This week I am featuring Scott Smith, the former #1-ranked Sealed Pack player in the world and the reigning $10K Melbourne Champion. Scott recently had to scale back his Vs. System commitments due to starting work as a teacher, but he remains as formidable a force as ever on the Australian Sealed Pack scene. This was one of the more conceptually difficult drafts I have done for this set, and it offers a unique perspective to this column—the drafting of an archetypal deck rather than just a team-up deck. While I think Scott’s inexperience with the format hurt him, those of you planning to play this format at PC Indy will know that forgiveness is not readily handed out at such events, and you would do well to avoid some of the subtle errors made by Scott in this draft.
Pack 1, Pick 1
Bizarro, ME AM BIZARRO #1; Detective Chimp, Bobo T. Chimpanzee; Ishmael Gregor ◊ Sabbac, Malevolent Marvel; Thanagar; Dr. Occult, Richard Occult; The Calculator, Crime Broker; Absolute Dominance; Animal Man, Buddy Baker; Join Us or Die; Abjuration, Magic; Ted Grant ◊ Wildcat, Golden Age Pugilist; Cheshire, Jade; Stepping Between Worlds, Magic; Sand, Sanderson Hawkins
If you have been following this column over the weeks that Infinite Crisis has been featured, you will have seen something of an evolution in my thinking as to the Shadowpact cards (namely, Abjuration). In some respects, I have come full circle. I totally endorse Abjuration as the pick here.
There are several other good cards in the pack. I would count Ted Grant and Cheshire as the best of these, or at least the earliest picks among the characters. Still, I can’t go past the raw power of Abjuration. There are all sorts of unofficial rules about picking characters over plot twists and generic cards first, but Abjuration is a powerful enough effect and important enough within the format to take a risk first pick.
Scott picks: Abjuration, Magic
My pick: Abjuration, Magic
Pack 1, Pick 2
Leslie Thompkins’s Clinic; Charles McNider ◊ Dr. Mid-Nite, Golden Age Academic; Talia, Daughter of Madness; Graziella Reza, Knight; Brothers in Arms; Dr. Psycho, Twisted Telepath; The Calculator, Noah Kuttler; Prince Khufu ◊ Hawkman, Eternal Warrior; Zatanna, Showstopper; Kendra Saunders ◊ Hawkgirl, Eternal Heroine; Prince Khufu ◊ Hawkman, Eternal Warrior; Checkmate Safe House, Team-Up; Ragdoll, Resilient Rogue
The strongest card in the pack is probably Kendra, though already having an Abjuration makes Zatanna a good enough call. Quality 6-drops are hard to come by in this set. Zatanna gives us the best possible Abjuration target on turn 6 and takes some of the pressure of finding more 6-drops later. Passing the Kendra probably puts the next guy into JSA, though it is early enough in the draft that if we are confronted with more JSA in the next few packs, we shouldn’t hesitate.
Scott picks: Zatanna, Showstopper
My pick: Zatanna, Showstopper
Pack 1, Pick 3
Cloak of Nabu, Fate Artifact; Ishmael Gregor ◊ Sabbac, Malevolent Marvel; Roy Harper ◊ Arsenal, Knight; Batman, Earth 2; Help Wanted, Team-Up; Black Alice, Lori Zechlin; Rann; Justice United, Team-Up; Dr. Psycho, Twisted Telepath; Nightshade, Eve Eden; Harry Stein, King in Check; Taking Up the Mantle
I would have automatically picked Black Alice here. Scott said later that he didn’t like Black Alice at all and just never wanted her in his deck. I think that the archetypal endurance loss Shadowpact deck needs Black Alice to be good. I find that the deck is not popular because the cards it needs are uncommon, and not because those same cards are not good. Picking up both Abjuration and Black Alice in your first three picks gives you a fantastic look at that deck, and I don’t think you can ignore it.
Scott went with Rann instead, which is an okay pick if we blank Alice from the pack. Still, even then I would likely have gone with a character like Roy on that line of reasoning. Rann and Thanagar are cards that meet a lot of controversy, with some players seeing them as amazing and others as filler. I think they are overrated, but you will have to make up your own mind on that.
