Metagame.com - Take Your Game to the Next Level

In the spring of 1968, Russian tanks rolled into the streets of Prague to squash a growing democratic revolution in the Czech Republic. One of my best friends was six years old at the time and was forced to flee with her family and live in Slovakia for the rest of her childhood. On February 25, 2006, this heated national rivalry was renewed at the Torino Winter Olympics. This time, the beef was decided on the ice, with skates and pucks instead of tanks. The Czechs defeated the Russians 3-0 in the bronze medal game of men’s ice hockey and settled an old score just a little bit.

I didn’t get to see the game. As a huge hockey fan, the contest was set to be one of the most exciting events of the year for me. I couldn’t believe it when I decided that I would have more fun at a local Vs. System tournament. My cardboard heroes have taken control.

Our tournament was at B.R.A.D.S. Sportscards in Coral Springs. Rich Brody owns the store and he always runs an impeccable event. This time, he provided us with the closest thing to a gold medal that we could have for a prize: an Extended Art Savage Beatdown. It was also a Golden Age format, so I was able to play the latest tier 1 deck archetype that relies on 1-cost Army characters. Anti-Green Lanterns are so strong when combined with Chomin and Felix Faust that they actually put three decks into the Top 8. It was indeed more enjoyable than a hockey party.

The Anti-Green Lantern deck holds an extra-special place in the historical metagame because of its versatility. When it wins, it wins as powerfully and as fast as anything we have ever seen. If it gets a bad draw and stumbles, it does not have much chance. Therefore, its actual build can be extremely flexible. The three Top 8 decks were wildly personal and noticeably different from each other. Dorian Cuellar added Surprise Attack and Die for Darkseid! for lightning speed. My list included Q Field and Thunderous Onslaught. Ken Choi’s deck, which was piloted by Steven Altmark, dropped Willworld and used Emerald Dawn to grab Tattooed Man, Living Ink as its finisher.

I constructed my deck to tech against the mirror a bit, but mostly I played it the way that makes me happiest. Since I am in love with the She-Hulk alternate art on Flying Kick, I had to include four copies of that. My favorite move is pulling Xallarap out of the hidden area with Q Field on turn 3 when the opponent is planning to attack, but since the deck often wins with one last pump on turn 4, I only included two copies. I used three copies of Thunderous Onslaught to make extra sure that I could leave the big lug in the visible area after my attacks. Since we were competing for the Extended Art Savage Beatdown, I wanted to include at least two of the regular version of the most valuable card in the game. Tim Batow started a trend in my life by suggesting the removal of Bad Press, and I chose to risk death by Doom if I faced Common Enemy. My last choice was Matter Convergence, in case my Chomin learned the hard way that No Man Escapes the Manhunters.

The deck performed like a dream and I finished in third place. Just like the Czechs, I was on the podium when they passed out the awards! Even though I did not return home with a bronze medal, my box of X-Men boosters felt almost as rewarding.

Olympic Weenie Glory
Rian Fike, Third Place

Characters
16 Anti-Green Lantern
4 Chomin
4 Xallarap
4 Felix Faust
2 Fiero

Plot Twists
4 Flying Kick
4 Cosmic Conflict
4 The Ring Has Chosen
3 Thunderous Onslaught
3 Mega-Blast
2 Matter Convergence
2 Q Field
2 Emerald Dawn
2 Savage Beatdown

Locations
4 Willworld

This thrilling combination can easily end a game, especially when the defender gets Blind Sided. One problem that often surfaces is the inability to start the doubling with enough ATK to take the opponent down to 0 endurance. All Too Easy fixes that. In fact, with All Too Easy and a swollen opposing hand, even Infernal Minions can swing for enough to win a game in one attack. At first, it seems like a very risky strategy to enable your opponent to draw a large hand of extra ammunition. But then Lex Luthor, Nefarious Philanthropist locks that hand in place by limiting the plot twists to a single choice per turn.

When I played Luke during the tournament, I was forced to make a whole slew of decisions that had never come up before. Against Anti-Green Lantern decks, Thunder Gang slows down the rush by only allowing one plot twist . . . right after it makes you draw a bunch of ATK pumps. What a tease. I learned quickly that I should fill my hand with power-ups and use them as often as possible to make sure it was not All Too Easy for Luke to get his combo up to lethal levels. Willworld helped with that. The Thunder Gang gives its opponent some maddening choices when Secret Files and Win-Lose Deal ask, “Are you sure you want more cards in hand this turn?” With my Olympic Weenie Glory, the answer was often, “No, thanks.”

I defeated Luke’s Thunder Gang deck once in the Swiss rounds and twice in the Top 8 to advance. Each game came down to the wire, with him needing one more piece of the combo puzzle to win. But 1,500 miles away in Costa Mesa, California, his deck was finding that last card to take it over the top. Brent “Makaveli” Eustice had been helping Luke test the deck online, and he defeated some very big-name players with it all day. He won their Constructed PCQ, qualified for the Pro Circuit, and proved to the world that Thunder Gang is for real. He ended up on the top step of the podium with 10 PC points as his gold medal.

Back in South Florida, our Extended Art Savage Beatdown was still up for grabs. Unfortunately for me, Luke had also shared a curve stall deck with Brian Poole, and it was the perfect antidote for Anti-Green Lanterns, even in all their Olympic Weenie Glory.

Against Anti-Green Lantern swarms, Twisted Spider Stall locks the board for no attacks and then stuns Chomin and crew in a variety of frustrating ways. Brian beat me once in the Swiss and then twice in the Top 4. At one point, he had Rogue, Power Absorption and Mimic both copying the ability of Sunfire. That made nine weenies they could shoot in one turn! That’s just sick. But the medal round was not over. As unbelievable as it may seem, the underdog 1-cost Army characters actually triumphed in this tournament.

But the gold medal now hangs proudly in Steven “immortaldragoon” Altmark’s binder . . . because of Tattooed Man, Living Ink.

Ken Choi’s deck slaps tradition straight in the mouth. It uses only three copies each of Felix Faust and Xallarap. It includes three Mikado and Mosha and it has no Willworld or Bad Press. In the hands of Steven Altmark, it won games that it had no business winning. It was a magical run through a fabulous tournament by a player who never lost his cool, even when facing a board full of G’Lock. In the final match, Brian Poole was totally exhausted both physically and on the board. Steven still had two counters on his Tattooed Man. The living ink jumped off of our hero’s arm and onto the table. The endurance loss was enough. The tournament was over. One-cost Army characters had won the gold. It was an upset for the ages.

Rian Fike is also known as stubarnes. His Barn Door Challenge is back down on the farm at www.starcityvs.com in case you want to get completely crazy with your cardboard super-heroes. If you have any input for the upcoming Multiple Man Monthly, tales of Olympic Glory, or if you just want to talk, you can contact him directly at rianfike@hattch.com.