This week’s draft is pretty straightforward. Fortunately, there are enough twists and turns in your average Vs. System draft that it should still keep you entertained. I am featuring the No. 1 ranked Vs. System player in Oceania right now, Adrian Capilitan. Adrian has been putting up strong performances since The Avengers and can be said to have dominated The X-Men Draft and Sealed formats in Sydney. Adrian and I manage to disagree a few times in this draft, but don’t think for a second that I’m always right. You could be surprised, given how many barns I have acquired over the years, but I’m wrong quite often. Okay, I don’t really have barns—but that doesn’t stop me from being wrong often!
Anyway, read through for yourself, and hopefully you can learn to make up your own mind . . .
Pack 1, Pick 1
Blue Devil, Dan Cassidy; Nightmaster, Jim Rook; Thanagarian Invasion; Superman, Earth 2; Sasha Bordeaux, Autonomous Prototype; Baddest of the Bad; Leslie Thompkins’s Clinic; Charles McNider ◊ Dr. Mid-Nite, Golden Age Academic; Return of Donna Troy; June Moon ◊ Enchantress, Bad Witch; Dr. Polaris, Force of Nature; Blue Devil, Big Blue; Ragdoll, Resilient Rogue; Burning Gaze
For a first pack, this is unimpressive. To me, there really isn’t a standout card that would have us looking at one team over the others. So what direction to take?
Adrian decided to go with Dr. Polaris—a card I don’t really like, but by his reasoning, the most worthwhile Villains United character in the pack. The Villains United team seems to have the most consistent power, so keeping that window open can’t be bad.
I would have definitely taken Thanagarian Invasion here, though. I think it is the strongest card in the pack. More importantly, it is generic, something I value very highly in my first picks. I’d like to wait and see how the draft develops before committing to anything too early.
As Adrian and I disagree already, you can see how Booster Draft can be very complex. Do you stick to picking characters and teams early, trying to play it safe or cut people off? Or do you sit on the fence and wait for the power to come to you? Furthermore, when do you break your own rules?
Adrian picks: Dr. Polaris, Force of Nature
My pick: Thanagarian Invasion
Pack 1, Pick 2
Weather Wizard, Mark Mardon; Dr. Psycho, Twisted Telepath; Helm of Nabu; Rann; Justice United; Alexander Luthor, Duplicitous Doppelganger; The Oblivion Bar; Mr. Freeze, Brutal Blizzard; Sasha Bordeaux, Autonomous Prototype; It’s Not Over Yet!; Deflection; A Moment of Crisis; Graziella Reza, Knight
Prophetic or fortuitous? If you read last week’s article, you can tell which card is the pick here. That it is in the same team as Adrian’s first pick is excellent; it’s a shame, though, that he is passing along a Weather Wizard too. After a weaker first pick it is good to see something of a return to form here.
Adrian picks: Mr. Freeze, Brutal Blizzard
My pick: Mr. Freeze, Brutal Blizzard
Pack 1, Pick 3
Grand Gesture; Dr. Occult, Richard Occult; The Calculator, Noah Kuttler; Death from Above; June Moon ◊ Enchantress, Good Witch; Black Adam, Ruthless Hero; Black Alice, Lori Zechlin; Taking Up the Mantle; Sarge Steel, Knight; Mordru, Dark Lord; Elimination Protocol ◊ OMAC Robot; Return Fire!
Unfortunately this pack is a little weak for a third pick. There are strong Shadowpact cards in Dr. Occult and Black Alice, but you want both and don’t want to be in Shadowpact curve with someone else. Mordru is a serviceable character that can be archetypally brilliant as well as flexible, but we just picked a 5-drop. Grand Gesture is decent but is a bit of a commitment for a third pick. Personally, and given my penchant for 2-drops, I would have taken the amazing Sarge Steel here. Adrian decided to keep his options open and took the Death from Above, though he wasn’t happy.
