A few weeks ago, I did a very silly thing.

Back in the day, I used to be a very active Judo fighter. I used to travel up and down the country, competing in tournaments and doing quite well. Over the years, injuries and general wear and tear took their toll on my body, and five years ago, I made the (well overdue) decision to retire from competition and focus on teaching. This was a good plan. This was a sensible plan. It would have been a brilliant plan if I had stuck to it, but unfortunately, a few weeks ago, my ego got the better of me.

Just over a month ago, I received notice that the Judo National Grade Championships would be held in my hometown. Someone at my club made a throw-away comment along the lines of, “You should do it, Steve. I bet you’ve still got it!” Of course I’ve still got it! I was pretty good, after all, and surely five years off the circuit means little compared to the experience I’d gained while competing? Unfortunately, the event was only two weeks away, giving me little time to prepare. In my heyday, I would have trained hard for a few months in preparation, but once again, I thought I’d be okay. This competition would not be fought in weight categories, so I didn’t have to worry about my diet. I wasn’t overly concerned about my conditioning, either, because I try to stay pretty fit. I thought I had everything under control.

The day of the tournament rolled around and a few jitters began to set in. When I got to the venue, I quickly identified some of my opponents and realized that I was by far the oldest one there, and also one of the smallest. Apparently, in my time off the competition circuit, everyone decided to go all Brock Lesnar on me. Now I was starting to have a few concerns. I’m not exactly weedy myself, but these guys looked like strategically shaved silverbacks.

My first fight pitted me against a guy who had at least five inches on me, but I managed to strangle him to submission in less than one minute. Ha! See, I do still have it! Fight two was announced, and I faced gorilla #2 beaming with confidence. Two minutes and thirty seconds later, I’m rolling around the mat clutching at the torn something or other in the back of my left knee. Ouch. After ice and heavy taping, I managed to continue and finished in bronze medal position. My wife and children were happy for me, but I was furious with myself. I had been complacent and arrogant, and I vowed that I would not repeat those mistakes again.

This weekend, I did.

This Saturday, I headed down to The Games Club, London for a Trial of the Finest (ToF) tournament. The ToF is a vital process for those who want to compete in the forthcoming Master Challenge. If you want to participate in MC Manchester (June 23/24), you must “pay” for your entry with 5 Pro Circuit Credits, which are earned by placing well in the Trial of the Finest. Although I have sufficient points, I thought it would be nice to catch the train down to London and play in a competitive environment. I’ve played very little over the last few weeks due to my local store relocating, but I thought, “Hey, you’ll do fine. You’ve played hundreds of games before; a few weeks off won’t have hurt your game.” Ha! Sound familiar? I ended up having my backside handed to me, managing to go all day without a win! Stupid, stupid, stupid! That’s two bloody noses in the space of a month. I don’t want a third!

Regardless of your aims and goals in Vs. System, you simply must practice if you want to avoid being embarrassed. Don’t expect to coast through the opposition if you coast through your preparation.

The tournament was Golden Age and I decided to take a new version of my Darkseid of the Kree deck. The guys I played against were real gents who made losing a slightly less sore experience. Chris, Amit, and Steven were the types of guys that everyone wants to play against—fun, relaxed, and friendly. I’d played against Amit before at the London $10K and a PCQ, but Chris and Steven were new faces to me. After the dust settled, we talked about the forthcoming Master Challenge while we drafted Marvel Team-Up. The guys played in the Essen, Germany Master Challenge back in February and thoroughly enjoyed it, and the general feeling was that Manchester would be even better. We talked about what we all expected to see at the event, and of course, Kyle Dembinski’s “Quickfate” deck was at the top of the list.

Kyle Dembinski, Pro Circuit Sydney Champion

Characters

4 Ape X

4 Ted Kord ◊ Blue Beetle

1 Luna Maximoff

1 Lockjaw, Inhuman’s Best Friend

2 Mr. Mxyzptlk, Troublesome Trickster

4 Poison Ivy, Deadly Rose

4 Quicksilver, Inhuman by Marriage

1 Human Torch, Sparky

1 Dewoz, Dark Reflection

Plot Twists

4 The Royal Guard

4 Kill or be Killed

4 Air Strike

4 Windstorm

4 Flying Kick

Locations

4 The Great Refuge

2 Dr. Fate’s Tower

2 Soul World

Equipment

4 Helm of Nabu

3 Amulet of Nabu

3 Cloak of Nabu

For those who are unfamiliar with the deck, the aim is to suit up Quicksilver, Inhuman by Marriage with a full set of Fate Artifacts and then attack a couple times each turn. This may be my biggest understatement of the year, but this deck is quite fast. This monster is capable of winning as early as turn 3. Yes, you read right—turn 3. Ideally, your 1-drops will search out the Artifacts, and Poison Ivy will help maintain the resource row and ensure that Quicksilver is able to ready for a second attack. The Helm of Nabu lets you strip away unnecessary clutter in your hand, leaving only the most vital cards.