Scott picks: Rann
My pick: Black Alice, Lori Zechlin
Pack 1, Pick 4
Cheetah, Feral Feline; Mystical Binding, Magic; Ibis, Prince Amentep; Jamie Reyes ◊ Blue Beetle, High-Tech Hero; Cheshire, Jade; Return of Donna Troy; Rann; Help Wanted, Team-Up; Amanda Waller, Black Queen; Prince Khufu ◊ Hawkman, Eternal Hero; Sinestro, Villain Reborn
Scott has been somewhat blessed with packs full of playable cards, and even here he has a choice not only between teams, but also between decent Shadowpact cards. There aren’t any real standout non-Shadowpact cards in my mind, so we might as well stay on course with either Ibis or Mystical Binding. Ibis can be mediocre in a lot of decks, but not a pure endurance loss strategy. Due to this, he tends to wheel, as not many decks can rely on him. Mystical Binding is one of the staple Shadowpact cards available, so the choice seems relatively easy in the end.
Scott picks: Mystical Binding, Magic
My pick: Mystical Binding, Magic
Pack 1, Pick 5
The Calculator, Evil Oracle; Relentless Pursuit; Dr. Psycho, Mental Giant; Mordru, Dark Lord; Knightmare Scenario; Secret Checkmate HQ; Fate Has Spoken; Black Thorn, Elizabeth Thorn; Lois Lane, Earth 2; Surveillance Pawn, Army
This is very surprising, and somewhat fortunate. The 3-drop Calculator is one of the premier commons in the set, and for four people to pass on him first pack is strange indeed. Further, that there is no good Shadowpact pick here is a little unnerving but not altogether horrible given that we get into another team with what is almost a bomb. At this stage we should reconfigure our whole idea of the deck we are trying to build from mono-Shadowpact to Pact/Villains United.
Scott picks: The Calculator, Evil Oracle
My pick: The Calculator, Evil Oracle
Pack 1, Pick 6
Count Vertigo, Werner Vertigo; Rook Control; Jakeem Williams, JJ Thunder; Baddest of the Bad; Dr. Light, Furious Flashpoint; Justice United, Team-Up; Graziella Reza, Knight; Target Acquired; A Moment of Crisis
This is one of those packs that looks mediocre but presents a trap. Scott picked Justice United—the most generic of team-ups in this format—probably thinking that this pack was a little too bland to do anything else. I think he missed an opportunity here to really build on a deck the packs were offering him. I would have picked Baddest of the Bad.
The fifth pick Calculator was a gift, but it had to be read as a signal. At this point, and particularly with a pack that doesn’t seem to be going anywhere else, I think we are defaulting to VU/Pact. Team-Ups are almost a dime a dozen in this format, and we already have Rann in an emergency. I think Baddest is the play so that we ensure we hit our crucial characters, like Calculator and the good Shadowpact characters. When these two teams combine, you have to be on the lookout for the very cheaply attainable Nightmaster, Jim Rook, who can be used to power all of your bounce spells. Due to all of this, I think an opportunity was missed here, though a strong knowledge of the format may have been necessary to make this move.
Scott picks: Justice United, Team-Up
My pick: Baddest of the Bad
Pack 1, Pick 7
Dr. Fate, Hector Hall; Ultra-Humanite, Metahuman Manipulator; Lois Lane, Earth 2; Living Legacy; Fiddler, Isaac Bowin; Cheshire, Jade; Ibis, Prince Amentep; Allied Against the Dark
Again, although Scott does not make a horrible pick here by any means, I would have chosen differently. Ibis is fine, but he comes very cheap, and with Calculator now in the mix, our need for 3-drops isn’t that crucial. Cheshire, on the other hand, is very good for the deck we seem to be trying to build. 11 DEF is too good to pass up for me, particularly as we have no 5-drops yet.
Scott picks: Ibis, Prince Amentep
My pick: Cheshire, Jade
Pack 1, Pick 8
Secret Six Victorious; The Phantom Stranger, Fallen Angel; Checkmate Armory; Cheetah, Feral Feline; Fiddler, Isaac Bowin; Target Acquired; Knight Armor
Again, I thought this pick was straightforward. The Phantom Stranger is a good 7-drop and an even better trick. We have no 7-drops, and anything that enhances our Abjuration seems good for our chances of brickwalling. Scott went with Cheetah, saying that he thought he was going to need early characters for the Calculator. Cheetah is not a bad character by any means, but I think we can expect a few Jim Rooks to fill this void.