Adrian picks: Death from Above
My pick: Sarge Steel, Knight
Pack 1, Pick 4
Amanda Waller, Queen; The Phantom Stranger, Fallen Angel; The Calculator, Noah Kuttler; Checkmate Armory; Big Blue, Dan Cassidy; The Penguin, Arms Merchant; Witchfire, Rebecca Carstairs; Mordru, Dark Lord; Target Acquired; June Moon ◊ Enchantress, Good Witch; House of Secrets
This seems like a pretty straightforward pack given that we saw a decent amount of Checkmate go by in the last pack, and that we now have a good character and a good plot twist from that affiliation here. A lot more Shadowpact is coming through, but it seems unwise to go into Shadowpact after passing two Occults and a Black Alice. Checkmate seems open, and the 4-drop is the safest pick.
Adrian picks: Amanda Waller, Queen
My pick: Amanda Waller, Queen
Pack 1, Pick 5
The Phantom Stranger, Fallen Angel; Living Legacy; Huntress, Reluctant Queen; Divination, Magic; Retrieval Protocol ◊ OMAC Robot, Army; Allied Against the Dark; The Calculator, Noah Kuttler; Alan Scott, Sentinel ◊ Golden Age Guardian; Ibis, Prince Amentep; Relentless Pursuit
If we have given up on Shadowpact (which I would advise, though you may feel differently), there are really two picks to consider here: the 2-drop army character and the plot twist that allows you to attack hidden characters. Some people don’t like the Robot, but I feel that he is fine. Still, I don’t really like him as a fifth pick. Personally, I am starting to really respect the influence concealed has on this format and think that cards like Watch the Birdie! and Relentless Pursuit are worthy of more respect.
The safe pick is to take the character here, and in the end I think that’s what I would do. Although I think it is the weaker card, overall it is much more important to shore up your characters in the early stages of the draft (since you need roughly twice as many characters as non-characters).
Adrian picks: Retrieval Protocol ◊ OMAC Robot, Army
My pick: Retrieval Protocol ◊ OMAC Robot, Army
Pack 1, Pick 6
Rose Psychic, Ghost Detective; Fate Has Spoken; Roy Harper ◊ Arsenal, Knight; Magical Conduit, Magic; The Penguin, Arms Merchant; The Calculator, Crime Broker; Harry Stein, King in Check; Scandal, Savage Spawn; Surveillance Pawn
Adrian didn’t even consider Surveillance Pawn here, but he is probably right to just slam the Roy Harper into his pile. Roy is fairly average to begin with, but he is a man of circumstance and can find himself in some very favorable situations indeed. Off-curve decks fear him, and he can grow quite large in the right deck. Harry Stein is a very dangerous card in draft and probably doesn’t really fit an on-curve deck unless you can get two Threat Neutralized or something similar (Leslie Thompkins’s Clinic?). The Calculator 7-drop has a case here, but he comes around enough that you can probably get him later.
Adrian picks: Roy Harper ◊ Arsenal, Knight
My pick: Roy Harper ◊ Arsenal, Knight
Pack 1, Pick 7
Heroic Rescue; Cheetah, Feral Feline; Amadeus Arkham, Architect of Insanity; Carter Hall ◊ Hawkman, Eternal Champion; Scandal, Savage Spawn; Rose Psychic, Ghost Detective; Dodge the Bullet; The Calculator, Crime Broker
A similar common run, and we are left with little alternative. Calculator is the best man for our deck, though Cheetah could suit some of your tastes. I have learned to default to on-curve decks in this format like everyone else now, so I think I’d rather have the 7-drop here than the 1-drop. If I get off my meds, though, I’ll probably go back to picking up Feral Felines.
Adrian picks: The Calculator, Crime Broker
My pick: The Calculator, Crime Broker
Pack 1, Pick 8
Ragdoll, Resilient Rogue; Spectral Slaughter, Magic; House of Secrets; Blue Devil, Dan Cassidy; Madame Xanadu, Cartomancer; Traitor to the Cause; Dr. Psycho, Twisted Telepath
Adrian grimaced slightly here. Obviously not many people have the respect I have for Traitor to the Cause. I would likely have gone with the Ragdoll here anyway, as it is a great board advantage tool for an on-curve deck. I like Traitor too, but Adrian was more interested in securing his curve and went with Blue Devil, who is a solid 2-drop overall. For the record, both Adrian and I consider Dr. Psycho, Twisted Telepath unplayable.
