Waking up is hard to do.

I’m not misquoting the old Neil Sedaka song. Waking up is really hard to do! I’m a pretty serious sleeper, so I’m not a big fan of mornings in general. As I like to say, “Mornings would be a whole lot better if they came later in the day.” When my alarm goes off at around 7 A.M., I usually hit snooze three or ten times before I finally get up. This, of course, gets my day off to a poor start, as I usually don’t get into the office until 8:30 or 9 A.M. Even after all of that extra sleep, I’m usually still out of it until around noon.

Being tired sucks!

Early Morning Trips to Ardmore

If there is one thing that will get me out of bed, it is a Vs. System event. I recently attended the PCQ in Ardmore, Oklahoma. Despite the wake up time of 6:30 A.M., I was more than ready to rise with the early bird to make the trek to the tournament. Now, while I don’t need any more points to qualify to play at Pro Circuit San Francisco, I do enjoy playing in the competitive atmosphere of PCQs, as it is generally good preparation for other competitive events. Additionally, the entire Oklahoma contingent of TAWC attended the event. Finally, we were going to be playing with the Infinite Crisis set. In my opinion, there’s nothing quite as fun and interesting as playing in a Sealed Pack event with a brand-new set.

While not stellar, my Sealed deck was strong enough to lead me to a 4-2 record, which was good enough to secure me a spot in the Top 8. Unfortunately, the Draft table was a pretty strong group, with all four members of TAWC sitting there. I decided from the get-go that I would try to force whatever team I found the strongest support for in the first few packs. This is normally not a wise strategy, but it was probably my best bet since I was still not familiar with the set.

My first pick out of my first pack was Advance Warning. This card, in my opinion, was a sure sign that I should go with the JSA exhaustion archetype. Sadly for me, though, my good friend and teammate Shane Wiggans was two seats to my right, cutting off all of the good JSA cards. The end result was that I ended up with a decent array of characters, a great equipment card in T-Spheres, and a very poor assortment of plot twists (with the exception of the aforementioned Advance Warning and a copy of Deflection that I picked late in the third pack).

To make a short story even shorter, my teammate John Hall absolutely crushed me in two games with an insane Villains United deck containing no shortage of burn cards. In the first game, he took me from 20 endurance to well below 0 on turn 6, which was my initiative. In the second game, I took him to -18 endurance (to my 6 endurance) after my attacks on turn 7. John then used The Calculator, Crime Broker to attack me for 14 endurance loss, then he burned me for another 12 endurance by discarding six Villains United character cards. Like I said, it was quite a whoopin’!*

“To Sleep, Perchance to Dream . . . Aye, There’s the Rub.”

Of course, this massacre I experienced against John did give me the epiphany for this week’s article. On turn 6, after I brick-walled an attack by John’s Zatanna, Showstopper on my Carter Hall ◊ Hawkman with a timely Advance Warning, John cleverly decided to use Join Us or Die on his Mr. Freeze, Brutal Blizzard to prevent my Hawkman from readying. Given that I had five characters on the board, this was a pretty significant play. However, the light was revealed to me on turn 7. I used Batman, Earth 2 to exhaust Power Girl, Earth 2 to destroy John’s Rann. Then, I exhausted Batman with Jaime Reyes ◊ Blue Beetle to search out my copy of T-Spheres, which I then equipped to Batman. Finally, before John finished his build, I flipped my ace in the hole—The Rock of Eternity! The effect of The Rock of Eternity readied my three biggest characters and exhausted my remaining characters (who were all relatively small).

While I ended up on the losing end of that match, it got me to thinking how potentially powerful a card like The Rock of Eternity could be. The short history of the Vs. System has shown us how potent readying effects are. Characters like Speed Demon, Second-Chance Speedster and Sebastian Shaw are potentially game-breaking in Marvel Modern Age. Cosmic Radiation is an integral component of several successful decks from Golden Age, like Fantastic Fun and Cosmic Cops. Teen Titans, arguably the best deck in the Vs. System, makes an absolute killing off of the interaction between Roy Harper ◊ Arsenal, Sharpshooter and Press the Attack. Given the immense advantage gained by readying an exhausted character, is it any wonder that most of the Speedster characters with this ability are rare?

