Thanks to all of you who generously submitted comments and suggestions after reading my first draft column.

The second draft in the series was a six-player event, because we had twelve eager drafters rock up to the palatial Sydney Games Centre on the evening of March 8, and nobody wanted to draft in a four-player pod. Fortunately, to compensate for one less round in the following coverage, this week’s guinea pig did plenty of talking. I will do my best to share with you everything I can decipher from my scribblings on the night.

Said guinea pig is none other than Alex Brown, a.k.a. Uly on the forums. Renowned for his command of the challenging Teen Titans deck, he is one of only two players to make back to back Top 4s at Australian $10K events. He was runner-up in Sydney and lost in the Melbourne semifinals to the eventual winner.

1. The Pre-Draft Interrogation

PR: What are the top commons in the set?

AB: There’s only a limited number of generic cards, and they are always better early picks since flexibility is so important in draft. I find it much more relevant to know what cards are the strongest commons in each archetype. It’s not good enough to go into an affiliation just because there are a lot of cards of that affiliation in a pack. They have to be good cards. An example would be going Underworld because of Zarathos or Strength of the Grave. These are game-winning cards that justify a deck. In comparison, cards like Mist Form or Blackout may be good, but aren’t really at the level required to justify moving into an affiliation.

PR: Which affiliation(s) do you like? Do you like them enough to force them?

AB: I’m open to all four, but I have a little commentary on each. Crime Lords is the deepest affiliation. Marvel Knights is the shallowest. The plot twists are heavily contested, and too many of the characters require a reveal to recruit. X-Statix guys are really average, so go for them for their plot twists, not their dudes. Underworld is all about synergy. They can be the most powerful team if you really consider your picks, but will be weak if you don’t see why Skinner is an amazing card.

At the moment, I am considering forcing Marvel Knights or Crime Lords, because I am not as confident with them as the other affiliations [and I want to improve]. That said, I think forcing is a great idea when your card knowledge is limited, and is consequently not very relevant when your card evaluation in a set is good. Someone with good card evaluation doesn’t really force anything. They just know what they can and can’t get away with. (I am not trying to get Zen here.)

PR: What does your optimal curve look like? Do you like or dislike concealed characters in your deck?

2-drops: 4
3-drops: 4
4-drops: 4
5-drops: 3
6-drops: 3
7-drops: 2

AB: If I have to work the numbers for a stellar 1-drop (which I think are few and far between, but let’s say Roscoe Sweeny), I would cut a 2-drop. In other formats, I liked more 3- and 4-drops than 2-drops, but the low DEF of this set makes team attacking and reinforcement amazing. In Vs. draft, I believe in protecting your curve at all costs, so I will take any guy that fills the curve, regardless of concealment.

PR: Anything else before we get started?

AB: I think people stick to their first picks too much. There is an essay on this, so for now I would just say be flexible, but also be aware of what you give as your first couple of picks. Dudes will complain to you infi later about the archetype you apparently cut them out of!

2. The Draft

First Pack

1. No Rest for the Wicked, Varnae, Spider-Man, The Spectacular Spider-Man
2. Jigsaw, Drive-by Shooting, Blade, The Daywalker
3. Roscoe Sweeny, Jaime Ortiz ◊ Damage, Elektra, Elektra Natchios

That was an incredible first pack, which not only included a Hypnotic Charms in addition to the three characters above, but also a Morbius to retrieve it. It’s unusual to have drafted more red than blue after three cards, but Roscoe is a windmill-slam of a first pick and almost certainly a good sign that Alex’s second pick was in the right affiliation. Alex rates Drive-by Shooting quite highly, but also knows that Crime Lords 5-drops need to be snapped up wherever possible, particularly a quality one like Jigsaw. Varnae was a definite contender in the first pack, but Alex opted for the safer generic choice. Combined with the Hypnotic Charms, it’s hopefully convinced his downstream neighbor to at least consider Underworld.

4. Jigsaw, No Rest for the Wicked, Kingpin, Wilson Fisk, Uprising
5. Mr. Fear, Echo, Anarchist, Tike Alicar

Alex later told me that this was an irritating choice. He doesn’t rate Mr. Fear at all, but he thought that it was the best pick to avoid sending a mixed signal downstream. Echo was probably a better card for his deck.

