Darwin is a true old-school TCG player, having attended almost every professional event since playing trading cards for money was first introduced. After quietly fading away from the pro scene for various reasons, Darwin found himself working for Vs. System R&D. That kindled his interest in the game, so he started playing in the PCs to see how things would go. So far he hasn’t really made his mark yet, but he’s been quietly doing well, and he came in to Day 2 with an 8-4 record in 29th place.

He found himself sandwiched between David Brucker to his left and Raffaele Lo Moro on his right, two very accomplished players in their own right. But they were Europeans! The question of whether the Europeans were going to be able to keep up with the Americans when it came to drafting was on everyone’s lips yesterday. Europeans were mostly defending their pride, saying the Americans were being overly confident and arrogant, but some had to admit that they did know more about drafting than the Europeans did. Most Americans were found picking on Europeans, making the boldest statements—“They’re just weaker”—but there, too, some players would admit that the Europeans they played yesterday actually seemed to know what they were doing.

Darwin Kastle has a plan that he hopes will put him ahead of even the American curve. He came into the draft hoping to force Marvel Knights/Underworld, and he wanted to focus on finishing the game before turn 6, valuing 1-drops higher than most and completely eschewing 7-drops. When he opened a Hell’s Fury, his strategy to force Marvel Knights/Underworld seemed destined to work, although he did have to pass up a Daredevil, Protector of Hell’s Kitchen to take it. His second and third pack featured Hounds of Ahab, which he quickly took as they fit right in with his aggressive plan. The rest of pack 1 consisted of the hard-hitting Blackheart and the hidden Skinner and Werewolf by Night. Evil Awakens and Children of the Night rounded out his picks to give his characters with concealed a little more oomph.

Pack 2 started off great with a Crime and Punishment, although Darwin would rather not have passed Luke Cage, Street Enforcer. The rest of the pack was rather unexciting, as he picked up some more solid hidden characters but no plot twists, and his deck looked a little weak after the first two thirds of the draft.

But then things really started ticking in pack 3. A first pick Strength of the Grave looked okay in his deck, but got a lot better when he picked up three copies of New Blood. Centurious and Anton Hellgate shored up his late drops, and another copy of Children of the Night powered up his hidden theme.

Darwin was very happy about his draft, saying, “A lot of people think games in this format always go to the seventh turn and I think a deck like this can really take advantage of that philosophy.”

With three New Bloods and an Orb backed up by five 2-drops, Darwin’s deck did indeed look very aggressive.

“With my initial plan to force Marvel Knights and Underworld and my willingness to compromise on my plot twists to get a good curve set,” Darwin explained, “I was delighted to get the two Hounds of Ahab early and the New Bloods late because I can just lock someone down with the right draw.”

The lack of plot twists didn’t seem to worry Darwin that much, and he was comfortable with running a 22:8 ratio as opposed to the more often seen 20:10 ratio. He also passed up on Hypnotic Charms to take Centurious, which I doubt is a common pick in a deck like this, but in the end his deck seemed really good—although maybe a little unusual.

Creatures

3 New Blood
1 Orb, Drake Shannon
2 Hounds of Ahab
2 Werewolf by Night
1 Iron Fist, Danny Rand
1 Mr. Code, Masked Malcontent
1 Stick, Leader of the Chaste
2 Skinner, Psychotic Shredder
1 Centurious, the Soulless man
1 Reaper, Vampire Armageddon
1 Vengeance, Michael Badilino
1 Scorpia, Elaine Colls
1 Battering Ram, Short-Lived Strongman
1 Anton Hellgate, Thanatologist
2 Blackheart, Son of Mephisto
1 Asmodeus, Duke of Hell

Plot Twists

2 Children of the Night
1 Crime and Punishment
1 Evil Awakens
1 Hell’s Fury
1 Mist Form
1 Shadow Step
1 Strength of the Grave