To fully appreciate how potent a card like The Rock of Eternity could be in Silver Age, we need look no further than the Green Lantern/Emerald Enemies powerhouse, G’Lock. One of the key plays in this deck is to use Rain of Acorns to exhaust most, if not all, of an opponent’s characters. So, what would happen if those characters were able to ready again at the start of the opponent’s attack step? Simply put, it’s bad news for G’Lock.

However, there is indeed a catch. You see, The Rock of Eternity readies exhausted JSA characters, but it also exhausts ready characters that you control. While The Rock of Eternity may be a great pepper-upper for your tired characters, it’s going to bring those wide awake guys way down! This dilemma had me thinking for quite a while. How can we ensure that our characters will always be exhausted at the start of our attack step? It is somewhat unfortunate that Roy Harper ◊ Arsenal, Sharpshooter isn’t legal in Silver Age, as his effect would be a wonderful fit for the deck.

It occurs to me that we do have an Arsenal substitute in Man-Bull. This rare from The X-Men is an interesting card, to say the least. He has decent stats at 5 ATK/4 DEF. However, it is his effect that we are truly concerned with. We can exhaust any character that we control any time to give Man-Bull +1 ATK for the turn. Moreover, he keeps exhausted characters from being stunned or even targeted by opposing plot twists.

The Build

Since The Rock of Eternity has a threshold cost of 4, we are going to diverge from our normal strategy of playing four copies, and instead, go with three. “Only three copies, Michael? Are you mad?!” Possibly. Regardless, we should still be able to get a copy of The Rock of Eternity in play by turn 4 with only three copies in our deck.

While we’re on the subject, let’s talk about locations. I’ve heard it said that Birthing Chamber is a good card. Given that we should be able to get four characters in play rather easily, I think we should include at least three copies of this card-drawing engine. In addition, we’ll need a solo copy of Slaughter Swamp. There are many good reasons to have character recursion in a deck, especially if there’s a possibility that you might have to discard a character card that you might want to play later on. Also, we’ll include a copy of Stormfront-1. We have several good choices of location team-ups in Silver Age, but none of them are functionally different than this one. So, Stormfront-1 will serve as well as any of our other choices.

We’re going to hold off on the discussion of our final location for a bit, as it really relates to our character choices. First, let’s look at equipment. In almost any JSA deck, I think T-Spheres would be a powerhouse of a card. From drops 1 through 5, the typical stat average difference between two sequential drops is 2 ATK/2 DEF. For example, Viper, a 2-drop, has stats of 2 ATK/2 DEF. Jade, a 3-drop, has stats of 4 ATK/4 DEF. The stat difference between these two characters is 2 ATK/2 DEF. Obviously, this difference will vary depending on the characters chosen, but this is the generally expected variance. What this means is that we can equip T-Spheres to one of our characters, and it will usually be able to successfully attack at least one spot up the curve. In many cases (such as the one in our example), our character will be able to attack up the curve and avoid stunning back. T-Spheres effectively becomes a reusable Turnabout for one of our characters on the board. We’d be crazy not to play it!

For plot twists, I’m going to get the obvious four copies of Enemy of My Enemy out of the way. The truth is that, each week, I look for character search cards other than Enemy of My Enemy that might fit into these decks. The simple truth is that it’s one of the best cards ever printed in the Vs. System. Don’t expect to stop seeing it anytime soon.

Moving on, our one team-up card in Stormfront-1 probably won’t cut it. Millennium might be a good choice, as it fits into the exhaustion theme nicely. However, we’re going to go with Allied Against the Dark. While we might miss out on the free card from Millennium, Allied Against the Dark provides a beneficial effect in its own right by giving an ATK boost to our exhausted defenders. Given our deck’s theme, this will pretty much be all of the time.

