There are so many things happening in the world of Vs. System right now that it is nearly impossible to keep them all wrapped up. Whenever I think I have all the bases covered, something else takes off from first. Let’s see if we can get a few more ducks in a row and a handle on all the action.

City Championships are a happening all over North America as we speak. The Silver Age format lends itself to a slew of sick strategies, as well as some serious competitive tech. The Quicksilver deck that Kyle Dembinski rode all the way to a Pro Circuit Championship is clearly the favorite, but in this community, that simply means it has become the main hurdle to overcome on the way to deckbuilding glory.

Make no mistake—it is glory that we are reaching for. One list of sixty or more Vs. System cards will transform into a ticket to true immortality. Someone will be crowned City Champion, then have their deck chosen by a member of R&D, then watch their creation rise to the pinnacle of our sport. If you are the one, your lovely face will grace the artwork of a future Vs. System card and be celebrated as long as we all shall live.

Since I live in the Sunshine State, I will be blessed by the opportunity to attend more than one City Championship. Unfortunately, I missed the Jacksonville event because of a commitment at work. That’s what friends are for.

Ryeland “techn0range” Barnard flew the 1-drop Army banner and took notes. He came to the same conclusion that I did about the most entertaining way to beat Quicksilver . . . and then he didn’t face it all day! Oh well, at least we got an outstanding tournament report out of it. I’ll be back as soon as my dear orange-loving friend is done.

Jacksonville City Championship Report

by Ryeland Barnard

It was only a couple of nights ago when I finally decided on a deck for the City Championships at my local store. I tried many different strategies: energy burn with a Terror Incognita finisher, standard curve decks with most of the new teams from Marvel Team-Up, and other half-baked ideas that never fully developed into decks. As I browsed through the forums searching for ideas, I came upon a thread for Anti-Green Lantern (AGL) in Silver Age. I was already familiar with the deck because I’d played it during the last “Light Show” $10K event, so I decided to test it out.

I ran it against the decks I’d built that I knew stood a good chance of showing up, including QuickFate. Even with the limited testing I did, I felt it could do the job. Interestingly enough, I was short a couple of AGLs and happened to have two foil Insect Swarms sitting on my desk. I put them in and found them to be quite useful in a pinch.

For example, stunning Quicksilver with Xallarap is easy when he’s visible, but when he goes hidden, you might need some help. Insect Swarm enabled me to attack him while hidden to minimize damage on return attacks. Of course, this card also has other uses, such as returning an exhausted AGL to your hand to avoid the KO, or simply burning the opponent for 2 endurance.

On Saturday, the day of the event, I awoke in a hurry to gather my things and hit the road. Sigh. Boy did I want to hit the road. Though it normally takes me twenty to thirty minutes to get to the interstate, it took a whole hour! The tournament was supposed to start at 1 PM, and it was already 1:15 PM when I got there. I was greeted with various forms of “Where the heck have you been?” and all I could mutter was “Man, I hate traffic.”
 
Round 1: Ed, playing Marvel Defenders / Darkseid’s Elite (D&D).

We rolled for initiative and I got my evens. Turn 1 brought nothing productive for either of us. Turn 2 saw AGL for me and Tania Belinskya ◊ Red Guardian for Ed. On turn 3, Ed played Dark Firestorm while I played Xallarap. On turn 4, I found Felix Faust and Ed played Samantha Parrington ◊ Valkyrie. On turn 5, Ed played Dr. Strange, Founding Father and I played an AGL and another Felix.

I had bad draws in this match with no sign of Chomin anywhere. Ed also substituted Dark Thangarian and Dark Lantern on turn 5. Dr. Strange got in two swings thanks to Valkyrie, and for good measure, his Dark Lantern exhausted for Level 12 Intelligence. I lost -7 to 13

Record: 0-1

Round 2: Duane, playing X-Mental.

I got my preferred even initiatives again, and he played nothing turn 1 while I hit Chomin. On turn two I used The Ring Has Chosen to get an AGL, while Duane played Sage, Tessa. On turn 3, he under-dropped with Artie, even after digging with Sage. I managed to get Xallarap and swing the beats. On turn 4, I finished it with Felix while he recruited Professor X, Headmaster.

He did have a Mind Control to save some breakthrough endurance loss, but overall, he just didn’t have the cards to do much. A power-up on the professor and a Phoenix Rising also saved some breakthrough, but it was not nearly enough. I had two Blinding Rages, a Trial by Fire, and a Die for Darkseid! to put it away 34 to -12.

Record: 1-1

Round 3: Richard, playing JLA short curve power-up.

I was looking forward to this match, as once again I got my evens. On turn 1, he played Ray Palmer ◊ The Atom and I dropped Chomin. On turn 2, I played two AGLs while Richard played Prince Khufu ◊ Hawkman. On turn 3, he dropped Kendra Saunders ◊ Hawkgirl and I played my Xallarap. On turn 4, Felix was nowhere to be found, so I had to settle for three AGLs. Meanwhile, Richard played Katar Hol ◊ Hawkman, Eternal Hero. On turn 5, he finished me with Firestorm.

I tried to get rid of Kendra a couple of times with Banished to the Anti-Matter Universe, but that pesky Ray Palmer didn’t think that was very nice. Richard almost missed his curve on turn 5 when he had to use The Watchtower for mad topdecking skills. He also burned off some endurance searching for The Uni-Power to try to seal the deal, but no such luck. Missing the turn 4 Felix hurt, and it got even worse when Richard stonewalled my attacks on turn 5 via power-ups and Taking Up the Mantle. I lost -6 to 2.