Adrian picks: Blue Devil, Dan Cassidy
My pick: Ragdoll, Resilient Rogue
Pack 1, Pick 9
Ragdoll, Resilient Rogue; Charles McNider ◊ Dr. Mid-Nite, Golden Age Academic; Leslie Thompkins’s Clinic; Baddest of the Bad; Nightmaster, Jim Rook; Return of Donna Troy
This pack keeps Adrian on the Villains United trail, even though it seemed to have died off a little earlier. Baddest is clearly the best card in this pack and will grant his deck a bit more flexibility with its curve.
Adrian picks: Baddest of the Bad
My pick: Baddest of the Bad
Pack 1, Pick 10
Dr. Psycho, Twisted Telepath; Justice United; Alexander Luthor, Duplicitous Doppelganger; The Oblivion Bar; It’s Not Over Yet
A gift tenth pick Team-Up for sure, but also a lesson in this format: The Team-Ups in this set are wonderful for Draft and Sealed. They are unrestrained enough that you don’t have to pick them over anything else to make sure you can team attack and reinforce (and use all of your plot twists), but they also offer worthwhile additional effects that can be awesome in the right deck. I think Justice United is one of the weaker Team-Ups, but it will still make the cut, and for a tenth pick, you can’t ask for much more.
Adrian picks: Justice United
My pick: Justice United
Pack 1, Pick 11
Grand Gesture; The Calculator, Noah Kuttler; Black Alice, Lori Zechlin; Taking Up the Mantle
All of these picks are playable, and Adrian even gets a selection. Gesture is definitely the best card here for Adrian, but it is a little unnerving to see a Black Alice come around this late.
Adrian picks: Grand Gesture
My pick: Grand Gesture
Pack 1, Pick 12
The Penguin, Arms Merchant; The Calculator, Noah Kuttler; Checkmate Armory
Adrian decided to keep his options open with Checkmate Armory in case he needed to go hard into Checkmate, which requires several locations to bring its effects online. I think he made the right choice.
Adrian picks: Checkmate Armory
My pick: Checkmate Armory
Pack 1, Pick 13
The Calculator, Noah Kuttler; Living Legacy
An easy pick.
Adrian picks: The Calculator, Noah Kuttler
My Pick: The Calculator, Noah Kuttler
Pack 1, Pick 14
Scandal, Savage Spawn
Pack 2, Pick 1
Surveillance Pawn, Army; Amulet of Nabu, Fate Artifact; Thanagar; Dr. Occult, Richard Occult; The Calculator, Crime Broker; Multiverse Power Battery; Talia, Beloved Betrayer; The Penguin, Arms Merchant; House of Secrets; Roy Harper ◊ Arsenal, Knight; Bart Allen ◊ The Flash, Impulsive Speedster; True Name, Magic; Deathstroke the Terminator, Lethal Weapon; Collecting Souls, Magic
A pack full of playable cards, but given the makeup of Adrian’s deck, the choice comes down to Talia or Deathstroke. Even though Talia is a stronger-than-average 2-drop and Deathstroke is about average, Adrian thought that he was slimmer at the 4-spot at this point; curve comes first.
Adrian picks: Deathstroke the Terminator, Lethal Weapon
My pick: Deathstroke the Terminator, Lethal Weapon
Pack 2, Pick 2
Dr. Occult, Richard Occult; Amulet of Nabu, Fate Artifact; The Calculator, Crime Broker; Secret Checkmate HQ; Surveillance Pawn, Army; Harry Stein, King in Check; It’s Not Over Yet; Baddest of the Bad; Ragman, Redeemer of Souls; Absolute Dominance; Return Fire!; Revitalize; Amadeus Arkham, Architect of Insanity
An interesting pack and an interesting choice. Adrian picked Secret Checkmate HQ, a card I don’t particularly like. With so much concealed, the card does have a lot of potential to “go off,” where you flip up on the one defender and then give all of your hidden guys +2 ATK for the turn. However, I find that its replacement is awkward for other Checkmate powerhouses like Brother Eye and Roy Harper.