I’ve already mentioned Advance Warning a few times, but it definitely bears repeating. Given the lack of effective DEF pumps in Silver Age thanks to the loss of Acrobatic Dodge and Cover Fire, Advance Warning is an absolutely amazing card. When played on an exhausted JSA defender, it gives a whopping +4 DEF. This is enough of a boost to offset all but a few of the ATK pumps in Silver Age. Much like T-Spheres, four copies of this card is another no-brainer.

Finally, we should consider adding a good ATK pump for our deck. Thanks to its inclusion in the Fantastic Four starter deck, Flying Kick is available to us. While it’s certainly not the biggest ATK pump in the format, Flying Kick is still a respectable +3 ATK. More importantly, it provides a turn-based effect and gives the targeted character flight. As we will soon see, that extra flight may come in handy.

Now we’ll move on to our characters. We’re going to have a wide assortment of 1-drops, so let’s take a look at all of them. Our preferred choice at 1 is none other than Atom Smasher. Atom Smasher has an effect that is simple and straightforward, yet still very potent. Much like Erik Josten ◊ Atlas, Kosmos Convict, Atom Smasher can get very big, very quickly.

Joining Atom Smasher from the JSA team is Terry Sloane ◊ Mr. Terrific. Terry Sloane is a very unassuming character until you get to see him in action. The minor boost of +1 ATK/+1 DEF for exhausted JSA characters in combat with characters with greater cost effectively gives all of our characters a permanent +1 ATK/+1 DEF boost, as they will always be exhausted. Along with our other stat-boosting tricks, our tiny guys will become huge in no time.   

Our final JSA 1-drop is Jakeem Williams. Jakeem Williams is not much of a fighter, boasting only 1 ATK/1 DEF and no way to effectively boost those stats. However, he can be invaluable for making sure that we hit our optimal late curve. In addition, he has a fantastic synergy with one of our later character choices.

Where the JSA 1-drops were more about finesse, the Sinister Syndicate 1-drops are all about power. Our first and foremost choice is Basilisk. It’s a shame that Sinister Syndicate is not considered to be a competitive team, because this guy is insane. Not only is he the size of most 2-drops, but he also boasts an effect that is absolutely debilitating to our opponents. The fact that he comes into play exhausted may be problematic in some decks, but it fits beautifully into the theme of our grand concoction! 

Of course, when you talk about Sinister Syndicate 1-drops, they don’t get much better than Vulture. Vulture is a decent 2 ATK/1 DEF with flight. However, the ability to gain back whatever breakthrough he causes can be extremely helpful. If you can pull off even one direct attack with Vulture, then you’ve created a 4-point endurance swing for the price of a single 1-drop attack.

Also playing for team Syndicate is Mendel Stromm. This character is not nearly so potent as the Syndicate 1-drops previously mentioned, but he does boast decent stats as well as an effect that can be situationally useful. For example, if your opponent attempts to set up attacks so that he or she can make an attack on Mendel Stromm free of reinforcement, you can easily KO Mendel Stromm to get him out of harm’s way. The extra +1 ATK/+1 DEF counter is just icing on the cake.

For our final Syndicate 1-drop, let’s toss in a copy of Tinkerer. Unless we face off against a board swarming deck like Faces of Evil, we should be able to maintain a board with more non-stunned characters than our opponents. Tinkerer gives us a nice reward for this accomplishment by distributing a free +1 ATK/+1 DEF counter to a character of our choice. Can we really say no to something free?

Our final character at 1 is more of an equalizer. Mikado and Mosha is an excellent card for keeping oversized 1-drops (much like our own) in check. While we probably won’t lean on the Angels of Destruction too heavily, the ability to recycle Mikado and Mosha with Slaughter Swamp can help ensure that our opponents don’t overwhelm us with weenies.

