It’s that time again, folks. Time for our second series of an article originally entitled The Experiment. If you missed the first series, here is a quick overview: I opened and recorded five Infinite Crisis booster packs. Then I asked my teammates to build the deck that they would play in a Sealed Pack event. Neil Reeves played the role of “The Sealed Pack Genius.” Tillman Bragg was the “Well-Balanced Master,” and Jason Hager was the “Constructed Genius.”
Then, in a follow-up article, I did my best to analyze and evaluate each player’s decisions. It was a learning experience even for me, so I hope you also enjoyed it. I enjoyed it so much that I vowed to make a series of articles out of similar experiments that would be known as The Study.
For this episode of The Study, our players will change. Tillman will again get to play the role of “Well-Balanced Master,” but the two players at the far ends of the spectrum will probably change in the hope of keeping things interesting. I’m getting together with most of my teammates this weekend, so there is no better time to get input from some of the brightest minds in Vs. System. I haven’t asked anyone else to participate yet, but I’m hoping Nick Little will be able to handle the pressure of championing the title of “Sealed Pack Genius.” He is one of only two players to have won two Sealed Pack $10K events. And with the most overall $10K Championship titles (four of them), three from Constructed formats, I hope that Michael Jacob will be the “Constructed Genius” for this episode of The Study.
I will be throwing my hat into the ring, as well. This Sealed Pack card pool was from a Pro Circuit qualifier that I played in a few weeks ago. Here is the card pool I received. I have taken the first step of sorting characters by team and then ordering them by cost. Plot twists, locations, and equipment are sorted alphabetically.
Checkmate
Connie Webb, Knight
Surveillance Pawn, Knight
Sasha Bordeaux, Knight
Christopher Smith ◊ Peacemaker, Obsessed Outlaw
Arthur Kendrick, Knight
Valentina Vostok ◊ Negative Woman, Bishop
Roy Harper ◊ Arsenal, Knight
Annihilation Protocol ◊ OMAC Robot, Army
JSA
Chay-Ara ◊ Hawkgirl, Eternal Companion
Prince Khufu ◊ Hawkman, Eternal Warrior
Ted Grant ◊ Wildcat, Golden Age Pugilist
Richard Tyler ◊ Hourman, Man of the Hour
Carter Hall ◊ Hawkman, Eternal Champion
Superman, Earth 2
Black Adam, Ruthless Hero
Legacy
Amadeus Arkham, Architect of Insanity
Lois Lane, Earth 2
Obsidian, Todd James Rice
Superboy, Earth Prime
Shadowpact
Nightmaster, Jim Rook
Madame Xanadu, Cartomancer
Ragman, Patchmonger
Blue Devil, Dan Cassidy
Rose Psychic, Ghost Detective
Ibis, Prince Amentep
Witchfire, Rebecca Carstairs
Dr. Occult, Richard Occult
Blue Devil, Big Blue
Dr. Fate, Hector Hall
June Moon à Enchantress, Bad Witch
Secret Six
Ragdoll, Resilient Rogue
Cheshire, Jade
Villains United
The Calculator, Noah Kuttler
Cheetah, Feral Feline
Dr. Light, Furious Flashpoint
Dr. Polaris, Force of Nature
Zazzala à Queen Bee, Mistress of the Hive
Sinestro, Villain Reborn
Deathstroke the Terminator, Lethal Weapon
Alexander Luthor, Diabolical Double
The Calculator, Crime Broker
Black Adam, Lord of Kahndaq
Plot Twists
Baddest of the Bad
Burning Gaze
Coercion, Team-Up
Collecting Souls, Magic
Defend Yourself!
Dodge the Bullet
2 Double Play
Forbidden Loyalties, Team-Up
Grand Gesture
Heroic Rescue
Living Legacy
Mystical Binding, Magic
No Mercy
Threat Neutralized
True Name, Magic
Watch the Birdie
Locations
Brother I Satellite
Checkmate Armory
Secret Checkmate HQ
Thanagar
The Science Spire
Equipment
Amulet of Nabu
Cloak of Nabu
Knight Armor
Laser Watch
T-Spheres
Tricked-Out Sports Car
I’m going to give you the deck I ended up building below, so wait before you scroll down if you want to spend a little time coming up with the thirty cards you would choose to play.
Just to prevent you from accidentally scrolling down too low, I thought I’d provide you with something to fill up a little space.
Dr. Tzin-Tzin, Master of Hypnosis
’Nuff Said
Here are the thirty cards I registered:
Shadowpact
Ragman, Patchmonger
Blue Devil, Dan Cassidy
June Moon ◊ Enchantress, Bad Witch
Checkmate
Sasha Bordeaux, Knight
Christopher Smith ◊ Peacemaker, Obsessed Outlaw
Arthur Kendrick, Knight
Valentina Vostok à Negative Woman, Bishop
Roy Harper ◊ Arsenal, Knight
Annihilation Protocol ◊ OMAC Robot, Army
Villains United
The Calculator, Noah Kuttler
Zazzala ◊ Queen Bee, Mistress of the Hive
Sinestro, Villain Reborn
Deathstroke the Terminator, Lethal Weapon
Cheshire, Jade
Alexander Luthor, Diabolical Double
The Calculator, Crime Broker
Black Adam, Lord of Kahndaq
Plot Twists
Defend Yourself
Burning Gaze
Baddest of the Bad
Grand Gesture
No Mercy
Coercion, Team-Up
Forbidden Loyalties, Team-Up
Locations
Secret Checkmate HQ
Brother I Satellite
Thanagar
The Science Spire
Equipment
Knight Armor
Tricked-Out Sports Car
This card pool presented some really interesting challenges for me. There was depth in all four of the major teams. The JSA team had solid drops all the way up the curve from 1 to 7. There were a number of strong team-stamped non-character cards across the different teams, as well. In the end, I chose Villains and Checkmate because of these four cards: Baddest of the Bad; The Science Spire; Brother I Satellite; and The Calculator, Crime Broker. I really liked that I was able to cut down to seventeen characters in this build as a direct result of having some very good search effects.
I tried to remember one of the Sealed Pack deck construction lessons I had recently learned. As I was trying to make the difficult decisions, I asked myself, “What do I want this deck to do?” I decided that primarily, the focus of this deck would be to keep the game close while building toward one big final turn where I would win with The Calculator. The secondary goal would be to put up the biggest fight that I could on turns when my opponent would have the initiative.
Still, making those final additions and cuts was particularly challenging with this deck. My final cuts were Threat Neutralized, Checkmate Armory, and Laser Watch. I wondered if T-Spheres would be good enough to play without JSA characters. If I had decided to go with the Armory, would I have tried to fit the T-Spheres in also?
My one true regret is that I played an 8-drop. I realized around the middle of the tournament that playing The Calculator on turn 7 was all that I needed to do to win the game. No game that I played went to turn 8.
I hope you’re as anxious as I am to see how my other teammates build their decks from this card pool. I’ll be back next week with the results analysis.