6. Sniper, Typhoid Mary
7. Psychoville, Skinner, Evil Awakens

Psychoville was a fine location to pick up on the shortened “wheel.” Apparently, Sniper was a no-brainer over the 6-drop, because it is “the nut high.” Roughly translated, this means that in addition to the potential for early beats and a +3 ATK bonus to late game team attacks, it also allows Crime Lords to make optimal formations for all of their reinforcement tricks. Another bonus is that Drive-by Shooting becomes insane.

8. Iron Fist, Danny Rand, Doop, Forward Observer, Cloak, Child of Darkness
9. Marked for Death, Werewolf by Night, Micro-Chip
10. Kingpin, Wilson Fisk, Orphan, Good Guy, Children of the Night

Kingpin unbelievably did a lap around the table, and Alex appeared to briefly consider doing a celebratory lap himself. He was also happy with the quality of his 9th pick plot twist, which he feels is underrated.

The last four picks in order were Overexposed, Bloke, Vengeance, and Quentin Carnival.

Second Pack

1. The Family, Luke Cage, Street Enforcer, Mr. Hyde
2. Moon Knight, Jigsaw
3. Psychoville, Punisher, Executioner, Suicide

Some gap filling started off the second pack. Alex obtained only three playable non-recruits in the first pack, so he snapped up two more with his first and third picks here. Both of his first pick plot twists were solid but unspectacular. Despite his high regard for Jigsaw, the 4- or-6-drop potential of Moon Knight was too enticing to refuse, particularly since he had no characters in either slot so far.

4. Bullseye, Deadly Marksman, The Rose, Shadowy Lieutenant, Shakedown
5. Sniper, Blackheart
6. Saracen, Ghost Rider, Johnny Blaze, Nightmare

Even though he had no 6-drops (except a boosted Moon Knight) or 7-drops, Alex opted for Saracen because of the synergy it has with the two Snipers already in his pile. Bullseye was a gift at fourth pick, and Alex went from zero to three impressive 4-drops in the space of five cards.

 
7. Mr. Hyde, Caretaker
8. U-Go-Girl, Eddie Sawyer, Lacuna
9. Cloak, Child of Darkness, Micro-Chip

He had a decent seventh pick on the wheel, but slim pickings from the next two packs. U-Go-Girl marked the realization that any 6-drop was better than none, and Cloak looked like it would be unplayable unless Alex beefed up his Marvel Knights numbers.

10. Armed Escort, Caretaker
11. Frog Man, The Darkhold
12. Nightmare

Just when everybody thought the second pack had run out of steam, Alex amazingly scored his first 7-drop! Frog Man was a backup plan if no more 3-drops materialized, but not a particularly good one. The equipment was an experimental pick, whereas Caretaker would have been a pure hate draft, given Alex’s lack of Marvel Knights bodies.

The last two picks were Club Dead and Quentin Carnival.

Third Pack

1. Face the Master, Moving Target, Daredevil, Protector of Hell’s Kitchen
2. Luke Cage, Power Man, Masked Marauder, Nuke
3. Daredevil, Guardian Devil, Ghost Rider, Johnny Blaze, Elektra, Agent of the Hand

At last, a first pick plot twist worthy of the title. And How Lucky™ that Alex’s 6-drop shortage coincided with a 6-drop you’d be tempted to take, even if you already had ten of them. The Masked Marauder is a solid option, but it never stood a chance against Power Man. Daredevil could have been Alex’s last shot at a second 7-drop, so he made the most of it.

4. Drive-by Shooting, Mr. Fear
5. Shakedown, Jester

Two fine additions to Alex’s blue pay off his choice of affiliation, despite the absence of many impressive Crime Lords characters in the third pack so far.

6. Mr. Hyde, Ghost Rider, Johnny Blaze, Mr. Fear
7. Moving Target, Deposed
8. Nuke, Nightmare

Johnny Blaze seemed destined never to make the team when Alex decided that his 3-drops were in a far worse state than his 6-drops. Fortunately, he only had to wait two more picks before getting another chance to address the 6-drop shortage. In between, he scored a quality plot twist that had already done a lap around the table.

