been a game 3.
As my success continued on the $10K circuit—albeit without a victory—this loss continued to haunt me. Would I ever get another shot at a $10K trophy?
Round 15, Pro Circuit Amsterdam
Opponent: Milton Figueroa
Heading into the last round of Marvel Knights Draft, Milton and I were both riding high with an 11-3 record and looking to 3-0 the pod. Our decks were fairly evenly matched, with the early game being decided by his Dracula's Castle and my lack of attack pumps. Despite being down early and missing my turn 5 drop, I knew it was Marvel Knights Draft, where games were rarely decided early. Unfortunately for me, Milton's hodgepodge of affiliations worked perfectly for him, as my inability to KO his early characters meant that he was able to recruit both Blade, Daywalker and Elektra, Agent of the Hand. While I was on the defensive the entire game, I figured I had enough DEF-boosting tricks to be good for a crucial brickwall. After playing the best cards the format had to offer, Milton finally did me in with one of the worst, Vanessa Fisk.
As it turns out, Milton was merely miles ahead of everyone else; he was putting Vanessa Fisk to good use long before mastermind Jason Hager took $10K Columbus by storm years later with the same card. Milton is so smart.
Round 15, Pro Circuit New York
Opponent: Eugene Harvey
Another round 15 match, another pair of players looking for a 3-0 draft pod. While Top 8 was still quite far for both of us, I still remember this round 15 because I basically lost the unlosable match. The situation was this:
On turn 5, I had the required four characters to flip In Darkest Night, and Eugene was unable to take many of them down. On turn 6, I had an off-curve plan ready to go, complete with a Qwardian Pincer and a monstrous Prison Planet. When Eugene used St'nlli to make his 5-drop concealed—leaving him with a lone Fiero in the visible area—I thought that I had the game won for sure. Eugene didn't seem to know that I had as much ATK pump as I did. After all, both of our endurance totals were well above 30.
I made my attacks and used every point of ATK pump I had to put Eugene at 0, with myself above 30 endurance and Eugene left with only two characters who could attack. Eugene, however, had almost as much ATK pump as I did, and he used an unbelievable number of support cards to put me at -2. The funny thing is, I didn't put much thought into my formation given that Eugene didn't have a concealed character and I had attacks. If I had simply put all my smaller characters (who had range) in the back row, Eugene wouldn't have had the breakthrough opportunities he needed to take the match.
Eugene would go on to finish 17th, while I would stumble along, losing to double Reaper / double Meltdown decks to finish 58th.
Round 11, $10K San Diego Comic Con '05
Opponent: Niles Rowland
Top 8 was on the line, and it wasn’t looking good for my Teen Titans deck. Nimrod's repair counter had allowed Niles to keep Nimrod standing along with Bastion despite my turn 6 initiative. I only had Garth ◊ Tempest; Roy Harper ◊ Arsenal, Sharpshooter; and Tim Drake ◊ Robin, Young Detective. When Niles recruited Magneto, Master of Magnetism, my Top 8 dreams were dashed . . . until he left both Bastion and Magneto in his support row. I used Optitron for Koriand'r ◊ Starfire, Alien Princess to put the sixth Teen Titans character in my KO'd pile, then shot down Bastion. Then I exhausted both Tim Drake and Garth to Roy Harper, then used Roy Harper to shoot my own Tim Drake, KO'ing a character to put the seventh character in the KO'd pile. In response to this, I played Press the Attack on Koriand'r to take out Magneto. With the two big guns out of the picture, I was able to survive the turn and secure my spot in the Top 8 on the following turn.
Finals, $10K San Diego Comic Con '05
Opponent: Scot Anderson
As I alluded to in my match against Tim Batow, I had a monkey on my back. As I found myself back in the finals, I really wanted the $10K trophy. Across the table, I found the unlikeliest of opponents, Scot Anderson. On a weekly basis, I played against Scot at our local Hobby League in Arizona. I had no idea Scot was coming until I saw him roaming around Comic Con shortly before the tournament. We kept tabs on each other throughout the tournament, and I had forgotten he was still in contention after his 0-2 start. When he was announced as part of the Top 8, I was shocked. Scot isn't really the competitive gamer type. He's more focused on writing books on how to be a bajillionaire than on recruiting superheroes in the most effective ways.
