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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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Unexpected Developments: Pro Circuit Sydney Card Pool -
  To ensure a level playing field, we’ve decided to remove the Hellboy product from legality for PC: Sydney.

 
 
 
Marvel Team-Up Preview: Daredevil, New Kingpin -
  A couple of well-placed billy clubs, and his enemies are out of commission for the turn.

 
 
 
Unexpected Developments: Getting What You Paid For -
  Frankie Raye ◊ Nova, Optimistic Youth was the most clear-cut example of a card that was doing too much for its cost.

 
 
 
Hellboy Preview: Hellboy, Anung Un Rama and Break off the Horns -
  There are three versions of Hellboy in the Essential Collection, representing him at various stages in the story arc.

 
 
 
Unexpected Developments: A Year in Review -
  As we finish our third year, I thought I’d take a look back at some of the highlights of this past year.

 
 
 
Unexpected Developments: Lights Out -
  This Dr. Light banning does not stem from a single interaction or “broken” deck, but rather from an accumulation of problems related to power level, design constraints, and game play.

 
 
 
Legion of Super Heroes Preview: Mobilize -
  This is undoubtedly one of the most powerful character search effects we have printed to date.

 
 
 
Unexpected Developments: Banned List Update -
  Based on this response from our player base and further internal testing, we have decided to reverse our decision and will be banning cards before the upcoming Pro Circuit.

 
 
 
Unexpected Developments: Timing of Bans and Errata -
  We are not intending to make any new bans or errata before the upcoming PC based on the interactions we have seen.

 
 
 
Unexpected Developments: Gone . . . But Not Forgotten -
  This banning takes effect when the Heralds of Galactus set becomes legal on September 23, 2006.

 
 
 
Heralds of Galactus Preview: The Fallen One -
  Heralds of Galactus is the first thorough exploration of the cosmic keyword since its inception in the Man of Steel set.

 
 
 
Unexpected Developments: The Second Round of Bannings -
  As R&D promised on Friday, we’ve prepared a full account of the reasoning behind the recent erratum, rules change, and bannings.

 
 
 
A Message from R&D -
  R&D has heard your response to the errata of Parademon and the banning of Justice League of Arkham and Antarctic Research Base, and we’re going to address your concerns in an article on Monday.

 
 
 
Unexpected Developments: Uniqueness & “Once Per Turn” -
  I hope that this brings you up to date on all the recent card and rules changes we’ve made.

 
 
 
Infinite Crisis Preview: Shazam, The Sorcerer -
  Shazam can turn around some blowout games like nobody’s business.

 
 
 
X-Men Preview: Enemy of My Enemy -
  Those of you reading are probably either very excited or wondering how on Earth we could make this card.

 
 
 
Best of 2005: Unexpected Developments: Time For a Change or Two -
  I believe that some of the more interesting articles to revisit are those where there is a heated issue with an accompanying policy change.

 
 
 
Best of 2005: Unexpected Developments: New Themes – Empty Hand -
  I’ve selected this article because it mentions many of the subtler issues in the challenge of bringing you exciting new areas of gameplay.

 
 
 
A New Age -
  Many players have asked for a “middle ground” between Modern Age and Golden Age. Now, with the release of Justice League of America, it is finally appropriate for us to announce a new format on the horizon.

 
 
 
Justice League of America Preview: Lex Luthor, Evil Incorporated -
  Yes, even a really bad guy can be an ally, though villains like Lex Luthor might have a slightly different take on what it means to help out their teammates.

 
 
 
Unexpected Developments: A One Man Army -
  From the outset, we planned to have all of the Kang characters be non-unique.

 
 
 
Unexpected Developments: Off-Curve Mechanics -
  I’ve mentioned in the past that encouraging off-curve strategies has been a priority for us in recent sets.

 
 
 
Unexpected Developments: New Themes – Empty Hand -
  The Squadron Supreme’s theme of emptying your own hand was one of the more interesting ideas I’d seen proposed as a direction for a team.

 
 
 
Unexpected Developments: Leader and Reservist -
  While each set has presented its own challenges, Avengers was particularly ambitious in just how many new areas it explored.

 
 
 
The Avengers Preview: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes -
  It’s now time for +7 ATK!

 
 
 
Unexpected Developments: Green Lantern Corps Card Development Stories -
  I thought I’d take this chance to look back at some of the Green Lantern Corps cards that caused the most deliberation during development.

