Welcome to another deck review in a long line of unlikely team-ups that somehow work out in the end. The two cards that inspired this deck are Satanus and Teen Titans Go!. Satanus is the smallest 6-drop in the game, but if he can take down a defender, he recovers and possesses (okay, gains control of) it. He doesn’t actually need to stay unstunned in the exchange . . . but why not team attack, protect him, and then Go! so he can steal another character?

Satanus, Go!

3 Dawn Granger ◊ Dove

3 Prankster

4 Tim Drake ◊ Robin, Young Detective

3 Hank Hall ◊ Hawk

2 Silver Banshee

3 Parasite

3 Hank Henshaw ◊ Cyborg

4 Mongul

2 Dick Grayson ◊ Nightwing, Titan Leader

4 Satanus

1 Connor Kent

1 General Zod

3 Airborne Assault

3 From the Shadows

2 Heroic Sacrifice

2 Marvel Team-Up

3 Mega-Blast

2 Metropolis

2 Revenge Pact

2 Suicide Slums

4 Teen Titans Go!

2 Titans Tower

2 World’s Finest

When playing this deck, you want even initiative—not only for Satanus’s attack, but for Parasite’s, as well. Also, General Zod likes being on defense on turn 7. On turn 1, you’ll likely be the only player with a 1-drop on the table. Prankster is a great way to start the game, and also a good way to start some disruption that will help your side in the later turns. The best number to pick when using Prankster’s ability is usually 4, as it eliminates Savage Beatdown, Flame Trap, Mystical Paralysis, and a host of annoying characters.

Tim Drake is fine on turn 2, but he’s really more for the team attacks you’ll be making from turn 4 on. Use Heroic Sacrifice to keep him around for the later turns. Hank Hall is a better bet for turn 2, unless you’d rather wait to boost him on turn 3. A boosted Hawk or Dove is the classic turn 3 Titans move, but Silver Banshee can help with board control if you already have a 1- and 2-drop in play and want to press your advantage. You might need a Mega-Blast for your 2-drop to reliably take down your opponent’s 3-drop, but if you can KO it, you’re looking good for Parasite on the next turn.

If you have the initiative on turn 4, go with Parasite. If not, go with Hank Henshaw. If you haven’t flipped a team-up yet, now is a fine time—you should have a Titan in play, and your only 4-drops are Revenge Squad characters. A boosted Tim Drake is not a great turn 4 play, but it can be useful on turns 5 or 7 along with another recruit. If you have the odd initiative and accidentally recruit Satanus on turn 6, a boosted Tim Drake on turn 7 can help keep Satanus alive. Parasite will certainly need the aid of From the Shadows to stay alive against any 4-drop, and even against many 3-drops, since your opponent will use any trick he or she can to stun Parasite in return. If your opponent doesn’t manage to stun Parasite, he gets a cosmic counter and becomes a huge 10 ATK/10 DEF monster. If Parasite does get stunned, he doesn’t get a counter. Another great option is to team attack with a 1-drop, and then have Tim Drake send the stun at the 1-drop instead of Parasite. Your opponent will likely protect his or her lower drops in the support row. Airborne Assault is perfect for the job, as giving all of your characters flight for the turn will help you send Parasite after a juicy, protected low-drop.

On turn 5, you want Mongul if you don’t have the initiative, and Dick Grayson ◊ Nightwing if you do have it. Mongul has a chance to do double stun endurance loss to another 5-drop, even while defending, especially if you’ve got Titans Tower out. If your opponent is playing an “off curve” strategy, Mongul makes for a good boosted recruit on turn 7. You were probably wondering why there’s only one 7-drop in the deck. Actually, you have plenty of options—Dick Grayson can also boost to 7.

Turn 6 is the make-or-break turn. Hopefully, by now, Revenge Pact has given you the characters you need. Satanus needs to team attack to steal a character, unless you’ve dutifully saved up Mega-Blasts. Even if you have, team attacks are still the preferred method, as you can then Teen Titans Go! to steal multiple characters.

Play an Airborne Assault and make your first enhanced team attack. You might as well attack with everyone if you have Teen Titans Go!. Do double stun damage if Mongul is still cosmically happy. Have Tim Drake direct the stun away from Satanus. Feel free to use Suicide Slums on any team attacker that you aren’t going to send the stun to for a “KO-free” +2 ATK bonus. Steal that stunned defender. Play Go! and attack the next drop you can manage. Play another Go! if you have it. By now, Satanus will be on his own, but he can stay alive (if you even care at this point) with a From the Shadows. He can also get the almost-required ATK pump from Titans Tower.

Now that you’ve stolen a couple of characters, you should have total board domination. What better way to reward Satanus for all of his hard work than by KO’ing him to General Zod on turn 7? The 6 ATK/6 DEF stats just don’t cut it on defense, but his cost of 6 sure does the trick with Zod’s power. You’ve got a couple of other stolen characters, so it should be no trouble to exhaust your opponent’s meager board and get in a few attacks of your own. Turn 7 is really just a mopping-up operation if things have been going well. Your opponent will probably concede the game on turn 6, anyway.

Good Luck!

Questions or comments may be sent to mhyra@metagame.com.