Nonetheless, I was faced with the task of dismantling the deck I had helped Scot with shortly before the tournament. While fighting the purple robots was normally a tough task for my Teen Titans, game 1 was a dream. Between aggressive use of Roy Harper ◊ Arsenal, Sharpshooter and lots of Finishing Move via Garth ◊ Tempest, I was able to keep Scot’s board to either zero characters or one character at the end of every turn. I was particularly impressed by my ability to stun Apocalypse with my Roy Harper pre-combat.
Game 2 started poorly, which could have easily ended in disaster for me. While I had the natural Dove ◊ Dawn Granger and Hawk ◊ Hank Hall, an underdrop on turn 3 and Scot's Flame Trap and Finishing Move on turn 4 left me with a lonely Tim Drake ◊ Robin, Young Detective going into turn 5. I was able to get back into the game with Red Star; Tamaran; and a few Teen Titans Go!, but now I had to deal with the dangerous end of the Sentinel deck. A timely Heroic Sacrifice on turn 6 and a boosted Tim Drake plus Titans Go on turn 7 gave me what I had craved for so long: a $10K trophy.
Round 10, Pro Circuit San Francisco
Opponent: Alex Smith
Going into PC: SF, I was in the midst of a poor run at Pro Circuits. I had missed Day 2 at the last two Pro Circuits, and I hadn't had a finish to be proud of since Amsterdam. San Francisco was looking to be a different story. On the back of the absurd Ivy League (Justice League of Arkham discard deck), I had found myself at 7-2. Unfortunately for me, I was paired against a deck that was responsible for both of my losses and a man that was clearly capable of handing me a third loss.
This seems quite absurd looking back on things, but until the Pro Circuit, I had never played against a single Cloak of Nabu, which was the main reason I had a difficult time against the Fate Squad decks. Much to my dismay, Alex was able to complete his entire Fate set on turn 2 against what looked to be a poor draw for me. On turn 3, I remember not having the option to play Dr. Light, Master of Holograms (it's amazing how many broken decks he showed up in!), so I settled on Cardiac. At that point, he would merely stem some bleeding rather than eliminate characters. Turn 4 was a little better, with me drawing a Dr. Light off the top (but unable to use the other resource point). Alex's hand was stripped, but I knew I wouldn't be able to get rid of any more cards the following turn, so I was at the mercy of Alex's draw step (or Golden Archer already in the resource row).
Alex had the dreaded Golden Archer, and between the walking McDonald’s pun and his 9 ATK / 9 DEF Joystick, my 22 endurance didn't look like much. While my turn 5 draws weren't exactly two copies of Justice League of Arkham), they were the next best thing: Beetle, Armorsmith and Enemy of My Enemy. I finally had my discard engine firing on all cylinders, and I wouldn't have to deal with any more characters from Alex. Coverage reporter Tim Willoughby had this to say:
“Adam drew, played his resource, recruited Evil Star, and then used Hope along with Dr. Light to create the blowout of Smith’s hand. Up 38 to 6, Alex was in quite a bit of trouble. I do not get to write sentences like that very often.”
The difference between 8-2 and 7-3 is huge in terms of positioning for Day 2. I was extremely happy to have my best Day 1 finish ever. I ended the tournament in 15th place, a finish I was extremely happy with for the first time in over a year.
Round 9, Pro Circuit Indy '06
Opponent: Tommy Ashton
Mohawkward.
If I had to make a list of my favorite people that I've met playing Vs System, Tommy Ashton would solidly be at number 2. No, I'm not telling who number 1 is. Sorry.
At this point, both Tommy and I were on the bubble for Day 2 with 5-3 records. I didn't pick this match for its importance in the tournament, however; I picked it simply because it was the most enjoyable match I've ever played. By the time it was over, I had completely forgotten about its implication for the tournament.
As for the match itself, the major turning point occurred when Tommy didn't search out Cloak of Nabu to protect his Ahmed Samsarra from a potential June Moon ◊ Enchantress, Good Witch. This, combined with my Magical Conduit, forced Tommy to recover his Ahmed over bigger characters just to prevent the alternate loss condition.
I honestly wish that every match would be played like this. And if you're reading this, Tommy, remember that “everybody sucks but me.”