Record: 1-2

Round 4: James, playing Brotherhood reservist.

It was evens for me again. On turn 1, he played Rem-Ram while I played an AGL. On turn 2, I played an AGL and Chomin while James played Sovereign Superior to get Chrome. On turn 3, he played Senyaka and I played Xallarap. On turn 4, I found Felix Faust and James Sovereigned again for Unuscione.

I had enough pumps to put the game away 31 to -8.

Record: 2-2

Round 5: Nick, playing X-Men / Wild Pack.

I got my evens again. It’s not that I won every die roll, but rather that my opponents chose odds when they won.

On turn 1, Nick played Jubilee while I played Chomin. On turn 2, I played two AGLs and Nick played Powell and Lockheed. On turn 3, he played Wolverine, Skrunucklehead while I managed to make my Xallarap. On turn 4, I hit my Felix and he played Silver Sable, World’s Deadliest Mercenary, pointing out her not-quite-dual loyalty. On turn 5, he finished me with Chen, Dazzler, and Blackbird Blue, while I had only Xallarap and AGL.

I saw no ATK pumps this game and made too many play mistakes. Nick also had recovery via Angel of Mercy on turn 2 and a Harry’s Hideaway on turn 4. He told me afterward that Bounty Hunt (which he played on turn 2) gave him his turn 5 play. In the end, I was defeated by the slimmest of margins, -11 to -10.

Final Record: 2-3, finishing 8th place.

All in all, I had big fun with the little Army guys and was just thankful I made it there in time. The Top 4 consisted of Spider-Friends curve to turn 8, QuickFate, Spider-Friends / Heralds of Galactus stall, and Checkmate / Villains United. QuickFate beat Spider-Friends and CVU won over Spider-HOG for a father (Cameron Robinson) vs. son (Colby Robinson) showdown. When the dust finally settled, it was the son, with QuickFate, who stood victorious.

Okay, this is Rian again. As soon as you come down from that funfest, I am ready to send you straight back to the stars. The Hellboy Essential Collection has my mind reeling, and it is indeed legal for the City Championships. My Thoolish Mortals deck has been tuned to perfection by adding a few key plot twists, locations, and characters from other sets, and I am trying not to explode while deciding whether or not to play it. While I am trying to keep my emotions under wraps, let me hand the microphone to another good friend so he can share something that is busting loose in his neighborhood.

Fuel

by Mike “kalandine” Mullins

While I haven’t found a game-breaking use of Jetpack, its return to Silver Age has greatly benefited the deck I hope to take to City Championships.

The deck is called Fuel, and it is pretty much straight Villains United. The characters are simply the fuel that feeds the deck’s board-control plot twists. The deck has reasonably good matchups against Quicksilver, Kree (especially Kree Team-Up decks), and Checkmate Team-Up decks.

Prior to the return of Jetpack, the deck ran Power Gem and some search to get the Gem in hand. But the Power Gem only provides its ATK bonus on the attack, and many Villains United characters have average or lower-than-average ATK values, thus allowing opponents to be too efficient in their attacks.

Jetpack provides its bonus all the time. While Dual Sidearms does the same thing, flight is far more significant on the attack than range is, and this deck attacks aggressively.

So, without further ado, here is the deck. Enjoy!

Characters
4 Cheetah
4 Count Vertigo
4 Dr. Psycho, Mental Giant
2 Ishmael Gregor ◊ Sabbac
2 Talia, Beloved Betrayer
2 Weather Wizard
4 Dr. Light, Furious Flashpoint
3 The Creeper
3 Deathstroke the Terminator, Lethal Weapon
1 Fatality, Flawless Victory
3 Black Adam, Teth-Adam
1 Hunter Zolomon ◊ Professor Zoom

Plot Twists
4 Baddest of the Bad
4 Flying Kick
4 High Society
3 No Mercy
4 Systematic Torture
4 The Uni-Power

Equipment
4 Jetpack

If we get any more fuel for the Vs. System fire, the whole thing might blow wide open. This, of course, is exactly what is happening in Konami’s online Marvel game. Over at MarvelTCGonline.com, you can find an entire community of virtual virtuosos ready to take the reigns and drive us all crazy with new combinations and card interactions. Some of them are living the dream.

Joe “Evohndahl” Warner from New Berlin, Wisconsin, has accomplished something that no one else can ever claim. He is the first Vs. System player in history to win a match in the Konami game by using Xavier’s Dream. He did it in a way that will splatter your brain all over the screen. He actually pulled it off by keeping all his characters concealed while using Orb, Gravesite, and [Eye of the Storm] to gain just enough endurance to stay alive long enough. Yes, you read that correctly. This fabulous feat was achieved with a combination of X-Men, Underworld, and Marvel Knights. Eye of the Storm swirls its tempest from the undiscovered depths of the X-Men starter deck. Break out the umbrella, because it may soon be busting loose on a computer screen near you.

Whether you like your card flipping to be global or local, there are thrilling things happening to sweep you away. Check up on the City Championships in your area or go digital in virtual reality, but make sure your feet are firmly planted. This game is seriously shaking something, and it can easily take you along with it.

Rian Fike is also known as stubarnes and he busts loose like this every Monday. If you have a plan to keep the cacophony under wraps, send it to rianfike@hattch.com.