We continue on with our Metagame interviews from earlier by checking in to see what a few more players have to say about this tournament’s meta.

RANDALL HUGHES

Randall is a longtime player from Sydney who has recently seen huge success in Vs. System. At the start of 2005, Randall took his always popular Titans build (including a game winning copy of Donna Troy ◊ Wonder Girl!) to a fantastic Top 8 result in the notorious Light Show-dominated $10K Sydney. By the same time the following year, his Titans build (now including an even less conventional copy of Wally West ◊ Kid Flash!) fought through waves of Glock and Squadron matches before finally taking down its first $10K. As he is a former Brisbane resident, only time will tell if he has the home-town advantage today.

What deck are you playing at the $10K today?
Teen Titans.

What's the best deck in Golden Age at the moment?
Glock.

What’s your favorite deck?
Secret Society/Underworld.

What's the most busted card in VS at the moment?
Cosmic Radiation. If Dr. Light hadn't been erratad recently, I'd say he was the most busted card.

What deck(s) will you be glad to see the end of in Silver Age?
Doom decks, such as New School and Common Enemy.  Also, the weenie rush decks won't be as powerful, so hopefully there won't be decks which can consistently win on turn 4 (a la Voltage).

ANTHONY MACALI

Anthony “Migga” Macali is undoubtedly Melbourne’s most successful Constructed player. However, it was at $10K Sydney 2006 where he made his impact by playing Arkham Inmates . . . and doing well with them! Realizing the clear power potential of Lost City and Avalon Space Station was one thing. However, it was the addition of Poison Ivy and Nth Metal to the mix that made this innovative team-up deck work and resulted in a very solid ninth place.

What deck are you playing at the $10K today?
Sentinels

What's the best deck in Golden Age at the moment?
The new X-Stall seems very strong. The old build took many to success. The new variant is much more consistent with the Dr Light/ Poison Ivy combo and with Enemy of my Enemy.

Whats your favorite deck?
Migga City (Arkham Brotherhood), of course.

What's the most busted card in Vs. at the moment?
Dr Light still seems the most abused. With every new low drop that emerges, everybody thinks of ways of avoid to loyalty drawbacks and bring them into play for free.

What deck(s) will you be glad to see the end of in Silver Age?
I can’t wait to see the end of Doom, Titans, Betrayal and Flame Trap.  Here come the weenies!

PAUL VANDERWERK

As co-owner of VS Paradise (with partner Scott Hunstadt), Paul knows the Australian Vs. community better than just about anyone else. A true pillar of the Vs. community and a fanatical X-Men fan, Paul is on a never-ending quest to ensure that the team gets the recognition that they deserve. Most importantly, $10K Brisbane marks the anniversary of Paul’s fantastic result last year where he took the almighty Curve Sentinels to Top 8 success.

What deck are you playing at the $10K today?
I'm playing an X-Stall deck very similar to the one previously seen on the $10K circuit. I have added Captain Marvel from Crisis as a secondary win condition. At the very least, this gives me some game against Glock, which will more than likely be using Captain Marvel as well. I use the Crisis on Infinite Earths team-up to get around the loyalty issues, and it can be found easily enough with X-Corp: Amsterdam. So as long as you have 25 endurance by turn 8 and have the initiative, you should win. Crisis on Infinite Earths also allows me to have Professor X 4- and 7- in play at the same time, which is not all that exciting in itself, but I would like to see if I can pull it off one time during the weekend!
As I'm dressing up in a Wolverine costume, it would seem only fitting to run a deck that has some X-Men in it.

What's the best deck in Golden Age at the moment?
High Voltage just seems to be the goods at the moment, as it is so fast and efficient. It would not surprise me if this deck or a variant takes home the trophy. Teen Titans will always be in the running for best deck, but it seems that its popularity might be on the decrease. I still expect to see at least two in the Top 8.

What’s your favorite deck?
I'm still a big fan of the JLI/Masters of Evil deck that Scott Hunstad and I came up with after PCLA. I would have run this deck If I wasn't committed to wearing spandex! I enjoy more combat-oriented efficiency. It would not surprise me if this deck or a variant won Brisbane..

What's the most busted card in VS at the moment?
Dr Light—even after the errata this card is just insane! I think most deckbuilders are continually looking to shape their decks around this character, and finding new combos to abuse his ability.

What deck(s) will you be glad to see the end of in Silver Age?
I haven't had the chance to play in any Silver Age tournaments so I’m not to up to date with the meta. I would be happy to see the back of the Glock Deck whether in Silver Age or Golden Age. The deck just bores me to tears.

EARLY NGUYEN

Early is one of Australia’s most consistently successful Constructed players. He has three Golden Age $10K Top 8 finishes to his name (two from Sydney and one from Brisbane) which, amazingly, were all accomplished with his trademark Curve Sentinels deck. Last year, Early proved that he’s also a formidable opponent in Sealed when he made Top 8 at $10K Melbourne 2005. He is also notoriously lucky, as he has an uncanny habit of drawing just the right card at just the right time. There’s no doubt that there will be some more of that magic here today.

What deck are you playing at the $10K today?
Avengers. Apart from the fact that I love the reservist mechanic, I think it's a deck that has a good solid base of characters. There are enough slots in the deck that you can change some cards to suit the metagame. So, in my case, I’ve added to four Total Anarchy, two Anne-Marie Cortez, and four Enemy of My Enemy.

What's the best deck in Golden Age at the moment?

Glock has emerged to be the favorite. It is arguably the best, if not the most talked about, deck of the tournament. The power of this deck is its ability to change and adapt to counter the gameplan of whatever deck it faces. In the hands of an experienced player, Glock will always find its way into Top 8.

What’s your favorite deck?
Avengers.

What's the most busted card in Vs. at the moment?

Enemy of My Enemy. The card opens up a truckload of decks that can be viable, and this is a very good thing for the game. I wouldn't be surprised if someone has come up with a totally new deck idea, using this as the engine.

What deck(s) will you be glad to see the end of in Silver Age?
Squadron.