Hola, mi amigos! Sorry, that’s the last bit of Spanish to come out of me as I acclimate to being back in the states. Needless to say, I had a good vacation, and I feel revived and readier than ever to talk to you about this game that we both know and love. Today, I would like to talk to you about the many decks that could and should be considered when developing a gauntlet for Pro Circuit Los Angeles. This topic often doesn’t get much attention and sometimes only the most recent decks are tossed into the mix. But to have a good gauntlet, you need to evaluate all the strong decks that are available to you as a player and come to a decision after you have considered their strengths and weaknesses. Hopefully, by running through many of these potential decks, we can learn together to make a good starting decision when developing our gauntlets.

I Get No Respect!

The Heralds of Galactus previews have come and gone, and no doubt many of you put the information you learned from these previews to good use at the various Sneak Preview tournaments. Even though I could not attend a Sneak Preview, I was still clamoring to see the new cards and discuss how things would change in Vs. System. Actually being able to write a preview, and a preview for one of the most powerful cards in the set (in my opinion), was indeed a true honor. But with that honor comes the cost of silence; I could not tell anyone, even my teammates, what was in store for them, and the same was true for “Big Spooky” Michael Barnes. So you can imagine my surprise when I tuned in to Mike’s article to see he called me a “noob”! Apparently, “Tim Batow is short” is out, and “Shane Wiggans is a noob” is in. I laughed it off at first, but then I started getting random people I didn’t know calling me a noob. Michael Barnes even went so far as to write in my guest book at my wedding that I was a noob.*

The real kicker was in Acapulco on my honeymoon. My wife and I had signed on to swim with the dolphins, which was a blast, by the way. While there, the dolphins would swim up to us and, depending on what we did with our hands, do a variety of different tricks. We were waving our hands around to get them to speak, and then next thing I know, the dolphin in front of me spits in my face. Apparently, my wife thought it would be funny and had the trainer tell her how to do it. What was worse was that she then leaned over and whispered, “I think he called you a noob.”

I know this story may not seem to have much bearing on Vs. System, but trust me, it does. Many times, players are offended by names and comments like noob, barn, and other random names that players call each other. What is important to keep in mind as we play is to have the right attitude. If someone calls you a name, try not to get offended. Often, the person who is losing the match or has made a big mistake will be the first to sling mud; trust me when I say that cooler heads can prevail. We want to create an environment where players feel invited and welcomed. So, just remember, if someone calls you a “noob,” we are both in the same position!

Let’s Talk Los Angeles

Now that we have established that I’m going, what can we do? Well, we need to develop a strong deck concept. In order to do that, we need to recognize what’s involved in the process. The best thing is to have a solid gauntlet to start with. By having this tool, you immediately start developing meaningful results that can be analyzed by individuals like Jeremy Blair and turned into necessary deck changes. Below is a list of potential decks that may be included in a starting gauntlet. Hopefully, this list will serve as a confirmation to some and a guide to others about how to develop a gauntlet.

Golden Age

The Golden Age format had been all but forgotten in my neck of the woods. With Silver Age jumping in, Golden Age lost some of its appeal; not everyone had access to cards that were out of print and hard to find. It had seemed like Golden Age $10K events had also gone the way of the Dodo until the Columbus $10K. At this $10K, we saw the re-emergence of golden oldies, current staples, and some new jankyness. All three of these categories were intriguing to watch and are still currently evolving. What follows is an examination of what (if any) impact those decks, as well as other previously strong Golden Age decks, will have on the format.