Scott picks: Cheetah, Feral Feline
My pick: The Phantom Stranger, Fallen Angel
Pack 1, Pick 9
Bizarro, ME AM BIZARRO #1; Detective Chimp, Bobo T. Chimpanzee; Absolute Dominance; Animal Man, Buddy Baker; Join Us or Die; Stepping Between Worlds, Magic
This column has talked of cards being controversial. Well, none seem to be as controversial as Bizarro. So many people can’t stand him. I—and Scott—on the other hand, love him, particularly as he wheels so much. I would be very happy taking Bizarro here, though Animal Man would probably be an acceptable pick for anyone else, as he tends to be conservative in all the ways Bizarro is radical. I think it is too early to be picking up Stepping Between Worlds.
Scott picks: Bizarro, ME AM BIZARRO #1
My pick: Bizarro, ME AM BIZARRO #1
Pack 1, Pick 10
Leslie Thompkins’s Clinic; Talia, Daughter of Madness; Dr. Psycho, Twisted Telepath; The Calculator, Noah Kuttler; Prince Khufu ◊ Hawkman, Eternal Warrior
Scott and I seem to be differing on the little things. I don’t really like the 1-drop Calculator, particularly before I have a Coercion. I would have much preferred to pick up a semi-playable card like Talia or Dr. Psycho, just as insurance. Even Prince Khufu appeals to me more.
Scott picks: The Calculator, Noah Kuttler
My pick: Talia, Daughter of Madness
Pack 1, Pick 11
Help Wanted, Team-Up; Nightshade, Eve Eden; Harry Stein, King in Check; Dr. Psycho, Twisted Telepath
I don’t really like non-Nightmaster 1-drops in this deck and would have continued on with the theme of my thinking in the last pack, taking Dr. Psycho. I think this is a matter of taste rather than judgment, though.
Scott picks: Nightshade, Eve Eden
My pick: Dr. Psycho, Twisted Telepath
Pack 1, Pick 12
Ibis, Prince Amentep; Jamie Reyes ◊ Blue Beetle, High-Tech Hero; Amanda Waller, Black Queen
A very easy pick and proof of my assertions above as to the ease with which this card wheels. Surprising that the pack as a whole is very good.
Scott picks: Ibis, Prince Amentep
My pick: Ibis, Prince Amentep
Pack 1, Pick 13
Fate Has Spoken, Magic; Mordru, Dark Lord
There aren’t many cards that facilitate Fate Has Spoken. One of them is in the pack. I think it’s much safer to take the 5-drop here.
Scott picks: Mordru, Dark Lord
My pick: Mordru, Dark Lord
Pack 1, Pick 14
Count Vertigo, Werner Vertigo
Pack 2, Pick 1
Blue Devil, Dan Cassidy; Chay-Ara ◊ Hawkgirl, Eternal Companion; Forbidden Loyalties, Team-Up; Huntress, Reluctant Queen; Kendra Saunders ◊ Hawkgirl, Eternal Heroine; Cheetah, Feral Feline; Brother I Satellite; Connie Webb, Knight; Threat Neutralized; Secret Six Victorious; Annihilation Protocol ◊ OMAC Robot, Army; Heroic Rescue; Nightshade, Shadow Siren; Epic Battle
With no standout VU card in the pack, it seems like the pick is between Blue Devil and Nightshade. Blackbriar Thorn, Manitou Dawn, and other 2-drops tend to wheel for Shadowpact, and the team itself doesn’t really require a strong early presence. Nightshade can be very strong by herself, especially when possessed of multiple Mystical Bindings. A solid first pick.
Scott picks: Nightshade, Shadow Siren
My pick: Nightshade, Shadow Siren
Pack 2, Pick 2
Zatanna, Showstopper; Kendra Saunders ◊ Hawkgirl, Eternal Heroine; Manitou Dawn, Spirit Shaman; Secret Checkmate HQ; Fiddler, Isaac Bowin; Brainiac, Earth 2; Blackbriar Thorn, Druid of Cymru; Jacob Lee, Knight; Wesley Dodds ◊ The Sandman, Golden Age Gunman; Relentless Pursuit; Black Adam, Teth-Adam; Ibis, Prince Amentep; Epic Battle
A pretty easy second pick, as Teth-Adam is one of the best 5-drops in a format full of them. That there are two 2-drops and Zatanna here should mean that we wheel something. With the cheap Justice United we may even be interested in Brainiac later.
