Alex Brown has played in six $10Ks during his Vs. System career and has managed an astounding five Top 4 finishes, including a win at $10K Auckland. As somewhat of a limited specialist myself, I really wanted to ask him where he rates the Australians’ caliber of drafting against that of the rest of the world. When he told me that he felt they were among the best, I just had to put him to the test.

The draft started off well for Alex, as he opened a pack with a bomb location in Avengers Mansion, an excellent character in Whizzer, and one of the best plot twists in the set in Windstorm. After eschewing the rare card, he eventually settled on the Windstorm. His second pack provided him with a few more options. He had left himself open to choose a team by taking the plot twist first, and he was passed another very good character in Wonder Man. He was a little hesitant to take it, but eventually he decided to go for the big guy. His fourth pick gave him a decision between Heinrich Zemo ◊ Baron Zemo, Hercules, and Kang, Lord of Limbo. After some careful deliberation, Alex decided that he wanted the Baron. Zemo’s ability is exceptional in a Faces of Evil deck, but it is powerful enough to make him a worthy addition to any deck.

Alex’s next pick would set the tone for the rest of the draft. Previously, he had shown his dislike for the Avengers affiliation when he chose the Windstorm over the Avengers Mansion, and also when he decided to take Heinrich Zemo ◊ Baron Zemo over Hercules. The pack he now examined had Black Panther, an extremely potent reservist character; Iron Man, Tony Stark, another very good Avengers character; and Albert Gaines ◊ Nuke, one of the best 5-drops in the set. When he decided to take the Nuke, his decision became clear. He rounded out the rest of the first pack by choosing Kang, The Conqueror, a late Eldritch Power, and a Lamprey as the important cards.

He began the second pack signaling his desire to end up Squadron Supreme/Kang by selecting Might Makes Right out of a rather lackluster pack. His next pack contained the powerful Faces of Evil, which would force him to almost completely abandon his previous choices, and an Arcanna. Arcanna isn’t the best card in the world, but it was the only real pick for him in the pack.

His next pack provided a few exceptional cards for his deck. Upon reviewing the pack, Alex immediately lined Answer the Call; Airskimmer; and Justice, Like Lightning at the front of the pack. Answer the Call is almost an essential card to the Squadron strategy, since the team needs something to help maintain consistency after a Squadron player has emptied his or her hand. Airskimmer is an excellent combat pump that has to be played from the hand. This works very well in a Squadron deck, as it diminishes hand size. Lastly, Justice, Like Lightning is a solid, generic combat pump that will work on any character. After reviewing his choices, Alex decided that he wanted the flexibility of Justice, Like Lightning and added it to his pile.

The next few packs were rather unspectacular, as he added Foxfire; Melissa Gold ◊ Screaming Mimi; and Hibernaculum to his pile. His eyes lit up, though, when he saw his seventh pack. Behavior Modification Device—one of the best cards in the set for a Squadron Supreme build—was staring back at him. The pack also featured an Answer the Call and an Airskimmer, but the power of the Mod to empty hands as well as team-up made it the obvious choice out of the pack. He rounded out the rest of the pack with a few more picks and a few more Kangs.

Alex’s final pack gave him a pretty good selection, albeit not a great one. His main decision was between Justice, Like Lightning and Doctor Spectrum. The plot twist is a very good card, but Alex was a little low on 6-drops and needed the solid, reservist body. He second-picked a Shape over a Golden Archer and was pleased to see another Eldritch Power staring back at him in the third pack. Most of he rest of his picks were spent filling out his curve. He picked a Kang, Ultimate Kang over another Shape and an Inertia over Hyperion. His sixth pack provided him with a Supply Line, which he took over an Airskimmer and another Inertia. He picked up an off-team Jolt in order to round out his 4-drops, and his last pick of note was to take a Macrobots over a Quagmire.

All in all, I thought Alex’s draft went fairly well. He didn’t really get any bombs, but his combat pumps are very good: two Eldritch Powers, Justice, Like Lightning, and Windstorm. He said he thought that he should be able to go 2-1. He was pleased with his deck but really lamented some of the decisions he was forced to make. “I knew I didn’t want to go Avengers. It was kind of unfortunate opening that Avengers Mansion and getting passed the Wonder Man. The only thing I really knew is that I wanted to be the last person to decide on a team. I feel I did pretty well, but there should be some tough competition at this table. I’m expecting the decks to my left to be a little weaker than normal, but I’m worried about Mike Dalton and Dave Spears, though. Anytime you get two players near each other that know how the other drafts and plays, it can really make for two good decks. Hopefully, I can play some of the guys to the left.”

Keep checking back to see how Alex does during the next few rounds to see if his draft strategy worked for him. If it works for him, it could work for you.