Before we move on, let’s talk about our final location, which I skipped over earlier. I have long had an affinity for alternate methods of bringing characters into play. As such, Fisk Towers has been a card that I have long sought a way to abuse. Teamed with Gotham Knights or Doom, Fisk Towers could provide us with a free Alfred Pennyworth or Boris, Personal Servant of Dr. Doom each turn. I could never quite find the correct framework for the card, until now. Not only can Fisk Towers provide us with extra attackers (which, although they are only 1-drops, are nonetheless potent), but it also can ensure we hit our curve from turn 5 onward when used with Jakeem Williams. The procedure is simple: On turn 4, recruit a 4-drop. Use Fisk Towers’s effect to bring out Jakeem Williams for free. Activate Jakeem Williams to search out a 5-drop. Repeat as often as needed in the following turns. Needless to say, Fisk Towers has some definite potential in this deck.

At 2 we have the lovely Poison Ivy, Deadly Rose. While not a member of the Sinister Syndicate, and certainly not up for membership in the JSA anytime soon, Poison Ivy is one of the premiere location search cards in Silver Age. Since we have some powerful locations in our deck, we would like to see them hit play. While Ivy does require a sacrifice of a character to bring a location into play, the cost is well worth the reward of having a much-needed location on our side of the board.

We’ve already discussed the cornerstone character card, Man-Bull, as our 3-drop. Given the synergy between him and The Rock of Eternity, it’s a foregone conclusion that we want to see him in play as soon as possible. Of course, we have enough low drops that we can easily under-drop in later turns. So, let’s also include a single copy of Michael Holt ◊ Mr. Terrific for turn 3. Just like his predecessor, Michael Holt provides a potent bonus to our characters who get into fights with guys bigger than they are. The combination of the two Mr. Terrific identities provides a substantial +3 ATK/+3 DEF. Add in T-Spheres on top of that, and our characters receive +6 ATK/+6 DEF when attacking or defending up the curve.  That, my friends, is a very sizable pump!

Our character count begins to thin out at 4, with just a single copy of each character. First, we have the esteemed Dr. Octopus, Otto Octavius. Doc Octopus has decent stats for a 4-drop. However, his main strength comes while either attacking (when he can exhaust an unprotected character) or defending (when he can reinforce a defender). Of course, the reinforcement effect will certainly be helpful for protecting a board full of exhausted characters. Our JSA representative at 4 is Sand. As we have discussed, our characters will nearly always be exhausted while defending, so, playing a character that effectively recovers for free in our deck is a pretty easy choice.

At 5, we have a tale of two titans. The first is one of the reigning Silver Age kings of search, Thunderbolt. If you haven’t read this card’s text, then click on the hyperlink and check it out. That’s right, Thunderbolt can search out any card in your deck. Also, we just so happen to be playing Jakeem Williams, so the discard for Thunderbolt’s effect is pretty easy. Of course, it also helps that we can use Thunderbolt’s effect and then ready him with The Rock of Eternity to let him do some attacking. Our other titan is going to be our big beater in the deck, Carter Hall ◊ Hawkman. At first glance, Carter Hall is very unassuming. His stats are well below average. He quickly makes up for that as your characters become exhausted. When he is our only exhausted character, he becomes an average 9 ATK/8 DEF. As more of our characters are exhausted, though, he starts rapidly growing in size. In combination with Fisk Towers, it is certainly possible for us to have five or six exhausted, non-stunned characters in play. At 14 ATK/13 DEF, Carter Hall quickly goes from being marginal to gargantuan.

Turn 6 is a bit of a dilemma. Jay Garrick ◊ The Flash is very good. Obviously, any character that gets to attack twice in one turn is going to be worth consideration. However, we’re going to go for a little more size on our end. Our choice at 6 is Captain Marvel, Earth’s Mightiest Mortal. It’s true that Captain Marvel is an enormous 14 ATK/14 DEF with flight when he has his counter. However, his real purpose in the deck is to provide many opportunities for amusement by yelling “Shazam!” in the middle of a match!

