The Sentry™
Card# MTU-017

While his stats aren’t much bigger than those of the average 7-drop, Sentry’s “Pay ATK” power can drastically hinder an opponent’s attacking options in the late game.
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One Step Beyond: The Injustice of DC Modern Age

Steve Garrett

July 17, 2006

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Tomorrow, July 19^th, is my birthday. I will be turning thirty-one years of age, and as I look back on my life thus far, I have to say that I am quite happy with how things have turned out. I also feel that the road I’ve traveled has forged me into a quite balanced individual who has a few words of advice for those willing to listen. Life is most certainly about living. There is no point worrying about what might be or what has been. Always be mindful of history, but never let it dictate your future. Life has a habit of slapping you in the face from time to time—but there’s no point getting angry, because that’s what life is supposed to do. In the last ten years it seems like life has not so much slapped me in the face as kicked me in the gut. I’ve lost an awful lot of family to cancer but I try not to get angry. After all, what is the wheel of life meant to do if not turn?

Do you know what really makes me mad? Do you know what really burns my soul? The fact that UDE didn’t make this game ten years ago. If Upper Deck had pushed this game out a decade ago, I could have quite happily traveled the world (very cheaply, as I work for an international airline), flipping cards and meeting players from across the globe. Now, I’m married to a beautiful redhead, and I have two equally beautiful daughters that I just can’t bear to be away from. Life has thrown up a new set of priorities, and the mortgage payments leave little room for globetrotting. That, my friends, is total Injustice.

While I might not be able to make Pro Circuit Indy, it doesn’t stop my mind from running through the possibilities that the forthcoming DC Modern Age presents. Last week I spoke about the Secret Society and the potential impact it may have on the format. This week I want to talk a little about the other bad guys from the Justice League of America set.

Disclaimer: None of the information below is guaranteed to be tier 1 gold. I cannot be held responsible for any loss of earnings resulting from using the information that follows. If you do win money as a result of listening to me, though, I do expect a cut.

Injustice Gang Team Strategy

There are two overriding strategies embedded within the ranks of the Injustice Gang: hand control/burn and Army swarm.

Hand Control/Burn

The thing I like most about this strategy is the inherent risk involved. The basic premise is to fill your opponents’ hands with cards and then punish them for having a fistful of cardboard. Giving your opponents access to more cards is normally a very, very bad thing. After all, you are increasing the likelihood that they will have the card they need when they need it. However, the potential benefits of the strategy are pretty substantial. Injustice Gang has arguably the best combat pump and defensive pump in the game. All Too Easy can enable your small characters to attack up the curve to an unprecedented degree, while Power Siphon can “bounce” all but the strongest attacks—as long as things have gone your way, of course.

As with any deck, there are key components that the IG hand burn deck cannot do without. Lex Luthor, Nefarious Philanthropist is the lynchpin of the deck. He provides a steady stream of cards to fill your opponent's grubby little mitts while also limiting his or her options through plot twist control. Scarecrow, Psycho Psychologist does the bulk of the burn damage, although IQ is far from idle in that department.

Characters

6 Infernal Minions

4 IQ

2 Captain Boomerang, George Harkness

4 Lex Luthor, Nefarious Philanthropist

1 Sam Scudder ◊ Mirror Master

4 The Joker, Headline Stealer

1 Floronic Man, Alien Hybrid

4 Scarecrow, Psycho Psychologist

2 The General

2 The Joker, Permanent Vacation

Plot Twists

4 Criminal Mastermind

2 Multiverse Power Battery

Locations

3 Injustice Gang Satellite

This is one of the first drafts I put together for DC Modern Age. There will be other (better) versions played at Indy for sure, but it's a good enough starting point for demonstrating the strategy. Your mulligan condition is Lex; he really is vital. I would even go as far as recovering him instead of my 4-drop should the situation arise. The six copies of Infernal Minions are very handy as well. Having a character ready to fuel a potential turn 1 Criminal Mastermind helps to get the engine going early, and having someone in play to enable Secret Files is useful as well. Floronic Man has replaced Abra Kadabra as the alternative 5-drop, as the location hate is probably more relevant in the current metagame. As I said, keeping Lex around is crucial, but (quite rightly) he'll be a marked man, so Revitalize and Balance of Power are in there as defensive options. The deck is pretty good in a vacuum, but if you look at the expected environment, it's probably not a brilliant choice.