Scott picks: Black Adam, Teth-Adam
My pick: Black Adam, Teth-Adam
Pack 2, Pick 3
Blackbriar Thorn, Druid of Cymru; Adam Strange, Champion of Rann; Brainiac, Earth 2; The Phantom Stranger, Fallen Angel; Mystical Binding, Magic; Ibis, Prince Amentep; Cloak of Nabu, Fate Artifact; Cheshire, Jade; Count Vertigo, Werner Vertigo; Amanda Waller, Black Queen; Rann; Retrieval Protocol ◊ OMAC Robot, Army
This is a strong pack for us and one where the right pick is not easy to determine. Cheshire is a potential pick, though we now have two decent 5-drops and that shouldn’t be a priority. The Phantom Stranger is excellent as explained above, but is Mystical Binding better? Now that we have a Nightshade, its stock certainly has risen. Both cards are important to the deck, so we need to make a decision on which one we are more likely to see again. I would probably have picked up the 7-drop, as I prefer my Pact decks to have DEF before ATK, though this is one of the closer decisions this column has reported on.
Scott picks: Mystical Binding, Magic
My pick: The Phantom Stranger, Fallen Angel
Pack 2, Pick 4
Amulet of Nabu, Fate Artifact; Nightmaster, Jim Rook; Wesley Dodds ◊ The Sandman, Golden Age Gunman; Thanagarian Invasion; Knight’s Gambit; Annihilation Protocol ◊ OMAC Robot, Army; Mystical Binding, Magic; Brainiac, Earth 2; Mourn for the Lost; Cloak of Nabu, Fate Artifact; Sinestro, Villain Reborn
Well there is our first Nightmaster, but I don’t think we have enough of the bounce spells to must-pick him here. Thanagarian Invasion is always good, and there is a Sinestro in the pack too. Still, the Binding is the best card for our deck, and it allows me to be stuffily righteous about the last pick.
Scott picks: Mystical Binding, Magic
My pick: Mystical Binding, Magic
Pack 2, Pick 5
Chay-Ara ◊ Hawkgirl, Eternal Companion; Tricked-Out Sports Car; Mourn for the Lost; Parademon, Apokoliptian Ally; Roy Harper ◊ Arsenal, Knight; Forbidden Loyalties, Team-Up; True Name, Magic; Brainiac, Earth 2; Nightmaster, Jim Rook; Barbara Gordon ◊ Oracle, Data Broker
Here I think Scott just has an unfamiliarity with the format. Forbidden Loyalties is probably the best generic Team-Up, but I think Nightmaster is just better for his deck. If he didn’t already have the Justice United, he could probably have even tried to wheel the Jim Rook 13th, though his deck gets that much better with it that I don’t think he’d want to. I don’t think Scott was aware of this synergy in this Team-Up at the time, so I can’t really fault his pick too much.
Scott picks: Forbidden Loyalties, Team-Up
My pick: Nightmaster, Jim Rook
Pack 2, Pick 6
Connie Webb, Knight; Multiverse Power Battery; Laser Watch; Dr. Fate, Hector Hall; Mystical Binding, Magic; Ibis, Prince Amentep; Talia, Daughter of Madness; Count Vertigo, Werner Vertigo; Amanda Waller, Black Queen
I can’t understand this pick at all. I can see being concerned about filling a curve, but every game you don’t hit Calculator is going to be a bit disappointing. Although that is likely to happen often enough to guard against it, Mystical Binding helps out just as much in those situations as Ibis will and is much more flexible in the late game. You have to have a very good reason to pass on -3 DEF in my opinion.
Scott picks: Ibis, Prince Amentep;
My pick: Mystical Binding, Magic
Pack 2, Pick 7
Checkmate Armory; Grand Gesture; Graziella Reza, Knight; Fiddler, Isaac Bowin; Sand, Sanderson Hawkins; Terry Sloane ◊ Mr. Terrific, Golden Age Gold Medalist; Seiobo’s Garden; Atom Smasher, Al Rothstein
Grand Gesture is a card I don’t normally like. Most of its applications work in a strange way to the effect that the advantage you are trying to generate is negated by the cost of returning a guy to your hand. This is where Jim Rook (and Fiddler in the Secret Six variant) combos so well with VU. I think you need the free guy to make these cards work, or otherwise just be really lucky and hit a 1-drop and keep it around. I would have picked this card for sure, but I don’t think it would get played without a few Nightmasters in the deck.