Our final character choice is at 7. Alan Scott ◊ Sentinel, Golden Age Guardian is a fairly obvious choice for our deck. If we can forego the need to play plot twists on this turn, Alan Scott will give our characters an additional +3 ATK/+3 DEF while in combat with characters with greater cost. For those of you keeping track at home, that’s a possible +9 ATK/+9 DEF boost! While it is unlikely that we will ever pull off having all of these cards in play at the same time, the potential is there nonetheless. **

We’re done. Let’s see what’s “rock”ing over Shazam’s place:

Wacky Wizard Wake-Up Call (60 cards)

Characters (31)

4 Atom Smasher, Al Rothstein

3 Basilisk, Basil Elks

2 Jakeem Williams, JJ Thunder

1 Mendel Stromm, Robot Master

1 Mikado and Mosha, Angels of Destruction

2 Terry Sloane ◊ Mr. Terrific, Golden Age Gold Medalist

1 Tinkerer, Phineas Mason

2 Vulture, Adrian Toomes

4 Poison Ivy, Deadly Rose

4 Man-Bull, William Taurens

1 Michael Holt ◊ Mr. Terrific, Renaissance Man

1 Doctor Octopus, Otto Octavius

1 Sand, Sanderson Hawkins

1 Carter Hall ◊ Hawkman, Eternal Champion

1 Thunderbolt, Yz

1 Captain Marvel, Earth’s Mightiest Mortal

1 Alan Scott ◊ Sentinel, Golden Age Guardian

Plot Twists (16)

4 Advance Warning

4 Allied Against the Dark, Team-Up

4 Enemy of My Enemy

4 Flying Kick

Locations (9)

3 Birthing Chamber

1 Fisk Towers

1 Slaughter Swamp

1 Stormfront-1, Team-Up

3 The Rock of Eternity

Equipment (4)

4 T-Spheres

The initiative choice is largely inconsequential, as the characters can be effective on either odds or evens. However, success in the mid-game hinges on having The Rock of Eternity, Man-Bull, and a team-up in play. This should be fairly easy to accomplish by turn 4, but taking odd initiatives may be a better choice to allow extra time to set up the combo.

The mulligan will usually be for Man-Bull or a way to get Man-Bull (a.k.a., Enemy of My Enemy). The deck works best with Poison Ivy on turn 2 and Man-Bull on turn 3 to ensure the proper setup on turn 4, so keeping a hand with Poison Ivy isn’t a bad play, either. She’s also not a bad play on a later turn where you need to under-drop.

Above all else, keep Man-Bull in play! When he’s on the board, The Rock of Eternity will be your best friend. Without Man-Bull, The Rock of Eternity will be your worst enemy. If he gets KO’d, then you’d better be able to drop him again on the very next turn. Here’s hoping for a metagame largely void of Removed from Continuity.

That does it for this week, folks. I’ll be back next week with a special “Pro Circuit Preview” edition of Breaking Ground. What does that mean? I have no clue; I haven’t written it yet! In the interim, you can send any thoughts, ideas, or suggestions to me via email at BigSpooky1@hotmail.com. It’s indeed a thrill to get email from Metagame.com readers from around the world.

Ironically enough, I depart now with the intention of heading off to sleep for the night. Here’s hoping that my own personal “Rock of Eternity”—my Bose wave radio—will do an effective job of getting me “ready” for tomorrow morning.

Considering what a sleep-monger I am, though, I somehow doubt it!

* Of course, even if I had pulled out a victory, I would have been demolished by Tim Batow’s god-level Shadowpact deck. This monstrosity had no less than three copies of Abjuration. Either draft skill truly is inversely proportional to height, or we need to learn how to hate draft!

** If any of you out there ever pull off a +9 ATK/+9 DEF with this deck (or a similar build), please be sure to let me know!