The Good Guys player will thank you for filling his hand with power-ups, and someone playing with the Fate Artifacts will not suffer from the usual hand disadvantage associated with playing equipment-based decks. Checkmate-based decks will not feel the pinch from the plot twist control that Lex and The Joker provide. Still, if you want to try something a little different, this could be fun.

Army Swarm

Infestation—this card really annoys me. My friend Jason (the owner of Final Fantasy Games in Luton) loves the Army swarm deck. His beloved “Fleas” deck works really well and thrives in our casual local scene. The idea is to get as many copies of Insectoid Troopers into play as you can. Then you attack for huge amounts with Infestation combined with the Troopers’s ability. When it goes off, it's pretty aggressive and does a ton of damage—but only if you can get a decent number of characters into play. Shadow-Thief and Tattooed Man, Living Ink are both very good at putting your swarm together. Membership Drive will give Tattooed Man even more scope for bringing out your Troopers, while Zazzala ◊ Queen Bee, Royal Genetrix helps keep your army together.

The thing that worries me about this deck is the lack of defense against weenie hate. One Spectral Slaughter and it’s goodnight. Why oh why is Paul Ebersol ◊ Fixer not a DC character? Good Guys have strong options available to handle this deck with the new Adam Strange as well as Oliver Queen ◊ Green Arrow, Emerald Archer. Shadowpact—purely for the above mentioned Spectral Slaughter—and Villains United both have an advantage over the Fleas. When you factor in the loss of Birthing Chamber, the odds are stacked a bit too highly against success at Indy. However, if you’re feeling brave, then give it a crack.

While the two main deck types available to the Injustice Gang player may be stronger in other formats, they certainly should not just be randomly dismissed. If they contribute nothing else, they do have a few cards that I can see splashed into other decks. Floronic Man seems to have a lot of potential, while Poison Ivy, Deadly Rose can search out powerful locations that seem to be particularly abundant in the format. I also really like The General. His recovery ability is pretty smart, but I most value the protection he offers from Gorilla Grodd and other leaders in the format.

Next week we’ll have ourselves a “two for the price of one” special as I look at the JLA and the JLI. Is there more to them than Good Guys?

Deckbuilder Challenge Cup

Before we leave, it’s time to announce the “top five” list for the Deckbuilder Challenge Cup: Poor Man’s Vs. System. I want to thank everyone who took time to submit a deck. This challenge saw a record number of entries, so whittling them down took an awful lot of time.

Here is the top five in no particular order:

Tom Reeve: “Teen Guy Squad”

Characters
3 Dawn Granger ◊ Dove
4 Ted Kord ◊ Blue Beetle
2 Sue Dibny
2 Hank Hall ◊ Hawk
2 Booster Gold
1 Connor Hawke ◊ Green Arrow
4 Tim Drake ◊ Robin, Young Detective
4 Roy Harper ◊ Arsenal
3 Joseph Jones ◊ General Glory
4 Red Star, Leonid Kovar
2 Kimiyo Hoshi ◊ Dr. Light
2 Oliver Queen ◊ Green Arrow, Hard-Traveling Hero
1 Fire, Beatriz DaCosta
1 Martian Manhunter, J'onn J'onzz

Plot Twists

4 Justice League Task Force, Team-Up
4 Teen Titans Go!
4 Magnificent Seven
4 Lanterns in Love
3 Press the Attack

Equipment
4 Nth Metal
1 Image Inducer
1 Chopping Block

Tom’s description:

The plan with this deck is to take evens—running an early curve out there and using Booster power-ups and recovery effects to carry an extra character or two into turn 4—drop Red Star with Nth Metal, and take down their board. Turn 5 the deck is built to be at least reasonably comfortable activating Roy Harper if it feels the need, otherwise using a recovery effect to keep Red Star (and using Oliver Queen to beat up on off-curve decks, possibly even using Press the Attack and Magnificent Seven to shoot multiple characters during the same attack).

