Every time I go through the decklists to puzzle out the metagame numbers, I eventually find myself lingering more than the two to three seconds it normally takes me to identify a deck’s archetype in some lists.
Some players get on their “weapon”—the Internet—and learn how to play Harvey’s X-Stall, Hoeh’s Curve Sentinels, or Shonle’s HardwareStore.dec to perfection. There is nothing wrong with that.
But we are always drawn to new, neat ideas, even if most of the time they fail to hold up against the established decks. Still, Dean Shonle’s victory a week ago shows us that there’s still hope for the mad genius amongst us.
So, without any further musing or delay, here are five decklists that caught my eye. I’m sorry if I missed any other interesting new ideas or if I’m getting old and bringing you something “new” that you already know.
First, Batman teams up with . . . Bastion?!
Cesar Munoz Gomez
4 Alfred Pennyworth
3 Bastion
2 Tri-Sentinel
3 Sentinel Mark II
3 Barbara Gordon ◊ Oracle
2 Apocalypse
2 Nimrod, Mutant Hunter
2 Batman, The Dark Knight
2 Batman, Caped Crusader
1 Cassandra Cain ◊ Batgirl
3 Sentinel Mark V
11 GCPD Officer
3 World’s Finest
3 Marvel Team-Up
3 Bat-Signal
3 Reconstruction Program
2 Blind Sided
2 Press the Attack
3 Fizzle
2 Dynamic Duo
3 Clocktower
2 Utility Belt
Longshot makes a return to help two different teams . . . or rather, two different characters—the unlikely duo of Magneto and Superman.
Felipe Gallardo
4 Longshot, Rebel Freedom Fighter
4 Magneto, Eric Lehnsherr
4 Magneto, Master of Magnetism
4 Magneto, Lord Magnus
4 Superman, Blue
4 Superman, Clark Kent
4 Superman, Red
2 Superman, Man of Steel
4 Superman, Kal-El
3 Have A Blast!
2 Insignificant Threat
3 Global Domination
3 Marvel Team-Up
2 Thinking Outside the Box
4 Avalon Space Station
4 Cadmus Labs
3 Lost City
2 Metropolis
We all know the League is all about locations. Can you think of any team . . . well, a very short team that’s limited by a location? Negative Zone, perhaps? Angel Abella had the same idea.
Angel Abella
3 Hassim
1 Assassin Initiate
2 Talia, Daughter of the Demon’s Head
2 Ubu
3 Kyle Abbot
1 Merlyn
3 Ra’s Al Ghul, Immortal Villain
4 Bane, Ubu
2 Blastaar
2 Ra’s Al Ghul, Master Swordsman
1 Lady Shiva, Master Assassin
2 Annihilus
2 Ra’s Al Ghul, The Demon’s Head
1 Trigon
2 Flying Kick
4 Tower of Babel
3 Acrobatic Dodge
2 Have a Blast!
3 The Demon’s head
1 Total Anarchy
1 Latverian Embassy
3 Lazarus Pit
2 Pit of Madness
2 Flying Fortress
2 Avalon Space Station
4 Mountain Stronghold
4 Negative Zone
And finally, Jose Maria Aramburu came as close to an all-Marvel Knights deck as I have ever seen.
Jose Maria Aramburu
4 Dagger, Child of Light
2 Daredevil, Protector of Hell’s Kitchen
4 Steel Wind, Cyborg Cyclist
4 Werewolf By Night, Jack Russell
4 Mephisto, Soulstealer
2 Luke Cage, Power Man
2 Varnae, First Vampire
4 Brother Voodoo, Jericho Drumm
2 Moon Knight, Marc Spector
2 Blackheart, Son of Mephisto
4 Centurious, The Soulless Man
1 Blade, The Daywalker
1 Dr. Strange, Stephen Strange
4 Mist Form
4 Wake the Dead
4 Midnight Sons
4 Wild Ride
2 Have A Blast!
4 Lost City
4 Avalon Space Station