Scott picks: Grand Gesture
My pick: Grand Gesture
Pack 2, Pick 8
Ibis, Prince Amentep; Jaime Reyes ◊ Blue Beetle, High-Tech Hero; Return of Donna Troy; Help Wanted, Team-Up; Allied Against the Dark; Divination, Magic; Epic Battle
Here I would have taken the Ibis, as Divination just doesn’t seem to do a lot in our deck, which has become less of a Shadowpact/Magic deck and more of a VU/Pact deck in my mind. Ibis is our third 3-drop at a time I feel comfortable picking it up. I don’t really like Epic Battle, and I think we have enough pumps as is.
Scott picks: Epic Battle
My pick: Ibis, Prince Amentep
Pack 2, Pick 9
Blue Devil, Dan Cassidy; Chay-Ara ◊ Hawkgirl, Eternal Companion; Cheetah, Feral Feline; Secret Six Victorious; Heroic Rescue; Epic Battle
How lucky. Scott has wheeled well.
Scott picks: Blue Devil, Dan Cassidy
My pick: Blue Devil, Dan Cassidy
Pack 2, Pick 10
Zatanna, Showstopper; Manitou Dawn, Spirit Shaman; Fiddler, Isaac Bowin; Brainiac, Earth 2; Ibis, Prince Amentep
Wow. Well, at least we are getting the Pact hook-up. Scott went with Manitou here, whom I tend to avoid unless nothing else is playable in the pack. I would have taken the opportunity to fill out our 6-drops with our best option (besides the very hard-to-get Alexander Luthor). I think we will get plenty of 2-drops later, as the Pact ones are average. We certainly don’t need a fourth 3-drop amongst such options.
Scott picks: Manitou Dawn, Spirit Shaman
My pick: Zatanna, Showstopper
Pack 2, Pick 11
Blackbriar Thorn, Druid of Cymru; Adam Strange, Champion of Rann; The Phantom Stranger, Fallen Angel; Count Vertigo, Werner Vertigo
Well, I will have to take back my smugness from above. There is a small possibility that Binding would have wheeled in its place, but getting the Stranger here is a coup. Giving up the Blackbriar is annoying, but I don’t think anyone else has such an embarrassment of riches at his 11th pick.
Scott picks: The Phantom Stranger, Fallen Angel
My pick: The Phantom Stranger, Fallen Angel
Pack 2, Pick 12
Mourn for the Lost; Knight’s Gambit; Nightmaster, Jim Rook
Sometimes the right picks are just made for you.
Scott picks: Nightmaster, Jim Rook
My pick: Nightmaster, Jim Rook
Pack 2, Pick 13
Nightmaster, Jim Rook; Barbara Gordon ◊ Oracle, Data Broker
And again!
Scott picks: Nightmaster, Jim Rook
My pick: Nightmaster, Jim Rook
Pack 2, Pick 14
Count Vertigo, Werner Vertigo
Pack 3, Pick 1
Nightmaster, Jim Rook; Amulet of Nabu, Fate Artifact; Thanagar; Dr. Occult, Richard Occult; The Calculator, Crime Broker; 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . .; Help Wanted, Team-Up; Mourn for the Lost; Jamie Reyes ◊ Blue Beetle, High-Tech Hero; Bizarro, ME AM BIZARRO #1; Graziella Reza, Knight; Checkmate Safe House, Team-Up; Ragdoll, Resilient Rogue; Wonder Woman, Earth 2
Well there’s another Jim Rook we will certainly see again. We also get a Dr. Occult, who could be amazing in our deck if we end up straying back into the endurance loss archetype. That could be a real possibility, and nothing else seems better at this stage.
Scott picks: Dr. Occult, Richard Occult
My pick: Dr. Occult, Richard Occult
Pack 3, Pick 2
Justice United, Team-Up; Rann; Fiddler, Isaac Bowin; Amulet of Nabu, Fate Artifact; Dr. Psycho, Twisted Telepath; Relentless Pursuit; I Still Hate Magic!; The Calculator, Evil Oracle; Mordru, Dark Lord; Brainiac, Earth 2; Blackbriar Thorn, Druid of Cymru; Atom Smasher, Al Rothstein; Spectral Slaughter, Magic
I don’t think Scott can complain about the strength of the packs he has had in this draft. Getting passed I Still Hate Magic! doesn’t happen very often. Better still, getting passed two Calculator 3-drops almost never happens. I am perplexed as to why Scott didn’t just slam the Calculator here, and it dawned on me when he took the plot twist that he hadn’t recognized how amazing the Jim Rooks were to him either. If there is any reason Scott lost this draft, I think this pick was the nail in the coffin. It was definitely a confusing pick to make, but definitely not beyond someone of his abilities.