9. Ghost Rider, Johnny Blaze, Elektra, Agent of the Hand
10. Mr. Fear
11. U-Go-Girl, Eddie Sawyer, Nekra
12. Gin Genie
13. Carbone’s Assassins

Johnny finally made the cut when Alex decided his Marvel Knights numbers were too low even to contemplate Elektra. The draft appeared to be winding down with some random characters from the under-drafted X-Statix affiliation, until a bonus playable fell into Alex’s lap on the second to last pick.

The last card was Go in Swinging.

 
3. The Deck

1: Carbone’s Assassins, Roscoe Sweeny
2: Iron Fist, Danny Rand, 2 Sniper
3: Kingpin, Wilson Fisk, 2 Mr. Hyde
4: Bullseye, Deadly Marksman, Cloak, Child of Darkness, Moon Knight, Saracen
5: 2 Jigsaw, Mr. Fear
6: Ghost Rider, Johnny Blaze, Luke Cage, Power Man, Nuke
7: Daredevil, Guardian Devil, Nightmare

Equipment: Armed Escort

Plot Twists: Drive-by Shooting, Face the Master, Marked for Death, Moving Target, No Rest for the Wicked, Shakedown, The Family

Locations: 2 Psychoville

Initial impressions were that the deck was not bad, but far from optimal.

The curve was missing a 3-drop or a 4-drop, depending on which of the two unenviable options was chosen for the 30th card. In the end, Cloak triumphed over Frog Man when Alex counted five “revealable” Marvel Knights cards. He regarded both of these options more favorably than the 32nd card, which was the second Mr. Fear.

The Armed Escort was being tested for the first time, but the experiment proved spectacularly inconclusive, because he never laid eyes on it throughout the tournament.

Just before the first round, I asked him which initiative he would take if given the choice. His answer was odds, because he was confident of hitting one of his two 7-drops.

Alex: “I just hope I don’t run into Varnae . . . ”

4. The Matches

First Round Opponent: Scott

Not Scott Hunstad, the all-conquering hero from my last draft report, but rather Scott Smith, the highest ranked Sealed Pack player in the country (and top 10 in the world!)

Alex lost the toss and received evens. He mulliganed his hand of Sniper, Ghost Rider, Johnny Blaze, The Family, and Psychoville . . .

Alex: “Roscoe makes every mulligan feel like a smart move.”

. . . and drew into Iron Fist, Sniper, Moon Knight, Mr. Fear, Face the Master, and No Rest for the Wicked.

Scott dropped Micro-Chip on turn 1. Alex went for Sniper on turn 2, but Scott replied with Steel Wind and cackled—appropriately, I think.

Alex under-dropped Iron Fist on the next turn. Even though Scott missed his 3-drop altogether, Steel Wind was still able to swing for a point while making a counterattack unappealing to Alex.

Alex drew both copies of Mr. Hyde during his next draw phase and admitted that it was “hard to stay psychologically balanced” at times like this. Still, things were looking up when he dropped Bullseye, Deadly Marksman, discarding Marked for Death. However, Scott’s reply of Luke Cage, Street Enforcer was certainly no slouch.

The best Alex could manage was a Bullseye against a reinforced Steel Wind, and then Iron Fist against Micro-Chip, who was able to trade when the attacker was dragged Out of the Darkness. Luke returned fire at Sniper.

So after four turns, Alex had Bullseye, Sniper, a row of unrevealed resources, and a lead of 39 endurance to 36. Scott had Luke Cage and Micro-Chip, and had revealed a Midnight Sons and an Out of the Darkness. From this relatively balanced state, Scott had a turn that flipped the game upside down.

He started by using his team-up to drop Blade, The Daywalker. Having drawn neither of his Jigsaws, Alex could reply only with Mr. Fear, who protected Bullseye after formation.

Scott then flipped Made Men and exhausted Micro-Chip to send his other two characters to the air. Luke delivered a Head Shot to Bullseye, and Blade swung into Mr. Fear and powered up to avoid the trade! Alex redirected to Sniper to keep both of his large drops in the game, but that tactic obviously took its toll on his endurance. When the dust settled, he had only 13 endurance, in contrast to Scott’s 35.

