So you've spent a lot of effort fine-tuning your latest deck and sit down to play a game. Before you've even reached the table, you've put a lot of effort into the outcome of any game you play. Despite all of this preparation and metagaming you've done in advance, you are now likely to make two of your most important gameplay decisions, both before you've even played a resource. If you are lucky enough to determine who starts with the initiative, you make the first of your tough decisions before you've even drawn a card. Then, after the initiative is decided, you must choose whether or not to keep your opening hand or to mulligan. These initial decisions are paramount to your success since they allow you to exercise a lot of control over the course of an ensuing game.


Don't be too Anxious to Start

In his preview of The Power Cosmic, Danny Mandel suggested, "A player will win the game on a turn when he or she has the initiative." As he points out himself, this is a bit of an oversimplification, but it at least approximates reality because you can often put a game 'out of reach' for an opponent on a late turn when you have the initiative. Throughout the game, it is important to swing the momentum in your favor by stunning multiple characters or by taking a big bite out of your opponent's endurance total on the turns you have the initiative. Conversely, any means that you can use stop your opponent from achieving these goals when you don't have the initiative are game-altering.

Whether we are talking about Constructed or Limited, it is important to look at what characters make up your 'curve' at various costs. Let's say you are playing a deck with Sabretooth: Feral Rage, Scarlet Witch, and Mystique: Shape-Changing Assassin. Do you choose to start with the initiative? How about if your deck has the Blob, Magneto: Eric Lehnsherr, and Sabretooth: Victor Creed? If your most aggressive characters are at odd costs, you are best served to take the initiative, while if they are even-costed, it is likely in your best interest to give the initiative to your opponent. Thus, in the first example above, I'd lean towards giving the initiative to my opponent. while in the second scenario I'd tend to start the game with the initiative. That is, Sabretooth: Feral Rage and Mystique: Shape-Changing Assassin are especially powerful characters on turns 4 and 6, respectively. Sabretooth: Feral Rage dwarfs other 4-drops, and Mystique is that much more likely to snag your opponent's 7-cost character out of his or her hand if you have the initiative on turn 6. In the second scenario, you have excellent defensive characters at the even costs, and Magneto: Eric Lehnsherr is more impressive when you have the initiative, since his power may not even trigger if you don't have it (that is, if he becomes stunned during your opponent's attack step).

So far, I've only made note of character costs in the decision, but the threshold costs of various plot twists and locations also factor into this. Once again, you are looking to choose the initiative when you have powerful odd-costed offensive cards and even-costed defensive cards. In contrast, you should give up the first turn initiative when you have powerful odd-costed defensive cards and even-costed offensive cards. This also assumes that you might be using the cards as soon as they can be played.

Assuming you don't have Beast or Latveria in play, the cards I list below are good examples of plot twists and locations that are much better either with or without the initiative, and that also first 'come on-line' with an odd/even cost that matters. For this selection of cards, I will use 'offensive' to encompass cards that are more likely to be effective on a turn when you have the initiative. 'Defensive' cards will include cards that allow you to exhaust for an effect, since you can play these cards by exhausting a character that is being or would be attacked rather than having to give up an attack on a turn when you have the initiative.

Cards that work well when you start with the initiative: (Defensive Even) Tech Upgrade, Mystical Paralysis; (Offensive Odd) It's Clobbering Time, Primary Directive, Mutant Supremacy, and Underground Sentinel Base. Cards that work well when your opponent starts with the initiative: (Defensive Odd) A Child Named Valeria, Search and Destroy, Children of the Atom, The Power Cosmic, Gamma Bomb; (Offensive Even) Savage Beatdown, Press the Attack, Greater of Two Evils, Professor Xavier's Mansion. Keep in mind, the above assumes you are likely to use the plot twist on the turn you've met its threshold cost. For example, if you are never going to play The Power Cosmic on turn 5, it doesn't really matter than its threshold is odd. I've omitted certain examples that become available at a certain time but aren't likely to have a profound effect on that turn as opposed to the rest of the game.

In many cases, you will have a balance of cards falling into each category so it won't be obvious which player you want to start with the initiative. Hopefully, the above considerations will help you think about what cards to play on a given turn either with or without the initiative, assuming you have more than one option.

Another consideration in the initial choice is that your character cost curve often ends where you expect the game to end. If the highest cost character in your deck costs 7, it is likely that is the turn where you are trying to end the game. If your highest-costed character has an odd cost, you should be more likely to choose to start with the initiative. If it is even, there is a decent chance you should have your opponent take the initiative.

These discussions are taking a look only at your own deck. If you have knowledge of your opponent's deck from previous games, you must consider the ramifications of taking away his or her best game plan. It is possible that your opponent's characters and plot twists are more dependent on having the initiative on certain turns than yours. If this is the case, make the initiative decision based on his or her deck.

Aside from all of these considerations, there is simply empirical data from your own experiences and local environment. If during your games it seems like there is a turn that one player typically crushes the other player while he or she has the initiative, it is likely you should choose the initiative on the first turn so that you have the initiative that particular turn. It is important to keep track of this turn with each of your decks and within a particular metagame or Limited format, as this turn number should change as the parameters change.

 

Mulligan: To the Bottom?

From the Marvel Origins Rulebook: "New Hand (Mulligan): If a player is unhappy with his opening hand of 4 cards, he may immediately place the cards on the bottom of his deck in any order and redraw 4 new cards. Each player may do this only once per game, only at the start of the game."

Taking my version of last week's sealed deck (the build using the bold-faced cards) as a basis, which of these hands would you mulligan, assuming you were playing that deck?

A. Iceman; Nimrod; Doomstadt; The New Brotherhood

B. Quicksilver: Pietro Maximoff; Rogue: Powerhouse; Thing: Ben Grimm; Blob

C. Pyro; Advanced Hardware; Archangel; Storm: Ororo Munroe

D. Dragon Man; Tech Upgrade; Cover Fire; Spiral

E. Magneto: Master of Magnetism; Flying Kick; Dr. Doom: Victor Von Doom; Burn Rubber

Next week, I'll discuss these specific examples and try to tackle other issues related to mulliganing. If you think you have insights on any of these examples or would just like to submit your answers to these five cases, please feel free to email me at DHumpherys@metagame.com.