Big Timin’ with a Big Deck, Pro Circuit Indy ’06
Opponent: “The” Ben Seck
Shortly before this Pro Circuit, I wrote an article about a format I had created called Big Deck. I figured that Vs. needed a truly casual format, but I didn't know how many people would actually build their own big decks. Fortunately for my format, “The” Ben Seck took a liking to it and decided to talk about it in his PC: Indy blog. He even decided to find some commons and uncommons people had left around throughout the weekend and build a deck himself.
One game. Bright lights. 200 cards. My all-concealed Big Deck against TBS's Infinite Crisis Draft leftovers. A match only the feature match pit could contain. I ended up winning the game on turn 6 with a Vanessa Fisk-backed assault set up by St'nlli. Somehow, both Vanessa Fisk and St'nlli have been mentioned twice, in unrelated incidents. I don't know how this happened either.
Needless to say, my favorite format was born with a game against one of my favorite people.
Rounds 15 and 18, Pro Circuit Los Angeles ’06
Opponent: Michael Jacob
One of my best memories from Pro Circuit Los Angeles (besides winning, of course), was my pair of fantastic matches against a man I consider to be the best player on the planet, Michael Jacob. I detailed these matches in my Pro Circuit report, which you can find here.
In case you're too lazy to click on the link, I'll recap briefly. In the first match, both of us had bad decks. This definitely favored Mike, as he is truly a master at getting the most out of poor cards and awkward situations.
(Fun Fact: Mike's love of Litterbug borders on obsession. If you sneak the word “Litterbug” into normal conversation with Mike, he might go into a frenzied state.)
Both of us rushed through the end of turn 5, with Mike forgetting to attack with his Lockjaw, Inhuman’s Best Friend and me not activating my Attilan. I felt I would simply win on turn 6, with Firelord, Harbinger of Havoc adding to an impressive board for me. For his part, Mike underdropped some Kree characters and a concealed Luna Maximoff, and put all his characters in the support row, practically telling me he had The Infamous Seven . . . except he didn't have it. All he had were enough Nasty Surprise-type effects to stun all my visible characters, letting him attack me directly with Armageddon! Somehow, this put us tied in the negatives, so we went another turn. On that extra turn, with the initiative, Mike squeezed every bit of power from his cards and barely finished me.
This gave me my fourth loss of the weekend, which meant I would either have to win out or trust the tiebreaker fairy with a single loss. As for another shot at Mike, I would only have to wait a few short rounds.
One of the most spectacular plays in all of Vs. System is the press turn. There is nothing quite like recruiting 16 resource points worth of characters on turn 6, then getting extra benefits for recruiting extra characters (as though you need more incentive to play a bunch of characters). The drawback to press is that it is often hard to set up these amazing turns without sacrificing the rest of the game. Playing for Top 8 at the Pro Circuit, I found myself staring down the best player in the world after one of these incredibly powerful turns.
Did I mention this was Draft?
My instinctive reaction was to complain as much as possible about how broken press is to R&D member Dave Humphreys, who is usually the feature match judge.
To this day, I'm not sure how I escaped that turn alive, as Mike had literally twice the ATK in play that I did, and he could access my concealed area courtesy of Korath the Pursuer. But fortune smiled upon me on turn 7. When Mike played Ronan the Accuser, Supreme Public Accuser, he couldn't use Ronan’s powerful ability because I only had two cards left in my deck! I was able to make favorable attacks and win the game to secure my spot in the Top 8.
Going 1-1 in these matches—with both being great games—gave me a boost of confidence. It's something similar to playing Garry Kasparov to a draw in chess.
Finals, Pro Circuit Los Angeles ’06
Opponent: Ryan Jones
How could I not include this? It's not often you get to play in a Pro Circuit Final. I'll leave the details to my Pro Circuit report, but I have to say that I don't think I've ever played better in my life. If I had the power to pick the time I would play the best Vs. I've ever played, I would think I chose wisely.
Writing about these games I've played has certainly brought back some fond memories. I was worried that I wouldn't remember details, but I was able to recall each match without much trouble. I guess playing the best game in the world with some of the best people I've met makes things easier.
Adam Prosak has played some great games of Vs. System. If you have your own memorable matches of Vs. that you’d like to share, send them to jezuitsoljaz@yahoo.com and we can remember how much fun cards with superheroes on them can be.