I would have picked Revitalize here. In recent times, recovery effects have been limited to the recovery phase, which tells you a lot about their power. Being able to recover someone in combat is ridiculous, and this card is one of the reasons on-curve decks are so much stronger in this set.
Adrian picks: Secret Checkmate HQ
My pick: Revitalize
Pack 2, Pick 3
Blue Devil, Dan Cassidy; Forbidden Loyalties, Team-Up; Helm of Nabu, Fate Artifact; Huntress, Reluctant Queen; Kendra Saunders ◊ Hawkgirl, Eternal Heroine; Bart Allen ◊ The Flash, Impulsive Speedster; Jakeem Williams, JJ Thunder; Dr. Light, Furious Flashpoint; Mr. Freeze, Brutal Blizzard; Witchfire, Rebecca Carstairs; A Moment of Crisis; Multiverse Power Battery
Even though we already have two 5-drops, you can’t really go past Mr. Freeze. There is a case for Huntress given that we don’t have any on-team 6-drops, but Freeze is totally ridiculous. It doesn’t seem early enough to be too concerned about the 6-drop situation. On another note, this is good news for us and our attempt to cut off Villains United from our submissives.
Adrian picks: Mr. Freeze, Brutal Blizzard
My pick: Mr. Freeze, Brutal Blizzard
Pack 2, Pick 4
Power Girl, Earth 2; Knight Armor; The Calculator, Noah Kuttler; Harry Stein, King in Check; Alan Scott ◊ Sentinel, Golden Age Guardian; Roy Harper ◊ Arsenal, Knight; True Name, Magic; Zazzala ◊ Queen Bee, Mistress of the Hive; Death from Above; Collecting Souls, Magic; Deathstroke the Terminator, Lethal Weapon
Another Deathstroke and another Roy, but the 3-drops need bolstering, so we sort of have to snap up Zazzala. A note on Knight Armor: It is ridiculous, but you still have to look after curve first. It is only going to be good on an on-curve guy, so make sure you have your projected curve first.
Adrian picks: Zazzala ◊ Queen Bee, Mistress of the Hive
My pick: Zazzala ◊ Queen Bee, Mistress of the Hive
Pack 2, Pick 5
Prince Khufu ◊ Hawkman, Eternal Warrior; Kendra Saunders ◊ Hawkgirl, Eternal Heroine; Carter Hall ◊ Hawkman, Eternal Champion; Arms Deal; Rose Psychic, Ghost Detective; Jacob Lee, Knight; Lex Luthor, Champion of the Common Man; The Calculator, Noah Kuttler; Kilowog, Drill Sergeant; Secret Checkmate HQ
Now the JSA is flooding through, but is it really enough to start splashing its characters? I don’t think so, as long as we can pick up another 3-drop from this pack. An ultra-conservative could go with Kendra or Lex here to plug that slot, but even I would have gone with Secret Checkmate HQ on this one. It’s not time to panic yet!
Adrian picks: Secret Checkmate HQ
My pick: Secret Checkmate HQ
Pack 2, Pick 6
Dr. Occult, Richard Occult; Black Adam Ruthless Hero; Lois Lane, Earth 2; Dr. Light, Furious Flashpoint; Arms Deal; Valentina Vostok ◊ Negative Woman, Bishop; Mystical Binding, Magic; Cheetah, Feral Feline; Death from Above
These packs aren’t spectacular, but they aren’t completely dry, either; the draft just seems to be chugging along for Adrian. Taking his third on-team 4-drop here seems like a decent pick.