 
 
 
Unexpected Developments: Time For a Change or Two -
  As you’ve hopefully seen by now, we’ve enacted a couple of changes that are likely to shake things up starting July 1.

 
 
 
Unexpected Developments: Combo Decks and Adaptive Metagames -
  We are closely monitoring the current metagame. That has been, and forever will be, a part of our responsibilities as developers.

 
 
 
Unexpected Developments: The Other "Team" in Green Lantern Corps -
  Green Lantern Corps Sealed Pack enters the spotlight this week!

 
 
 
Unexpected Developments: When Developers Design -
  The developers often take a more interactive role in the final form of the legacy cards than they do for the other cards in the set.

 
 
 
Green Lantern Corps Preview: Johnny Quick -
  Johnny epitomizes one of the major themes in the Anti-Matter team—taking full advantage of both the visible and hidden areas.

 
 
 
Unexpected Developments: PC Amsterdam Follow-Up and Predictions Contest -
  This article will use a little challenge I proposed last week as the basis to discuss what happened at the PC this past week.

 
 
 
Unexpected Developments: PC Amsterdam Predictions -
  Trying to tackle a discussion of Marvel Knights development so shortly before gaining all the insights we will undoubtedly glean from the PC seems ill-advised. Instead, I’ll challenge you to see what predictions you can make about the upcoming show.

 
 
 
Unexpected Developments: Lingering Questions -
  I figured I’d use today’s article to answer a number of questions that didn’t make it into my live chat for VsRealms.com.

 
 
 
Unexpected Development: Marvel Knights Development- The Teams -
  Today, I’ll run through what I remember about the evolution of teams as I received them from the designers.

 
 
 
Unexpected Development: Tier 1 Decks and Development -
  Even if a deck has just a small edge in each of a metagame’s most expected matchups, a pro player is likely to identify that and go with that deck.

 
 
 
Unexpected Developments: Making the Most of the Hidden Area -
  Is a concealed on a 6-cost character a benefit or a drawback? What about on a 2-drop? There isn’t really a hard and fast answer to those questions.

 
 
 
Keeping it Fresh: New Formats -
  One great way to shake things up in the Constructed scene is to introduce formats that use a subset of the total card pool. Hopefully, the recent announcement about the new Constructed formats has you all pumped.

 
 
 
Marvel Knights Preview: Mr. Fear -
  As you’ll see when the whole Marvel Knights set is spoiled, there are some Crime Lords cards that give you more influence over your opponent’s attacks than he or she will have.

 
 
 
Marvel Knights Preview: X-Statix HQ -
  The X-Statix will have you playing games in a way you never have before.

 
 
 
Superman, Man of Steel Preview: Bronze Tiger -
  While there aren’t enough new cards in Superman, Man of Steel to cover all of the bases, it’s easy to argue that the League benefits more from the new set than any other team.

 
 
 
Superman, Man of Steel Preview: Granny Goodness -
  Granny Goodness is the first character to facilitate inter-affiliation team ups.

 
 
 
Unexpected Developments: Sinister Syndicate -
  From a development standpoint, Sinister Syndicate presented some special challenges.

 
 
 
Unexpected Developments: Spider-Friends -
  Oh Longshot, how much the Development team loves you!

 
 
 
Unexpected Developments – X-Men -
  The following were some of the concepts we wanted to further foster within the X-Men: Weenie-Swarm, Unstunnable, Discard, Recovery, Direct Stun, and Aerial Supremacy.

 
 
 
Off the Straight Curve -
  When the designers ship me a new playtesting set, one of the first things I do is build a deck or two for every team that can effectively play one large character each turn . . .

 
 
 
The Good Doctor? -
  While some teams will take a different approach against a given strategy, we don’t want any deck type to just roll over in any particular matchup.

 
 
 
Power-Up! -
  As the first months of Vs. System in the outside world progressed, it was clear we had created a powerhouse in Brotherhood, which was fueled at times with Lost City.

 
 
 
Web of Spider-Man Preview: Rocket Racer -
  Rocket Racer was the preview card given away at Gen Con Indy, which makes it the only new Web of Spider-Man card that players have their hands on. After receiving the card, most people asked, “What’s evasion?”

 
 
 
Location, Location, Location -
  “303.5 Locations are unique.” Well, that’s what you learn in the comprehensive rules anyway . . .

 
 
 
Game Development: The Pitfalls and the Output -
  Some of you must think that we have cushy jobs. I mean, we get paid to play and design games. How tough can that really be? What are the challenges?