Scott picks: I Still Hate Magic!
My pick: The Calculator, Evil Oracle
Pack 3, Pick 3
I Still Hate Magic!; Knightmare Scenario; Ragman, Patchmonger; Ultra-Humanite, Metahuman Manipulator; Cheshire, Jade; Stepping Between Worlds, Magic; Black Thorn, Elizabeth Thorne; Thanagar; Nightmaster, Jim Rook; Dr. Occult, Richard Occult; The Calculator, Crime Broker; Double Play
Here the plot twist is the best pick. There are characters we could play—like Occult and Cheshire—but none of them are as potentially powerful as -3 DEF anymore.
Scott picks: I Still Hate Magic!
My pick: I Still Hate Magic!
Pack 3, Pick 4
Chay-Ara ◊ Hawkgirl, Eternal Companion; Dr. Psycho, Mental Giant; Forbidden Loyalties, Team-Up; Zazzala ◊ Queen Bee, Mistress of the Hive; Leslie Thompkins’s Clinic; Alexander Luthor, Duplicitous Doppelganger; Kilowog, Drill Sergeant; Bizarro, ME AM BIZARRO #1; Absolute Dominance; Graziella Reza, Knight; Return Fire!
I could have been tempted to take the Forbidden Loyalties here. The Mental Giant is a good 2-drop—and we still need a few more—but I think we can afford to take a solid, DEF-enhancing Team-Up here and try to pick up 2-drops later. This has a lot to do with me running the Nighmasters, so maybe Scott was thinking more conservatively.
Scott picks: Dr. Psycho, Mental Giant
My pick: Forbidden Loyalties, Team-Up
Pack 3, Pick 5
Amanda Waller, Black Queen; Eclipso, Jean Loring; Revitalize; Magical Conduit, Magic; Nightmaster, Jim Rook; Checkmate Armory; Systematic Torture; Black Thorn, Elizabeth Thorne; Ragman, Redeemer of Souls
I definitely wouldn’t have made this pick. I don’t know whether Scott was nervous about his curve, thinks Ragman is better than he is, or just didn’t think the other cards were that powerful; but I don’t even think Ragman is the third best card in this pack. That goes to Magical Conduit, which I like a lot, but is not even in contention here.
The best cards are Systematic Torture and Revitalize. The Finishing Move is the best card, but at this stage our VU complement might be too small, while we don’t lose that much by taking Revitalize. I would have just gone with raw power and taken the Torture, but I can see an argument for Revitalize.
Scott picks: Ragman, Redeemer of Souls
My pick: Systematic Torture
Pack 3, Pick 6
Ibis, Prince Amentep; Cheshire, Jade; Grand Gesture; Seiobo’s Garden; Fiddler, Isaac Bowin; Manitou Dawn, Spirit Shaman; Thanagar; Blackbriar Thorn, Druid of Cymru; Dr. Psycho, Twisted Telepath
Still a lot of good cards, so we know that if anything, Scott ended up in the right teams. Scott has three 2-drops at this stage, so I would have gone with the Grand Gesture and obviously the Nightmaster plan. Scott remains oblivious to this and makes an otherwise solid choice in Blackbriar Thorn.
Scott picks: Blackbriar Thorn, Druid of Cymru
My pick: Grand Gesture
Pack 3, Pick 7
Thanagar; Zatanna, Showstopper; Jamie Reyes ◊ Blue Beetle, High-Tech Hero; Sasha Bordeaux, Autonomous Prototype; Mourn for the Lost; Nightmaster, Jim Rook; Stepping Between Worlds; Sasha Bordeaux, Knight
Given the state of Scott’s deck, this is an easy pick. He needs 6-drops, and one of the best ones for his deck floats by.