If you haven’t already done so, check out the excellent PC: Sydney tournament coverage on the shiny, new website. I think this closing passage from turn 4 of the final game sums up just how devastating this deck can be:

Kyle started off with Air Strike, replacing The Great Refuge in his row. Ivy KO’d Ted to get another Refuge, and then Kyle sent his enormous Quicksilver into Chris Smith. A further copy of The Royal Guard, a Flying Kick, and two copies of Kill or Be Killed brought the Mutant to an unprecedented 22 ATK; after activating the Safe House, Erik crashed down to 13 endurance.

Kyle then flipped over The Great Refuge to get Dewoz, and his Quicksilver readied for the final time at PC: Sydney. As the 2-drop ripped through Atom Smasher, Erik tried to save the game with Advance Warning, but Quicksilver still came in with the necessary 13 ATK. Erik could only lament, “First time I’ve missed 4 all tournament!”

And with that, the game came to a close with Kyle Dembinski taking the crown at PC: Sydney 2007!

That’s a 2-drop we’re talking about, people. The deck works so well because it is so tightly focused. It wants to kill you as quickly as it can, and everything is geared toward supporting that goal. There are no compromises in the build. There is no room for tech. The deck simply smashes face very hard and repeatedly. The deck loses nothing in the new Silver Age, and in fact gets a little better. With some versatile equipment hate rotating out with Marvel Knights, Quicksilver doesn’t have to worry so much about losing his Artifacts. If you want to beat this deck, you have to try to limit its offensive capabilities. How do we do that?

Kill the Artifacts!

Justice Is Served! is rather unspectacular as an ATK pump, but the secondary ability allows you to deal with the Fate Artifacts and bring Quicksilver down to a more manageable size.

Level 12 Intelligence is a card in the mold of Meltdown. I’m not overly enamored with the exhaustion cost, but then, we’ve been spoiled with the awesome multi-tasker from Marvel Knights.

Harvey Bullock, Bishop is another contribution from the Legion of Super Heroes expansion. I don’t believe there is enough representation for Gotham Knights (in Silver Age) to make this a viable choice, but if you’re running a multi-team toolbox deck that can readily team-up, this could be an option.

Multiverse Power Battery will only work if the opponent does not yet have the Cloak of Nabu, which is often the first thing he or she will go for.

A Proud Zinco Product is from the Hellboy Essential Collection and is only slightly less versatile than Meltdown.

Of all the options, I think A Proud Zinco Product is the card you should use if you want to include equipment hate. Level 12 Intelligence is okay, but the exhaustion is tough. Justice Is Served! is interesting, but only being able to use it when attacking the equipped character makes it a little too restrictive for my tastes.

Kill Quicksilver!

If you do manage to take Quicksilver out of the game, then you’ve broken the back of the deck. Of course, opponents could dig for another copy and start the process again, but chances are they will burn themselves out before they can take you down. The problem is that most KO or stun effects target the character, which means that they are useless when Quicksilver is protected by the Cloak. To make them effective, you need to remove the Cloak (hence the equipment hate) or kick the man when he is down (stunned). Of course, stunning a 7 DEF character on turn 2 or 3 is not that easy. And even if you do manage it, the opponent may have Luna Maximoff ready to recover the star of the deck’s show. So, how can we get around this problem?

Bullseye, Assassin for Hire does not target with his effect, so he’s a perfectly viable option. KO’ing a resource might be too steep if you’re not running a dedicated Syndicate deck, though.

Rose Wilson ◊ The Ravager, Daughter of Deathstroke and Rose Wilson ◊ The Ravager, Titans Tomorrow East are both options to consider. While their activated powers are targeted, the fact that you can substitute them into play in response to your opponent’s attempted Cloak recruit means that you can stun or KO Quicksilver before he’s under the protection of the Artifact. The 3-drop Rose stands more chance of getting on the board soon enough, but the 5-drop Rose has the bonus of being able to KO those nasty 3-drops (*cough*Ahmed*cough*).

If you’re playing the popular Kree / Villains United deck, then you have a good option in the form of High Society. While the ATK bonus is slight, a strong team attack will ensure that Quicksilver is off the board. Yes, he can come back next turn, but the Artifact will be lost.

