Decks based around Man of Steel have finally really started seeing some play. New Gods/Brotherhood Burn has seen some success in recent tournaments, Doom builds with Revenge Squad or New Gods have done well, and Phantom Phone Booth has garnered a lot of attention and at least a bit of respect. But so far, Darkseid’s Elite hasn't seen their piece of the pie yet. Martin Stolz might change that. He ran a pure Darkseid’s Elite deck in Hannover. Here’s what his deck looked like.

Martin Stolz’s Darkseid’s Elite

Characters
2 Shaligo
4 Desaad
4 Slig
2 Granny Goodness
4 Bernadeth
2 Trok
4 Devilance
2 Steppenwolf
2 Kanto
2 Darkseid, Uxas
2 Superman, False Son
1 Kalibak
4 Beta Club

Plot Twists
1 Nasty Surprise
1 Acrobatic Dodge
2 Ride of the Black Racer
2 Savage Beatdown
2 Hordes of Apokolips
2 Omega Beams
4 Heat Vision
4 The Exchange

Locations
2 Armagetto
4 Apokolips
1 Firepits of Apokolips

I knew I had to look at this deck when I saw Martin playing before the tournament began. He had Devilance on the board. With a Beta Club. He was beating Garth in the face. 

The deck attempts to win as quickly as possible by stacking on stun damage and endurance loss from Beta Club. It curves pretty normally, so it looks a bit heavy at first, considering it has access to The Exchange to search out its drops. However, it makes up for that by running a wide range of characters. As a result, it uses The Exchange more for precision within each drop than to ensure that drops are hit. It’s a risky commitment, but it can really pay off.

Shaligo and Desaad start the deck’s curve, and each card has their strengths. Desaad is best for the fast win, while Shaligo can have some great synergy with some of the deck’s combat tricks in the correct match-up. Slig is the deck’s ideal 3-drop, but Granny Goodness serves as tech against decks that suppress the growth of resources. With so many decks running Foiled and Ka-Boom, this is a pretty smart move, as the deck has lots of good early-game characters to play and can boost the stats of the 2- and 3-drops in that group with her effect.

On turn 4, Trok compliments the second turn play of Shaligo, while Bernadeth continues dishing out endurance loss, hopefully complimenting the damage Desaad is causing. Her attack is higher than average for a 4-drop as well, and though her defense is lower than most, the sacrifice is worth it. Her 8 ATK means she can stun up the curve with minimal assistance, and if she’s swinging a Beta Club when she does, that can be pretty game-breaking.

Ideally, turn 5 is Devilance’s chance to shine, but Steppenwolf can toe the line pretty well too. There’s not much to say about Devilance. If you recruit him and give him a Beta Club, your opponent will take triple stun damage when he attacks.  That’s utterly brutal. However, Steppenwolf has his boost effect going for him, and that +2 to ATK can really make a difference in a deck that can curve so reliably and overrun an opponent.

On turn 6, the deck’s curve drops off quite a bit. A pair of Darkseid, Uxas are the only 6-cost characters available. Steppenwolf’s boost can cover this drop and lends resiliency to the deck, but the ideal play is definitely Darkseid. 

Turn 7 gives a bit more choice, offering two copies of Superman, False Son and one copy of Kalibak. This serves to give some options on turn 7, while at the same time not leaving the deck without a play on turn 8, since Darkseid, Lord of Apokolips isn’t in the deck. He’s not here because odds are good that barring a match-up with X-Stall, most games won’t go until turn eight anyways. With this deck’s menagerie of endurance-decreasing effects, a game is going to be won or lost by turn 7 in most cases.

The deck runs a variety of plot twists. Both of the Elite’s board control tricks, Ride of the Black Racer and Omega Beams, are present and accounted for.  Since the deck won’t miss drops that often and will sometimes have extra characters it won’t need, these cards are often quite easy to use despite the costs attached to their activations. One Nasty Surprise and one Acrobatic Dodge is a bit awkward but can catch an opponent off guard, and Hordes of Apokolips is just mean, especially when combined with Steppenwolf’s boost. Savage Beatdown makes sure that smaller characters bearing Beta Club don’t suffer from diminished utility, and Heat Vision allows for even more direct endurance loss. 

The deck’s locations are primarily combat tricks, adding more ATK to allow you to stun up the curve and smash face with Beta Club at a higher rate. The single copy of Firepits of Apokolips is present more as a source of annoyance than for intricate strategy. It’s an obnoxious little thing to deal with. Though it can contribute a nice amount of endurance loss, it’s more valuable as a tool to divide your opponent’s attention.

Overall, the deck is interesting. The plot twists are a little random, but it’s an ambitious team to play in a $10K, since it’s so under-explored. Stolz’s build manages to unite two of the Elite’s major strategies at each drop in the early game, and that ability to change gears and adapt is highly valuable. A killer deck? Maybe not. But it’s a solid framework for what might be, and exemplifies some of the strategies and intricacies of the team. For that alone, it is worthy of attention.