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The Sentry™
Card# MTU-017

While his stats aren’t much bigger than those of the average 7-drop, Sentry’s “Pay ATK” power can drastically hinder an opponent’s attacking options in the late game.
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Sealed Pack 101: The Study, Part 2

Doug Tice

July 26, 2006

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Welcome to the results show for last week’s article, “The Study.” I have a little bad news for those of you who were really looking forward to Part 2: I did not get input from my Constructed or Sealed Pack masterminds. But I do have some good news, and no, I’m not talking about car insurance. I’d like to get some input from you, the readers. I will post the initial card pool again below. I would like you to submit what you would play and why to thestudysubmissions@hotmail.com. There will be a Part 3 to this series where I will share a sampling of the input received from you guys. If you haven’t seen how I chose to build the deck, then you should stop reading at the end of the listing of cards so that you will be able to build your deck without being influenced by my initial thoughts.

To review, the initial card pool is listed below.

Checkmate

Connie Webb, Knight

Surveillance Pawn, Knight

Sasha Bordeaux, Knight

Christopher Smith ◊ Peacemaker, Obsessed Outlaw

Arthur Kendrick, Knight

Valentina Vostok ◊ Negative Woman, Bishop

Roy Harper ◊ Arsenal, Knight

Annihilation Protocol ◊ OMAC Robot, Army

JSA

Chay-Ara ◊ Hawkgirl, Eternal Companion

Prince Khufu ◊ Hawkman, Eternal Warrior

Ted Grant ◊ Wildcat, Golden Age Pugilist

Richard Tyler ◊ Hourman, Man of the Hour

Carter Hall ◊ Hawkman, Eternal Champion

Superman, Earth 2

Black Adam, Ruthless Hero

Legacy

Amadeus Arkham, Architect of Insanity

Lois Lane, Earth 2

Obsidian, Todd James Rice

Superboy, Earth Prime

Shadowpact

Nightmaster, Jim Rook

Madame Xanadu, Cartomancer

Ragman, Patchmonger

Blue Devil, Dan Cassidy

Rose Psychic, Ghost Detective

Ibis, Prince Amentep

Witchfire, Rebecca Carstairs

Dr. Occult, Richard Occult

Blue Devil, Big Blue

Dr. Fate, Hector Hall

June Moon ◊ Enchantress, Bad Witch

Secret Six

Ragdoll, Resilient Rogue

Cheshire, Jade

Villains United

The Calculator, Noah Kuttler

Cheetah, Feral Feline

Dr. Light, Furious Flashpoint

Dr. Polaris, Force of Nature

Zazzala ◊ Queen Bee, Mistress of the Hive

Sinestro, Villain Reborn

Deathstroke the Terminator, Lethal Weapon

Alexander Luthor, Diabolical Double

The Calculator, Crime Broker

Black Adam, Lord of Kahndaq

Plot Twists

Baddest of the Bad

Burning Gaze

Coercion, Team-Up

Collecting Souls, Magic

Defend Yourself!

Dodge the Bullet

2 Double Play

Forbidden Loyalties, Team-Up

Grand Gesture

Heroic Rescue

Living Legacy

Mystical Binding, Magic

Locations

Equipment

Tricked-Out Sports Car

I really felt that there were a number of ways one could go with the given options. I would rate the overall quality of the card pool at about 9 out of 10. With T-Spheres (a card I’m very fond of), a 1-to-7 curve of solid JSA characters, and a lot of depth in the Shadowpact team, I was really looking forward to seeing what Nick and MJ would uncover.

But alas, I failed in my mission to get their input. Nick had a work obligation that kept him from participating much over the weekend. I saw him for a short while the night that I arrived, but didn’t see him again before leaving. Michael, on the other hand, was there the whole time. I guess I just let time slip away from me. I was probably too busy having my mind blown by the decks with which he was drafting and 3-0’ing. I would love to give you a ton of details about his Draft strategy, but doing so would be a betrayal to him and my team. But I can’t just say, “I know a secret and you-oo-oo don’t” without dropping some tiny clue, can I? Okay, here goes . . . Michael, please forgive me if this is too much. His ideal character count in Draft is . . . are you ready? One 1-drop, one 2-drop, one 3-drop, one 4-drop, one 5-drop, one 6-drop, and twenty-four blue, green, and grey. If you figure it out, more power to you. I honestly didn’t think it was possible, but his record on the weekend spoke for itself.

Yes, we keep a tally of our individual performances on a dry-erase board each time we have a big get-together. I think Michael finished at 18-3. He was 6-0 with seven or fewer characters in his deck.