Golden Oldies

• Curve Sentinels: For a long time, this deck was deemed the king of Vs. System. Either you played it, or you found something that had a favorable matchup against it and gambled with the other matchups. I was really surprised to see this deck net a Top 8 at the Columbus $10K, mainly because I felt that its power would be overshadowed by the newer decks. I was proven wrong. With cards like Micro-Sentinels, Total Anarchy, and Search and Destroy, Curve Sentinels seems to have a good game against low curve decks, and relies on Bastion and the random 7-drop of choice as a finisher against slower decks. In the end, there just might be better alternatives.
• Teen Titans: I know that Josh Wiitanen and Adam Prosak jumped for joy when they realized that the upcoming format was Golden Age. Those two players are arguably two of the best Titans players in the world (honorable mention goes out to Rob Leander, who is a heck of a nice guy). This deck has all the tools to handle whatever your opponent throws at you; you just need to know how to use them. Utilizing characters like Terra and Roy Harper ◊ Speedy helps to keep the off-curve decks at bay, while powerhouses like Garth ◊ Tempest and Roy Harper ◊ Arsenal deal with decks that try to stall out. Also, with Garth’s powerful payment effect, this deck can support a large number of tech plot twists and then reuse them as necessary.
• Brotherhood Variants: This may seem like a strange inclusion, but invariably, this deck has been a problem at every Golden Age event I’ve been to, even when only lightly run. With a large numbers of new characters and supportive plot twists from the X-Men expansion, this deck could yet emerge as a force. This team still has one of the most powerful global pump effects in the game with The New Brotherhood, and it also sports some nifty locations with Avalon Space Station, Lost City, Savage Land. Plus, it has some oversized characters like Sabretooth, Feral Rage and Mammomax. It still remains to be seen if this deck can truly break out of the shadows and become a fan favorite again.
• Combo Decks: This is one of the fun things about Golden Age—combo decks come out of the woodwork. You see crazy decks like Xavier’s Dream and Rigged Elections show up and turn the metagame on its ear, and then poof! They are gone as quickly as they arrived. Honestly, I feel that the card pool is so varied that it would be hard to pilot either of these decks very far at a Pro Circuit. Both of these decks were powerhouses for one simple reason: they were specifically built to beat a very stable metagame. All it took was a slight shift of the metagame to destroy these decks totally, and I don’t think that’s a risk many individuals are ready to take.
• Common Enemy: It’s hard to believe that the deck that won the first Pro Circuit is still around. But it’s hard to argue with something that can provide insane amounts of control along with all the aggressiveness of a straight combat-oriented deck. This deck has undergone many different changes as the card sets have expanded, but I don’t think much argument can be made about the natural synergy between these two teams. They each provide missing pieces to the other and only get better with the inclusion of the new cards from the Heralds set.
• New School and Other Doom Variants: This deck was a made famous by Jason Hager and the Hong Kong Cavaliers (or West Virginia boys, pick your poison) at Pro Circuit New York and has been around in some capacity ever since. Using the Marvel Knights search engine (Wild Ride; Midnight Sons; and Dagger, Child of Light) and all the Doom staples, this control deck has been a thorn in the side of many decks. With all the help that Doom has received from the new Heralds set, I would not be surprised if a revamped version of this deck makes a big showing at the PC.

Current Staples

• High Voltage: This deck is the current darling of the Golden Age format. Incredibly easy to pilot, it provides raw firepower and skips over those little things like trying to put your opponent off his or her game plan. With straight burn to the face via Surprise Attack, Die for Darkseid!, and Advanced Hardware, this deck is very responsive and punishes its opponents for stalling or not making the right attacks. While it seems like this deck could still be a force at the Pro Circuit, I will go out on a limb and say that it will not do very well. Honestly, I look at this deck a lot like I looked at the Anti-Green Lantern deck going into Silver Age—there will be so much hate for it that it will be impossible to do well. I could be wrong, but maybe not. At least it’s something to think about.
• Good Guys: This deck made up a large majority of the Modern Age metagame, and many deemed it a smaller format deck. But after taking down a Golden Age $10K, I think that a lot of players may have wised up. The hate for this deck is very specific—Unmasked; Magical Lobotomy; and Kang, Kang Cobra. But these cards are not the easiest to fit into decks and are definitely not four-of inclusions. This deck could very well make a huge splash.
• Checkmate Builds: I like to think that my team and I had a hand in making this deck the huge success that it is, but in all honesty, the pure power this team has to offer would have been discovered by someone else if we hadn’t debuted it at Pro Circuit San Francisco. The pure power of Ahmed Samsarra, along with the new plethora of locations (not to mention the new terraform mechanic), make this deck even more formidable. I expect to see this deck continue to grow in popularity and make a large showing at Pro Circuit Los Angeles.
• Squadron Supreme: Now, this is my kind of deck. At least it was for one Pro Circuit. . . I’m sure that everyone knows the power this deck can provide. It made a decent showing at last year’s Pro Circuit LA, and this year’s should be no different. With many new aggressive cards at its disposal, as well as the ultra-sexy Haywire, Suicidal Lover, this deck should be at the forefront of many players’ minds.
• The “Fate Set”: The last Pro Circuit made a believer out of me. Any deck that can consistently “fate up” between turns 2 and 3 is darn good! I don’t really list a specific deck because these power cards will be all over the place. They may not be nearly as good as they were, what with cards like Meltdown (which doesn’t target the character) and Backfire (which KO’s all equipment) now available, but I still expect them to see their fair share of play.

In the End

Well, I hope you enjoyed this brief rundown of decks to consider for your playtest gauntlet for the upcoming Pro Circuit. This list is not exhaustive and doesn’t contain any new deck concepts from Heralds of Galactus. That’s because as we speak, every one of us is thinking of what cards could go in what decks and even I don’t have anything concrete to say about it now. Hopefully, you now have a good starting point for developing your gauntlet and are well on your way to developing a strong deck for the next PC. Until next time, take care!

Shane Wiggans, one of the nicest guys with a tattoo sleeve, has found varying success on the Pro Circuit and is a member of Team Alternate Win Condition. If you have any questions or comments for him, feel free to say hey at any event or email him at piercedlawyer@yahoo.com.

* Which, in turn, required me to explain to my new in-laws what a “noob” really was.