Scott Hunstad is an expatriate American who now resides in Sydney, Australia. He co-owns the VSParadise.com fan-based website, but he was showing that he could mix it with the pros, posting an impressive 10-2 record in the Marvel Modern Age format. The funny thing was, he really considered himself to be a draft specialist—he drafted Vs. System nearly five to six times each week. Scott had the full intention of forcing the Crime Lords affiliation and described his strategy as such, saying, “The Crime Lords affiliation has a very high number of playable characters, so I don’t have to concentrate on filling my curve as much. The plot twists are terrific in that affiliation, and there are a good amount of characters at every drop.”
The top draft table provided him with some tough opposition.
Pack 1
1. No Rest for the Wicked, Elektra, Agent of the Hand, Moving Target
Scott had a relatively mediocre opening pack, which only had a couple of viable choices for his strategy.
2. Jaime Ortiz ◊ Damage, Hypnotic Charms, Luke Cage, Street Enforcer, Mind over Matter.
This choice was a little tougher, but Damage is a prime 6-drop for this affiliation.
3. Iron Fist, Danny Rand, Cloak, Child of Darkness, La Nuit, Meltdown
This pack was fairly atrocious, and Scott at this point was feeling pretty bad about his strategy.
4. The Family, Dagger, Child of Light, Jester
A powerful plot twist, The Family provided Scott with a good reason to stay on target. Dagger presented an opportunity to gamble, but Scott was not a gambling man.
5. Mr. Hyde, The Family, and a whole heap of X-Statix cards
Presented with a chance at another Family, Scott decided that it was more important to fill out his curve.
6. Uprising, Zarathos, Sniper
Now the Underworld was starting to float in. Uprising is a relatively under-drafted card.
7. The Hand, Mind over Matter, Penance Stare, Judge, Jury, and Executioner
This again was a terrible pack for Scott, who by now suspected that either there was a Crime Lords drafter very near to him upstream, or the average power level was very low in his affiliation.
8. There wasn’t much in this pack, so Scott took a curve filler in the form of The Spike.
9-14. Glory Hound, Luke Cage, Street Enforcer, Mephisto, Father of Lies, Dead Girl.
Scott was astounded when Luke Cage wheeled on the table, and that really pushed him to make Marvel Knights his second affiliation.
Pack 2
1. Bullseye, Master of Murder, Iron Fist, Living Weapon, Kingpin, Wilson Fisk, Cobra, Nuke
This pack was full of great characters for Scott’s curve. Knowing the value of 7-drop characters in this format, he went with Bullseye.
2. Crime and Punishment, Kingpin, Wilson Fisk, Cobra, The Family, Deathwatch
The premier plot twist took nearly no time to end up in his pile.
3. Deathstalker, Drive-By Shooting, Zarathos
A peculiar choice given his strategy, but Scott was attempting to shore up his curve.
4. Iron Fist, Living Weapon, Deathstalker, Nuke
This was Scott’s first 5-drop in his chosen affiliation, and it would be his last.
5. Sniper, Typhoid Mary, The Family, Elektra, Elektra Natchios
Again, a strange pick considering his strategy. Another Family would have definitely gone down well.
6. Nuke and not much else.
7. A terrible pack. Sharon Ginsberg
8. Good Night, Sweet Prince
At this point, Scott was looking worried about the quality of his plot twists and characters.
9-14. Missed Drop, Cobra, Mystical Sigil, Bloke, Sharon Ginsberg, Doop Cam
Pack 3
1. Midnight Sons, Geraci Family Estate, Iron Fist, Living Weapon, Bullseye, Master of Murder, Nuke
Feeling that he needed to add more coherency to his draft, Scott decided that Midnight Sons was necessary.
2. Moon Knight, Head Shot, Deathstalker
This was a relatively easy choice given the potency of Moon Knight.
3. Kingpin, Wilson Fisk, Luke Cage, Street Enforcer, Vivisector, Lunatic Lycanthrope
This was an opportunity for Scott to fill his very light 5-drop slot, but he chose to stick with the Boss of Bosses.
4. Daredevil, Protector of Hell’s Kitchen, Mr. Fear, Mr. Code, Rough House, Cobra
A powerful 3-drop, Daredevil meant that the only significant drop that Scott required was at 5.
5. Moon Knight, Saracen
Though Moon Knight is a beating, Saracen can provide some significant firepower on defense. Scott might have decided he didn’t have enough reinforcement effects to effectively use Saracen.
6. Daredevil, Protector of Hell’s Kitchen, Saracen
Who needs another Saracen?
7-14. Tryks, The Hand, Nuke, Iron Fist, Danny Rand, Penance Stare, The Rose
Nothing of real note other than the late Nuke. Scott wasn’t really given the opportunity to fill out his curve.
Scott in the end was a little unhappy with how his deck panned out, saying, “I’ll be really happy if I go 2-1. I think my deck is very average.” Well, he must have been happy when after the three Marvel Knights draft rounds, he was able to scrape out a 2-1 record, losing only to Jacob Rabinowitz’s insane X-Statix deck.