Then on turn 6, you drop 5-6 resource points of characters and use TTG/Press along with Roy Harper and Tim Drake/Red Star to stun their board and set up a final team attack to the face (to get the benefit of Justice League Task Force and possibly Kimiyo).

I couldn't decide between Lanterns in Love and JLI Embassy, but I went for Lanterns in the end, as you can use it turn 5 without being forced to have Roy Harper in play and activate him. (Home Surgery would have been nice, but uncommon, natch.)

Ian Vincent: “TNB Reservists”

Characters

4 Rem-Ram
4 Pyro, Freedom Force

4 Chrome
4 Dane Whitman ◊ Black Knight

4 Senyaka
4 Quicksilver, Mutant Avenger

4 Anne-Marie Cortez

3 Hawkeye, Clinton Barton

3 Scanner
2 She-Hulk, Gamma Bombshell

Plot Twists

4 The New Brotherhood
3 Sovereign Superior

4 Call Down the Lightning
4 Planet X
4 Flying Kick

Locations

1 Savage Land

Equipment
4 Thunder Jet

Ian’s description:

Simply put, this should be the fastest deck in the pauper format. Mulligan aggressively for The New Brotherhood, and start attacking with odd initiatives. Call Down the Lightning is probably the best card in the deck. Make sure you replace an Avengers character (any if you’re teamed-up) to avoid the stunback. Hand management is a little odd in reservist decks. You might need to keep a character back for Sovereign Superior, but other than that, you’re trying to put ones you don't need in the resource row to power Call Down the Lightning. With Anne-Marie, a 1-cost character will take care of most common combat tricks. Make your 5-drop from the resource row, and don't replace it; this will keep The New Brotherhood combat bonus active.

Craig Perso: “EoME: $50; Beatdown: $40; Avenging on a Budget: Priceless!”

Characters

4 Beast, Furry Blue Scientist

4 Rem-Ram

4 Chrome

4 Dane Whitman ◊ Black Knight

1 Moonglow, Melissa Hanover

3 Quicksilver, Mutant Avenger

2 Joanna Cargill

1 Scorpion, Fatal Sting

1 Senyaka

1 Doctor Druid

1 Kimiyo Hoshi ◊ Dr. Light

3 Carol Danvers ◊ Warbird

1 Hawkeye, Clinton Barton

1 Spoor

1 Anne-Marie Cortez

1 Firestar

1 Nighthawk, Kyle Richmond

4 John Henry Irons ◊ Steel, Steel-Drivin' Man

2 Harry Delgado

1 Genis-Vell ◊ Photon, Transformed

1 Hercules

Plot Twists

4 Call Down the Lightning

4 Heroes in Reserve

4 Planet X

4 Sovereign Superior

1 Forbidden Loyalties

Locations

1 UN Building

Equipment

1 Light Armor

Craig’s description:

The idea is pretty simple: This is a reservist deck making use of the Avengers’ and Brotherhood's themes from Avengers and X-Men. Beast and Moonglow fetch the Team-Up cards, but the deck can survive without them, as both Heroes in Reserve and Call Down the Lightning can work for anyone. Sovereign Superior searches out all the silver bullet cards as long as care is taken with who gets placed face down. Most bases are covered with the splashed characters: Scorpion and Warbird for board control, Doctor Druid and Genis-Vell for defense, and Hawkeye for those little guys that get annoying. Dr. Light lets you team attack like a madman on turn 6. Anne-Marie Cortez is there for plot twist control; Firestar for some extra burn to finish the opponent off; Nighthawk for concealed enemies; and finally Harry Delgado for stopping reinforcement.