Scott picks: Zatanna, Showstopper
My pick: Zatanna, Showstopper
Pack 3, Pick 8
Witchfire, Rebecca Carstairs; Aspiring Pawn; A Moment of Crisis; Help Wanted, Team-Up; Nightshade, Eve Eden; Black Alice, Lori Zechlin; Scandal, Savage Spawn
I would definitely have picked Alice, but Scott’s dislike of her was explained above. That being the case, Witchfire is fine.
Scott picks: Witchfire, Rebecca Carstairs
My pick: Black Alice, Lori Zechlin
Pack 3, Pick 9
Nightmaster, Jim Rook; 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . .; Mourn for the Lost; Jamie Reyes ◊ Blue Beetle, High-Tech Hero; Bizarro, ME AM BIZARRO #1; Ragdoll, Resilient Rogue
With most of his curve done, Scott made an interesting choice here with the Ka-Boom effect. I think it is unplayable, but if you do ever get it off, no one will see it coming. I would have played it safe with another Nightmaster.
Scott picks: 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . .
My pick: Nightmaster, Jim Rook
Pack 3, Pick 10
Justice United, Team-Up; Fiddler, Isaac Bowin; Mordru, Dark Lord; Blackbriar Thorn, Druid of Cymru; Spectral Slaughter, Magic
Scott went with another 2-drop here, but as I have spoken of at lengths above, I see more potential in the Nightmaster-bounce shenanigans. Thus, I would have been forced to take the Team-Up.
Scott picks: Blackbriar Thorn, Druid of Cymru
My pick: Justice United, Team-Up
Pack 3, Pick 11
Ultra-Humanite, Metahuman Manipulator; Stepping Between Worlds, Magic; Black Thorn, Elizabeth Thorne; Nightmaster, Jim Rook
Stepping Between Worlds is the best card here. There can definitely be too many Nightmasters.
Scott picks: Stepping Between Worlds, Magic
My pick: Stepping Between Worlds, Magic
Pack 3, Pick 12
Kilowog, Drill Sergeant; Alexander Luthor, Duplicitous Doppelganger; Bizarro, ME AM BIZARRO #1
I don’t really like the 1-drop search cards, but it is probably a more flexible pick than Bizarro here. I really don’t want to pass Bizarro here—so I’d probably pick it and mise— but I can see going the other way.
Scott picks: Alexander Luthor, Duplicitous Doppelganger
My pick: Bizarro, ME AM BIZARRO #1
Pack 3, Pick 13
Nightshade, Eve Eden; Eclipso, Jean Loring
Vaguely playable against unplayable.
Scott picks: Nightshade, Eve Eden
My pick: Nightshade, Eve Eden
Pack 3, Pick 14
Seiobo’s Garden
Scott’s deck:
Characters
Count Vertigo, Werner Vertigo
Cheetah, Feral Feline
Alexander Luthor, Duplicitous Doppelganger
Blue Devil, Dan Cassidy
Manitou Dawn, Spirit Shaman
2 Blackbriar Thorn, Druid of Cymru
Dr. Psycho, Mental Giant
3 Ibis, Prince Amentep
The Calculator, Evil Oracle
Bizarro, ME AM BIZARRO #1
Nightshade, Shadow Siren
Dr. Occult, Richard Occult
Black Adam, Teth-Adam
Ragman, Redeemer of Souls
2 Zatanna, Showstopper
The Phantom Stranger, Fallen Angel
Plot Twists
3 Mystical Binding, Magic
2 I Still Hate Magic!
Abjuration
Forbidden Loyalties
Justice United
Stepping Between Worlds, Magic
Epic Battle
Locations
Rann
Scott admitted to having a weakness for 31-card decks, even confessing to this disciple of the Dogma of Thirty that he had played 32 before. I guess the teachings of Arvin Jesus are more prominent than first thought! He said that he liked his curve to be bottom-heavy but had nothing particular in mind when he went to draft it. Scott is a much bigger fan of pumps than most I know; everyone likes them, but he seems to pick them over everything, which does help out his unusual curve.
Scott went a disappointing 1-2 with this deck. I was witness to some terrible luck in his second-round game, but I also think he missed a golden opportunity in his build of the deck. The Villains United/Shadowpact team-up has some difficult-to-find combinations available, and a strong knowledge of the format would have given Scott a massively synergistic deck that might have been able to save his draft. This draft can be seen as an example of the subtle benefits to be gained from having a deep understanding of the format.