Adrian picks: Valentina Vostok ◊ Negative Woman, Bishop
My pick: Valentina Vostok ◊ Negative Woman, Bishop
Pack 2, Pick 7
Join Us or Die; The Phantom Stranger, Fallen Angel; Ragdoll, Resilient Rogue; Traitor to the Cause; Dr. Psycho, Twisted Telepath; Conjuration, Magic; Cheetah, Feral Feline; Blue Devil, Big Blue
After a sleepy few packs, this was incredible. Conjuration is totally ridiculous, but it clearly isn’t for us. Still, I would have thought one of the other random Checkmate or VU guys would have been picked. Even though I don’t like Dr. Psycho, I would have probably picked him here. Adrian went with Join Us or Die and hardly thought twice. He said later that it was really good in his deck, though I had trouble believing him at the time.
Adrian picks: Join Us or Die
My pick: Dr. Psycho, Twisted Telepath
Pack 2, Pick 8
Zazzala ◊ Queen Bee, Mistress of the Hive; Cheetah, Feral Feline; Valentina Vostok ◊ Negative Woman, Bishop; House of Secrets; The Penguin, Arms Merchant; Ultra-Humanite, Metahuman Manipulator; Heroic Rescue
Phew! We really needed that. A third 3-drop, and not a moment too soon!
Adrian picks: Zazzala ◊ Queen Bee, Mistress of the Hive;
My pick: Zazzala ◊ Queen Bee, Mistress of the Hive
Pack 2, Pick 9
The Calculator, Crime Broker; The Penguin, Arms Merchant; House of Secrets; Bart Allen ◊ The Flash, Impulsive Speedster; True Name, Magic; Collecting Souls, Magic
A bit disappointing for ninth pick. I don’t really like to have more than one 7-drop in this format, so I likely would have taken an emergency Penguin. Adrian thought differently.
Adrian picks: The Calculator, Crime Broker
My pick: The Penguin, Arms Merchant
Pack 2, Pick 10
The Calculator, Crime Broker; It’s Not Over Yet; Baddest of the Bad; Absolute Dominance; Amadeus Arkham, Architect of Insanity
This is an easy pick with another late Baddest. With only Scandal at the 6-slot to speak of, these could be very handy indeed.
Adrian picks: Baddest of the Bad
My pick: Baddest of the Bad
Pack 2, Pick 11
Bart Allen ◊ The Flash, Impulsive Speedster; Dr. Light, Furious Flashpoint; A Moment of Crisis; Multiverse Power Battery
I actually find this pick really tough. I can’t stand Dr. Light, but I hate going into the third pack needing a lot of curve. At this stage, Adrian still wants a 3-drop and on-team 6-drops, among other things. Even I could find room for Dr. Light with that shopping list. Still, Multiverse Power Battery is an important card in this format, where the Fate Artifacts and things like T-Spheres and Knight Armor can be game-winning. I think I’d take the conservative option, but Adrian is a bit of a wild man, so he does his own thing.
Adrian picks: Multiverse Power Battery
My pick: Dr. Light, Furious Flashpoint
Pack 2, Pick 12
Harry Stein, King in Check; The Calculator, Noah Kuttler; True Name, Magic
Bring on Coercion!
Adrian picks: The Calculator, Noah Kuttler
My pick: The Calculator, Noah Kuttler
Pack 2, Pick 13
The Calculator, Noah Kuttler; Arms Deal
Meh.
Adrian picks: The Calculator, Noah Kuttler
My pick: The Calculator, Noah Kuttler
Pack 2, Pick 14
Arms Deal
Pack 3, Pick 1
Detective Chimp, Bobo T. Chimpanzee; Ishmael Gregor ◊ Sabbac, Malevolent Marvel; Scandal, Savage Spawn; Traitor to the Cause; Thanagarian Invasion; Lex Luthor ◊ Mockingbird, Evil Exile; Knight Armor; Magical Conduit, Magic; Seiobo’s Garden; Magical Lobotomy, Magic; The Calculator, Evil Oracle; Katar Hol ◊ Hawkman, Eternal Hero; Blue Devil, Big Blue; Checkmate Safe House, Team-Up
I thought this pick was extremely straightforward, but I was shown up again. The 3-drop Calculator is one of the best cards in the set. The potential for brickwalling is greater in this set than many others, and this guy’s is a big reason why. We need an extra 3-drop; this guy is amazing . . . what gives?
