It was Dominic who suggested that I interview Andrew while I covered his match in the last round. Coming from the grand master of Sealed Pack himself, this is rare praise indeed.
Andrew began playing Vs. System during DC Origins. A fan of DC Comics, he said that playing the game came naturally to him since he already enjoyed the comics so much. He traditionally does better in the Constructed format but enjoys the variety found in Sealed Pack more. He says that the unpredictability of Sealed Pack makes it more dynamic and is a greater test of creativity.
Andrew’s Sealed Pack Pool
Arkham Inmates
1 Amadeus Arkham
Checkmate
1 Ahmed Samsarra
1 Annihilation Protocol ◊ OMAC Robot
1 Christopher Smith ◊ Peacemaker
1 Graziella Reza
1 Harry Stein, King in Check
1 Sasha Bordeaux, Autonomous Prototype
1 Surveillance Pawn
JLA
1 Adam Strange, Champion of Rann
JSA
1 Black Adam, Ruthless Hero
1 Charles McNider ◊ Dr. Mid-Nite
1 Huntress, Earth 2
1 Kate Spencer ◊ Manhunter, Fearless Renegade
1 Richard Tyler ◊ Hourman
1 Stargirl, Courtney Whitmore
1 Superman, Earth 2
2 Wonder Woman, Earth 2
Secret Six
1 Catman, Thomas Blake
1 Ragdoll, Resilient Rogue
1 Scandal, Savage Spawn
Shadowpact
1 Blue Devil, Dan Cassidy
1 Detective Chimp, Bobo T. Chimpanzee
1 Dr. Fate, Hector Hall
1 Ibis, Prince Amentep
1 Nightshade, Shadow Siren
1 Ragman, Redeemer of Souls
1 Zatanna, Showstopper
Villains United
1 Bizarro, ME AM BIZARRO #1
1 Black Adam, Teth-Adam
1 Deathstroke the Terminator, Lethal Weapon
1 Dr. Polaris, Force of Nature
1 Dr. Psycho, Mental Giant
1 Fatality, Flawless Victory
1 Ishmael Gregor ◊ Sabbac
1 The Calculator, Noah Kuttler
1 Zazzala ◊ Queen Bee, Mistress of the Hive
Unaffiliated
1 Jaime Reyes ◊ Blue Beetle, High-Tech Hero
Equipment
1 Cloak of Nabu
1 Helm of Nabu
1 Knight Armor
1 Laser Watch
1 Tricked-Out Sports Car
1 T-Spheres
Plot Twists
1 Baddest of the Bad
1 Brothers in Arms
1 Check and Mate
1 Coercion
2 Epic Battle
1 Forbidden Loyalties
1 Help Wanted
1 Heroic Rescue
1 Justice United
1 Knights’ Gambit
1 Living Legacy
1 Mystical Binding
2 Return Fire!
1 Return of Donna Troy
1 Revitalize
1 Systematic Torture
1 Thanagarian Invasion
Locations
1 Brother Eye
1 Checkmate Armory
1 Checkmate Safe House
1 Leslie Thompkins’s Clinic
2 Secret Checkmate HQ
1 Seiobo’s Garden
Andrew’s first impression was that there were lots of locations, strong Checkmate characters, and good equipment. His initial plan was to go with less plot twists and more locations and equipment, but he later decided that it was more important to have combat pumps.
“Equipments and locations give you staying power, but it is very predictable. With plot twists, you can have the power of surprise.”
He was glad to have made that decision, too. He had wanted to leave out Systematic Torture in the initial build, but after remodeling his deck, the card won him numerous games. “The ability to remove a key character from an opponent’s board is truly game breaking,” he says.
Andrew’s Sealed Deck
Checkmate
1 Ahmed Samsarra
1 Annihilation Protocol ◊ OMAC Robot
1 Christopher Smith ◊ Peacemaker
1 Sasha Bordeaux, Autonomous Prototype
JSA
1 Black Adam, Ruthless Hero
1 Kate Spencer ◊ Manhunter, Fearless Renegade
1 Richard Tyler ◊ Hourman
1 Stargirl, Courtney Whitmore
1 Superman, Earth 2
1 Wonder Woman, Earth 2
Shadowpact
1 Zatanna, Showstopper
Villains United
1 Bizarro, ME AM BIZARRO #1
1 Black Adam, Teth-Adam
1 Deathstroke the Terminator, Lethal Weapon
1 Dr. Polaris, Force of Nature
1 Dr. Psycho, Mental Giant
1 Fatality, Flawless Victory
1 Ishmael Gregor ◊ Sabbac
1 Zazzala ◊ Queen Bee, Mistress of the Hive
Unaffiliated
1 Jaime Reyes ◊ Blue Beetle, High-Tech Hero
Plot Twists
1 Baddest of the Bad
1 Coercion
2 Epic Battle
1 Forbidden Loyalties
1 Revitalize
1 Systematic Torture
Locations
1 Checkmate Safe House
Equipment
1 Knight Armor
1 Laser Watch
Given his strategy, it was natural to gravitate toward Checkmate and Villains United. JSA wasn’t part of his plan, but given his scarcity of good characters within the two affiliations, he felt that he needed a third affiliation to plug the gaps in his character curve.
Since he had several characters that could remove opponents’ characters—Elimination Protocol, Fatality, and Systematic Torture—his game plan was to get rid of the opposition’s key characters and gain board advantage. He also found Knight Armor to be very useful, as opponents generally had a hard time dealing with the extra defense.
The deck begins to dominate the game on turn 5, and Andrew feels that the deck is closer to being a control deck than an aggressive one.