You can certainly make more than one build with the X-Statix, but some people still need to be convinced that the Solo Style deck is viable. This team-up of New Gods and X-Statix is crazy, almost blasphemous . . . but you’ll see.

Monotheism

3 Coach

2 Phat

3 Beautiful Dreamer

1 Bloke

2 Gin Genie

1 Vivisector, Myles Alfred

4 Big Bear

2 Orphan, Guy Smith

3 Izaya ◊ Highfather

3 U-Go-Girl, Tragic Teleporter

2 Anarchist, Tike Alicar

2 Scott Free ◊ Mister Miracle

4 Zeitgeist

1 Lightray

3 New Genesis

3 The Source

2 X-Statix Café

3 X-Statix HQ

4 Escape Artist

2 Falling Stars

2 Go in Swinging

2 Grandstanding

2 Mega-Blast

4 Royal Decree

The plan is to go with the standard curve when it presents itself and with the solo strategy when things aren’t going so well. On turn 6, with Zeitgeist out on his own, things can’t help but go well for you.

You want the odd initiative. Coach and Phat start the deck off, but not with much real offense. They’re mainly around to help the other characters in the later turns and to be fodder for Falling Stars or X-Statix HQ. This deck doesn’t have any searcher cards, as it doesn’t really need anything in particular in the early turns, but sifting through your deck is always beneficial. Coach is nice, as he can hang out hidden for a long time and then return to your hand (clearing the way for solo play), giving you access to your opponent’s hidden characters. Phat is the ultimate curve smoother, and he can play it solo if the opportunity presents itself.

Turn 2 features four different characters. Crazy, yes, but the deck may want to go off-curve on turn 4 or 5, so you’ll want plenty of options. Beautiful Dreamer may seem like an odd choice for a deck that eventually wants to go solo, but it’s important to keep some healthy guys around so you can HQ them. Bloke offers some big power should you need it (backed up by Coach). Vivisector is not meant for turn 2, but instead for turn 7 and beyond when you’re into the solo strategy. Gin Genie is a utility character, as your resource row wants a lot of locations, but you might not draw them as soon as you’d like to. Also, when you replace The Source, you might end up with a character in your resource row, so it’s nice to get it out of there.

Big Bear offers a big threat and a chance to start clearing your opponent’s board. Should you be on defense on turn 3, Orphan is probably better, as he doesn’t have a cosmic counter to lose. If you have just one other character in play, it may even be worth it to get rid of Orphan’s teammate and start some solo action right away. Since both characters require a reveal, your drop may be decided for you unless you’ve managed a Royal Decree already (which is not too likely).

Izaya Highfather and U-Go-Girl each feed a different strategy, so the choice will depend on where you’re headed. If you want to maintain a healthy character base to make use of the team-attack plot twists, go with Izaya. If you want to start focusing on one character, U-Go-Girl will help reduce both players’ boards. If neither strategy is going to work better than the other does, then consider going off curve and using the team-attack plot twists. This is a good time to make a team attack that includes Gin Genie, as she otherwise has a hard time stunning anyone.

Anarchist, Tike Alicar is your main incentive to team attack. Consider a team attack with him and Coach. Stun Coach, give Anarchist +7 ATK and +7 DEF, and watch your opponent’s character get KO’d. Anarchist won’t be in danger of getting stunned back or Overloaded. This trick works even better on turn 6, as you’ll easily take down any 6-drop. If you’re on the defensive, Scott Free Mister Miracle will help maintain your board presence, and he certainly gives you the opportunity to make a counterattack this turn. Any time you attack on your opponent’s initiative is a good time to play Go in Swinging, as you probably already have a stunned character or two and certainly don’t want more.

Turn 6 is all about Zeitgeist. Even if he isn’t solo at the start of combat, he may be after a few tricks with Escape Artist and the HQ. When you use his awesome power, he loses his cosmic counter. Not to worry—New Genesis will bring it back, should your opponent’s other characters take him down. If you’re already ahead in the game and have maintained your board, recruiting two characters here instead also makes good sense. Zeitgeist does just as well on the seventh turn as on the sixth.

If you do have the solo strategy going on turn 6, feel free to recruit Lightray on turn 7 (or Vivisector twice) to get in some direct damage, then HQ him and let the solo Zeity go to town again. Your solo strategy is aided by The Source getting rid of any plot twists that might make you sad.

While the deck does go in two directions at once, I like to think that it’s ready for anything. The swarm strategy easily converts to a solo strategy with X-Statix HQ, Falling Stars, and Escape Artist. Sifting through your deck and improving your hand is always good. KO’ing a 1- or 2-drop to KO your opponent’s 5- or 6-drop is downright nasty. Escape Artist is the card that made me want to do this blasphemous team-up in the first place. It really slows down your opponent’s offense while your remaining character becomes all the better by way of X-Statix Café.

Questions or comments may be sent to mhyra@metagame.com.