As a team, the Heralds of Galactus have more ways to deal with Quicksilver than most. Morg, Corrupt Destroyer; Silver Surfer, Righteous Protector; Worldship; Terrax, The Tamer; and Terrax, Harbinger of Ruin are all options for dealing with the quick-footed mutant.

There are plenty of ways to deal with Quicksilver . . . in theory. The problem is that very few of them are quick enough. Personally, I think the best bet is to go with Rose Wilson ◊ The Ravager, Titans Tomorrow East, but even that is not guaranteed. If (big if) you manage to disrupt the Cloak, then your job is a lot easier, but if Quicksilver gets the Cloak on turn 2, then you’re facing an uphill battle.

Dealing with the Quickfate deck is something you have to consider if you’re going to be playing at MC: Manchester, but it is not your only concern. There are plenty of other decks around that are very capable of giving you a bloody nose. Last week, we looked at a few, and with today’s focus on Quicksilver, we see a recurring theme—all rely on a strong, face-up resource row. With this in mind, I would like to present all you rogue players with a decklist for consideration:

Darkseid of the Kree Redux

Characters

4 Lockjaw, Inhuman’s Best Friend

4 Franklin Richards, Creator of Counter-Earth

4 Commander Dylon Cir

2 Crystal, Elementelle

1 Rose Wilson ◊ The Ravager, Titans Tomorrow East

1 Dr. Doom, Richards’s Rival

4 Ronan the Accuser, Starforce

2 Darkseid, Apokoliptian Oppressor

3 Dark Superboy

1 Bron Char

1 Rose Wilson ◊ The Ravager, Daughter of Deathstroke

3 Quicksilver, Terrigenesis Rebirth

1 Darkseid, Apokolips Now

Plot Twists

4 Enemy of My Enemy

4 Extended Family

4 Improper Burial

4 Conquered Planet

4 A Proud Zinco Product

3 Trapped in the Sciencells

Locations

3 Planet Weapon

Equipment

3 Reality Gem

The basic aim of the deck is much like the previous incarnation’s, but unfortunately, Kanto is not legal this time around. Here are the basics:

Preferred Initiative: Evens

Mulligan Condition: Franklin Richards

Win turn: 6

The core strategy relies on getting Ronan the Accuser into your concealed area so that you can lock down the opposition’s resources without being worried about your 4-drop losing his counter. You tie your opponent’s hands until you can hit him or her hard on turn 6 with a couple of Quicksilver attacks.

I cannot stress how important it is to get the Franklin/Ronan thing online. If, on turn 3, you’re missing Franklin but have the 3-drop and an Enemy, search for your 2-drop and recruit him. Without Ronan keeping things locked down for a couple of turns, the deck will not be as effective.

Do not play Trapped in the Sciencells until Ronan is on the board. If you have a couple in your row on turn 3, leave them there. Flip them prematurely and your opponent will just flip everything he or she can in response. You should be aiming to team Inhumans and Kree so that you can use your small concealed guys to pay for Improper Burial. They also tend to hang around for quite a while and can be handy team-attackers on later turns. Do not flip the Team-Up until you need to, though; you might want to place a cosmic counter on Ronan or Franklin.

The Quickfate matchup is the toughest. Although this might sound a little backward, you often have to worry about Poison Ivy the most. If it’s early and you have the opportunity, take her down with an Improper Burial. She can really mess with your resource disruption if Ronan isn’t on the board. If you can start controlling the resources, you’ve got a chance. If need be, you can use Doom to dig for an Improper Burial or A Proud Zinco Product to help deal with things.

The Rock of Eternity decks are a little easier to deal with, especially if you can drop a Reality Gem on turn 5 after your opponent has backed everyone up.

Well, there you have it. Next week, we’ll take another look at the forthcoming Master Challenge and Silver Age in general, but before we go . . .

Deckbuilder Challenge Cup #8 Results

The results are in for the DBCC#8, and I have to say that this was very close. Barely a percentage point separated first and second place:

Mike Mullins: “Fantastic Force” – 27.9%

Gdaybloke: “Destroy All Fleshies” – 26.4%

George Shafer: “Marvels Worst Family” – 22%

Joherl: “Unlikely Control” – 13.2%

Brian Foley: “Web of Doom” – 10.2%

Mike Mullins: 5 Points

Gdaybloke: 3 Points

George Shafer: 1 Point

Next week, we will have the top five decks for DBCC#9 – Pauper Revisited, and the leaderboard will be updated.

Until then,

Steve

Steve “Kamiza” Garrett has been an active member of the vast Vs. System online community since day one. Steve is an ardent supporter of casual Vs. System play and the European game on the whole. If you are interested in supporting UDE games within Europe or have any comments regarding this article, please pop along to his website at www.the-kamiza.com.