So, getting back to the study. For reference, here are the thirty cards I registered and played.

Shadowpact

Ragman, Patchmonger

Blue Devil, Dan Cassidy

June Moon ◊ Enchantress, Bad Witch

Checkmate

Sasha Bordeaux, Knight

Christopher Smith ◊ Peacemaker, Obsessed Outlaw

Arthur Kendrick, Knight

Valentina Vostok ◊ Negative Woman, Bishop

Roy Harper ◊ Arsenal, Knight

Annihilation Protocol ◊ OMAC Robot, Army

Villains United

The Calculator, Noah Kuttler

Zazzala ◊ Queen Bee, Mistress of the Hive

Sinestro, Villain Reborn

Deathstroke the Terminator, Lethal Weapon

Cheshire, Jade

Alexander Luthor, Diabolical Double

The Calculator, Crime Broker

Black Adam, Lord of Kahndaq

Plot Twists

Forbidden Loyalties, Team-Up

Locations

Equipment

Tricked-Out Sports Car

I’m sure by now you’re wondering, “Did I get the input of any of my teammates?” Tillman played along before we left for Gabe’s house. He and I look at Sealed Pack in almost the same way: consistency is objective #1. I think he and I are both very ample Sealed Pack deckbuilders, but we both lack that extra special something that very few players have. If I could describe that special something here, then you could bet I’d be working on obtaining it. It’s just that intangible factor that probably no more than one percent of Vs. System players possess. I’m very fortunate to be on a team with a few people who fall into that category. I mention this to point out how disappointed I am with myself for not providing you with results from Nick and MJ this week.

Here are the differences between my build and Tillman’s build.

+1 Ragdoll, Resilient Rogue

+1 Surveillance Pawn, Knight

+1 Dr. Polaris, Force of Nature

+1 Laser Watch

-1 Black Adam, Lord of Kahndaq

-1 Secret Checkmate HQ

-1 Burning Gaze

-1 Tricked-Out Sports Car

The most obvious improvement from my build is that Tillman cut the 8-drop. I mentioned last week that by mid-tournament, I knew playing Black Adam had been a mistake.

The Burning Gaze was one of the last cards I elected to play. I wasn’t too pleased with playing the old One-Two Punch. Looking back, I think that Threat Neutralized would have been a better card to play in comparison. I wanted to try to play as many cards as possible that would be most effective when defending. The added +1 DEF and range probably don’t outweigh the benefit provided by being able to play Threat Neutralized on an attacker, on a defender, or even outside of combat. Really, neither of those two options is very exciting considering the overall high quality of cards from which to choose. I have no idea why I didn’t play the Laser Watch. I think it would have been better than the Burning Gaze, a one-time plot twist that was a little underwhelming.

Tillman opted to play another 3-drop, which I think was a mistake. I will admit that I probably undervalue Dr. Polaris, Force of Nature a little bit due to his just-below-average stats. The reason that playing so few 3-drops was correct is because of the character search options available. I didn’t want to return a character to play with Baddest of the Bad on turn 3, but I probably would have if I had already drawn most of my ideal curve. The Brother I Satellite was perfect for finding early characters, though. Having just one character-search effect usually leads me to cheat by shaving off two or three total characters, each from a different slot in the curve.

Tillman also included Ragdoll, Resilient Rogue. I think that the character-shaved curve was perfect, but he felt that having the best possible chance never to miss a single drop was the way to go. Can you tell that he’s been burned in the past by missing a drop or two? It is rumored that Tillman can be heard mumbling something about missing drops in his sleep. Anyway, Ragdoll is not too shabby. I usually prefer to stay as on-team as possible, but with The Calculator, Noah Kuttler; Coercion, Team-Up; and Forbidden Loyalties, Team-Up available, Ragdoll could very easily join the team.

The Surveillance Pawn, Knight that he played was one of those simple yet ingenious decisions. If you ask yourself, “What does Villains United do best?” I am fairly sure that the response would have something to do with returning characters to hand for bonuses. Being a concealed character, the Pawn would probably stick around until an effect required bouncing a character.

Don’t forget to send your submissions to thestudysubmissions@hotmail.com. I look forward to seeing some of the more interesting builds you can come up with. Next week, I plan to write about reading signals in Draft. The following week, I will cover a few of the more interesting builds you guys submit. Please send your list along with a paragraph or two to explain some of the decisions that you felt were most pertinent to arriving at your final build. Don’t be afraid to send in something that resembles the lists that Tillman and I played. Just give me your thoughts on any cards that are different from those that he and I chose.

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