Turn 6 was more or less a formality to see whether Scott would give Alex a glimmer of hope by missing his drop. It was not to be. Not only did Spider-Man, The Spectacular Spider-Man hit the table to face off against Alex’s boosted Moon Knight, but Scott also activated Micro-Chip to reuse Head Shot for bonus style points.

When reflecting on the massacre, Alex decided that his formation of Mr. Fear protecting Bullseye would have been better reversed. That way, he could have allowed for the possibility of Scott’s characters gaining flight without any real downside. However, he was the first to admit that it probably wouldn’t have made too much of a difference on the final result.

Second Round Opponent: Minga

This is the same guy we met last week, and he sat down with the declaration, “My deck is not that hot.” He managed to win the toss, though, and took evens.

Alex kept his hand of Sniper, Mr. Hyde, Saracen, and Ghost Rider, Johnny Blaze. He then drew into Mr. Fear and Daredevil, giving him a perfect six card straight that he was forced to break to play a resource. He chose Saracen.

Minga’s only play on turn 2 was to announce, “Somebody hates me.” Alex went with the more conventional Sniper. Mr. Hyde predictably landed on turn 3, and Minga finally found a character in the shape of Sluk.

He kept the beats coming with U-Go-Girl, Tragic Teleporter on his next initiative. Alex replied by boosting Kingpin, Wilson Fisk, putting both counters on Mr. Hyde. U-Go-Girl took out an unreinforced Kingpin, and then Minga passed with Sluk at the ready. Alex swung Mr. Hyde into Sluk, and Minga evened the exchange with Blown to Pieces. Alex opted to lose Kingpin.

Again, Alex was only able to field the second-tier Mr. Fear, while Battering Ram came down on Minga’s side. Mr. Hyde and Sniper teamed up on the newcomer, and Minga decided it was time for the Sluk maneuver, leaving Battering Ram in pristine condition and Mr. Hyde stunned. Alex passed, and Minga, perhaps fearing a kill card, declined to swing back with Battering Ram. U-Go-Girl didn’t have the option because she was stuck in the support row without range, so she became the first of Minga’s Falling Stars, KO’ing Mr. Hyde.

While this might have seemed like a somewhat over-exuberant play, it made a lot more sense when U-Go-Girl, Eddie Sawyer joined Minga’s team on the next turn. Like most 6-drops, however, she was no match for Luke Cage, Power Man, who Alex positioned behind Mr. Fear.

U-Go-Girl swung down the curve into Mr. Fear, but she soon found herself toe to toe with Luke. Minga had forgotten that Luke had the Crime Lords affiliation (he immediately observed that he should have team attacked), and that one slip dramatically upended a game that had, until then, been quite evenly poised. He was able to save his 6-drop with Go in Swinging and KO Battering Ram to shut down the counterattack, but that left him with a single character to Alex’s three.

There are games in which a lone X-Statix character going into the seventh turn is a prelude to victory, but this was not to be one of them. When Alex dropped Daredevil, Guardian Devil, Minga could only counter with Punisher, Executioner and extend the hand.

Third Round Opponent: Luke

Alex lost the toss and received evens. He kept his hand of Carbone’s Assassins, Mr. Hyde, Psychoville, and Luke Cage, Power Man, then drew into Cloak, Child of Darkness and Daredevil, Guardian Devil.

Unfortunately, this was to be a very anti-climactic final round. Alex curved out on turns 1, 3 and 4 with the cards above, but Luke dropped nothing until U-Go-Girl, Tragic Teleporter on turn 4, despite having mulliganed.

Showing no mercy, Alex finally fielded Jigsaw for the first time. Luke could only under-drop Saracen in reply, and found himself on the receiving end of a 26 to 46 score line.

Luke hit curve for only the second time with Venus Dee Milo, Dee Milo, but when Power Man came down on the other side of the table, Luke had seen enough.

5. The Conclusion

It was an abbreviated but interesting evening, with two fairly close games hinging on a single turn. Thanks and congratulations to Alex for rebounding from 0-1 to 2-1, and thanks to everybody else for drafting and playing slowly enough to allow me to keep up. Again, please send any comments to vsrules@gmail.com, and we’ll draft again in two weeks!