 
 
 
DC Limited: Gotham Knights Common Picks, the Characters -
  Last week, I went through the common character picks for the Arkham Inmates. This time around, I'll be tackling the Gotham Knights (GK).

 
 
 
DC Limited: Arkham Inmates Common Picks, the Characters -
  Having discussed loyalty recently and having done some Teen Titans previews, I haven’t said too much about the Arkham Inmates yet. So today I’ll give a rough guide for the order to draft their common characters, beginning with their best options.

 
 
 
Sealed Pack with DC Origins -
  Hopefully you’ll be building plenty of DC Comics Origins sealed packs soon, so today, I'm bringing you a new example using five packs of the DC set.

 
 
 
Loyalty in Limited -
  Once upon a time, I recommended a certain number of characters at each of the cost points in a 30-card Limited deck. Why am I revisiting these numbers? Well, they are worth thinking about when delving into a discussion on playing characters with loyalty.

 
 
 
An Overview of Limited in the Near Future -
  Unless you were at the Origins Convention this past weekend, you probably haven’t had a chance to play with DC Origins cards in Limited yet. Here’s a taste . . .

 
 
 
DC Origins Card Preview: T-Jet -
  Is The Blackbird a little too rich for your blood? Is it too rainy for a trip in the Fantasticar? Then have your team climb aboard the T-Jet.

 
 
 
DC Origins Card Preview: Dick Grayson ◊ Nightwing, Titan Leader -
  If you’ve scoured the web there’s a good chance you’ve already spotted a preview of another Dick Grayson ◊ Nightwing. This Teen Titans version continues a roster that should be sure to please any Nightwing (or Robin) fan, both in quality and quantity.

 
 
 
Common Draft Pick Order: X-Men and Brotherhood -
  Last week, I gave a rough ranking of common non-character cards for draft, available here. Today I’ll do the same for characters, beginning with the two largest teams.

 
 
 
Common Draft Order: Non-Characters -
  Today I’m going to go through the common non-character cards in a very rough draft order from strongest to weakest.

 
 
 
Card Preview: Vulture -
  If combat stats and benefiting from combat tricks is where you think "it's at," then you should be drooling over today's preview card . . .

 
 
 
Let's Play Already -
  Learning how to construct a good Limited deck is just half the battle. Today I return to the realm of advice on playing your Limited deck . . .

 
 
 
A Drafting Game Plan -
  There are often a number of approaches to take into a draft . . .

 
 
 
The Mulligan in Limited vs. Constructed -
  When it comes to Limited, you can't draw upon knowledge of how you mulligan with your deck. Not only do you have to be familiar with what cards are generally strong in draft, but you also have to know what cards fulfill keys roles in your build.

 
 
 
Setting the Stage -
  Before you've even reached the table, you've put a lot of effort into the outcome of any game you play. Despite all of this preparation and metagaming you've done in advance, you are now likely to make two of your most important gameplay decisions, both before you've even played a resource.

 
 
 
Making the Cuts in Sealed Pack -
  This week I'll be presenting ways to build a deck from a Sealed Pack pool, using the card pool I presented last week as an example . . .

 
 
 
Drafting Vs. -
  When you draft with three Vs. packs, you will only collect 42 cards, and you must build a deck with a minimum of 30 cards . . .

 
 
 
The Limiting Factor -
  From your experience with Constructed, you may be very familiar with how to build a X-Men deck, but when you don’t have four Children of the Atom and a plethora of Wolverines at your disposal, it may not be so apparent how to build the optimal deck from your card pool.

 
 
 
Mr. Fantastic, Scientific Genius -
  The Fantastic Four is the most adept team at utilizing equipment cards in Origins, and Mr. Fantastic in his various versions is likely to be the cornerstone figure in any deck built around an equipment theme.

 
 
 
The New Brotherhood -
  The New Brotherhood is one card in the set that presents you with an unusual question fairly early in the game: Do I play a resource at all this turn?

 
 
 
Annihilus -
  Annihilus is the higher-costed team member of two characters who call the Negative Zone home . . .

 
 
 
Children of the Atom -
  Children of the Atom is not just one of the best plot twists in the Marvel game‑it’s one of the most powerful cards in the game and should see play in most decks centered around the X-Men.

 
 
 
Sabretooth, Victor Creed -
  If you are staring down Sabretooth on your opponent’s side of the board, you should strongly considered directing your attacks elsewhere. In general, it is advisable for you to try to stun multiple opposing characters in a turn.

 
 
 
   
 
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