Mike Mullins: “Endurance Loss with a Vengeance”

Characters

4 Cheetah, Feral Feline
4 Count Vertigo, Werner Vertigo
4 Dr. Psycho, Mental Giant
4 Ishmael Gregor ◊ Sabbac, Malevolent Marvel
4 Weather Wizard, Mark Mardon
4 Dr. Light, Furious Flashpoint
4 Zazzala ◊ Queen Bee, Mistress of the Hive
4 Deathstroke the Terminator, Lethal Weapon

Plot Twists
4 Baddest of the Bad
4 Flying Kick
4 Grand Gesture
4 Mega-Blast
4 Surprise Attack
4 Systematic Torture
4 Trial by Sword

Mike’s description:

This deck provides a short curve through turn 4 and a swarm on subsequent turns in an effort to reduce the opponent's endurance to 0 as quickly as possible. Simply put, the deck does not want to reach turn 6. Characters during a game of VS will get stunned; it’s a fact of life—and the Villains United characters attempt to make this fact of life as painful as possible for the opposing player. With two characters who turn stunning into direct endurance loss for the opponent, this deck focuses on ending the game quickly. Once stunned, a character can be used to meet the costs of cards such as Baddest of the Bad and Grand Gesture. In addition to working with Zazzala to continue the burn theme, the return-to-hand cost of these two plot twists helps ensure that you have the characters you need on turn 5, when the deck often puts as many as three characters into play. This—plus Dr. Light's vengeance effect—helps maintain the deck's board presence, while Systematic Torture limits the board presence of opposing characters and inflicts direct endurance loss.

George Shafer: “MOHawk”

Characters

3 Terry Sloane ◊ Mr. Terrific, Golden Age Gold Medalist
3 Retrieval Protocol ◊ OMAC Robot, Army
3 Prince Khufu ◊ Hawkman, Eternal Warrior
2 Neutralization Protocol ◊ OMAC Robot, Army
4 Michael Holt ◊ Mr. Terrific, Renaissance Man
3 Elimination Protocol ◊ OMAC Robot, Army
3 Katar Hol ◊ Hawkman, Eternal Hero
3 Annihilation Protocol ◊ OMAC Robot, Army
2 Carter Hall ◊ Hawkman, Eternal Champion
2 Huntress, Reluctant Queen
1 Phantom Stranger, Wandering Hero

Plot Twists

3 Allied Against the Dark, Team-Up
3 Living Legacy
3 Taking Up the Mantle
3 A Moment of Crisis
3 Token Resistance
3 Defend Yourself!
3 Revitalize

Locations

3 Checkmate Safe House, Team-Up
3 Slaughter Swamp

Equipment

4 T-Spheres

George’s description:

The name says it all. (Well, at least the longer version does.) This deck uses Mr. Terrific's bonus to exhausted characters and T-Spheres with OMAC Robots’ recovery, KO, and curve-manipulating effects. It also uses Hawkman's identity-based power-ups to create a swarming field of powerful low-cost characters. Of the 29 character cards in this deck, 26 have one of the three primary identities. The other three cards (two Huntress and a Phantom Stranger) are mainly included for their discard effects, although they're certainly viable options to be Slaughter Swamp’ed back to be played on their respective turns. The plot twists are a mix of identity-based and exhaustion-based to get the full effect from the assembled characters. Exhausting a front row defender for Token Resistance and following it up with Defend Yourself! will certainly be an unpleasant experience for any opponent, as that could potentially be a total +9 ATK / +3 DEF pump for your defender (with both Mr. Terrifics) while his attacker loses a point of ATK. A Moment of Crisis and Taking Up the Mantle will make sure that almost every card in your hand becomes a power-up (a +1 / +2 power-up with the right Hawkman in play) for any character you control, and Revitalize will help maintain board presence.

As ever, you can vote for your favorite deck from the list above by either emailing me (kamiza989@gmail.com) or by voting on the poll I have posted on my website (www.the-kamiza.com).

Well, I’m off to go spend the last few hours of being a 30-year-old exactly the way any birthday boy should—writing next week’s article! See ya later!

Steve Garrett

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