Ryan Jones sat down at table three for the Avengers draft of Day 2 at PC Indianapolis 2005 with a small sigh. Had he been at table two, he would have felt more confident, as he faced some stiff competition. It isn’t as if Jones has any reason to feel outclassed at any Vs. draft table in the world, but first thing in the morning, I’m sure he would have been happy to have a few slightly easier rounds.
One useful weapon that he had going to the table, though, was knowledge of the format and the preferences of various drafters at the table. Knowing that his compatriots had preferences for playing with Thunderbolts and Squadron Supreme gave him an immediate angle in approaching the draft. His personal preferences lay with Squadron Supreme and the Kang Council, which sounds rather like a jazz fusion combo, but Ryan seemed happy with either team. He knew that Bulk Lao would also be happy to draft the Kangs, but as Bulk was two seats downstream of Jones, there was ample opportunity to find a niche in the draft.
Pack one was a tricky one for Jones, all told. A first pick Kang, Lord of Limbo was pretty clear, and put Jones in exactly the team he wanted, but things were far from easy from there on. Kang, Ultimate Kang came as a third pick, but neither strong combat plot twists or characters for the Kang plan were obviously forthcoming. Various potentially powerful splash characters made it onto Jones’s pile, including Polaris and White Tiger, while the Squadron Supreme option was limited to but a few characters, including Hyperion. With just two Kangs and a Macrobots after pack one, things did not look good for the winner of PC SoCal 2004.
This all changed for pack two. Kang, Ultimate Kang was followed by Baltag, Hand of the Conqueror. My notes for the next six picks went as follows: Kang, Kang, Kang, Kang, Kang, Kang. If this draft report feels like it is turning into a Monty Python sketch with Vikings and compressed meat products, then you wouldn’t be far off. Jones ended up with four copies of Kang, Ultimate Kang in total, along with two Kang, Master of Time, a pair of Kang, Kang Cobras, and a Kang, Kang Ransom. The only real issues that Ryan had in terms of characters going into the third pack was a lack of high drops and a complete dearth of copies of Kang, Rama Tut, who is a pretty important addition to any draft offering. He was a real winner in terms of affiliated plot twists, too. Kang Kross-Roads came twelfth pick, and as Jones nonchalantly checked out his fourteenth “pick,” he was pleasantly surprised to find a Psyche Globe. At this point it was pretty clear that Jones was the only Kang drafter at the table, which is exactly what he had wanted. Much like X-Statix as a draft team before it, Kang Council decks can be very powerful in draft for a single player, but are just destroyed if more than one player tries to fight for the affiliation.
In pack three, there was the comical situation of Ryan almost mimicking his fourteenth pick with the subsequent first pick. He rightly determined that ultimately the Psyche Globe would be lapping, and instead went with Might Makes Right, and was happy to receive a Tempus in the following pack. When Jones received another Tempus shortly after, he looked pretty well set, rounding out his deck with Power Princess as a second 7-drop, and a late Sphere of Solitude with which to surprise somebody in the next three rounds.
Jones’ prediction for his deck was 2-1, and his deck seems well capable of doing it.
Kang Kang Kang Kang
Kang Kang Kang Kang
Kangity Kaaaaang!
Kangity Kang Ka-Kang!