Adrian thought he needed more plot twists. He knew he could get more guys, but he thought he might need some help for them first. Thanagarian Invasion is good, but if it’s that good, why wouldn’t he take it first pick, first pack? I could be missing something, but I definitely think this is the wrong pick.
Adrian picks: Thanagarian Invasion
My pick: The Calculator, Evil Oracle
Pack 3, Pick 2
Ibis, Prince Amentep; Amulet of Nabu; Mystical Binding, Magic; Grand Gesture; Sinestro, Villain Reborn; Sasha Bordeaux, Autonomous Prototype; Coercion, Team-Up; Maxwell Lord, Black King; Fiddler, Isaac Bowin; Animal Man, Buddy Baker; Superman, Earth 2; Madame Xanadu, Cartomancer; Brother I Satellite
The Coercion and Superman are candidates, but another search card really gives Adrian a lot of flexibility, and this card is awesomeness as a location.
Adrian picks: Brother I Satellite
My pick: Brother I Satellite
Pack 3, Pick 3
Return Fire!; Detective Chimp, Bobo T. Chimpanzee; Power Girl, Earth 2; Elimination Protocol ◊ OMAC Robot, Army; Blue Devil, Big Blue; Taking Up the Mantle; Lex Luthor, Champion of the Common Man; Pawn of the Black King; Kilowog, Drill Sergeant; Jacob Lee, Knight; Zazzala ◊ Queen Bee, Mistress of the Hive; Forbidden Loyalties, Team-Up
Having just passed Coercion, I would have thought Forbidden Loyalties would be the pick here. I know I have harped on about the 3-drop situation a bit, but you would also notice that there are several good off-team 3-drops that seem to go round and round (Penguin and Lex, to name a few). In the first two packs, I tend to push for on-team stuff more, but in the last packs, I like to make sure I don’t get caught short on things I have to have, like Team-Ups.
Adrian thought it was time to round out his 3-drops, and I can’t really complain.
Adrian picks: Zazzala ◊ Queen Bee, Mistress of the Hive;
My pick: Forbidden Loyalties, Team-Up
Pack 3, Pick 4
Terry Sloane ◊ Mr. Terrific, Golden Age Gold Medalist; Blackbriar Thorn, Druid of Cymru; Talia, Beloved Betrayer; Rook Control; End of All That Is; The Phantom Stranger, Fallen Angel; Amanda Waller, Queen; Divination, Magic; Deflection; Catman, Thomas Blake; Deadshot, Dead Aim
Deflection is a strong card. I don’t know if it is the right pick here, but I hate passing it. Watching Terry Sloane go sucks as well. Still, with us in need of curve, we sort of have to go that way. It’s harder to get 2-drops than 4-drops, so Adrian goes with Talia.
Adrian picks: Talia, Beloved Betrayer
My pick: Talia, Beloved Betrayer
Pack 3, Pick 5
Terry Sloane ◊ Mr. Terrific, Golden Age Gold Medalist; Deflection; Black Alice, Lori Zechlin; Dr. Fate, Lord of Order; Nightshade, Shadow Siren; Traitor to the Cause; Dr. Occult, Richard Occult; Divination, Magic; Black Adam, Ruthless Hero; Catman, Thomas Blake
Grrr . . . another Terry Sloane. Other key archetypal cards like Shadow Siren and Black Alice are coming through, but you have to expect all of this in the third pack madness. Fortunately for us, we snag the Deflection this time.
Adrian picks: Deflection
My pick: Deflection
Pack 3, Pick 6
June Moon ◊ Enchantress, Bad Witch; Ishmael Gregor ◊ Sabbac, Malevolent Marvel; Roy Harper ◊ Arsenal, Knight; Brother Eye; Tricked-Out Sports Car; Knight Armor; True Name, Magic; Parademon, Apokoliptian Ally; Amanda Waller, Queen
Wow, that’s a lot of gas for a sixth pick, but that’s the third pack for ya’. Funnily enough, I think Adrian made the wrong call here. Brother Eye isn’t really that great, considering his only other support location is Brother I Satellite. Secret Checkmate HQ doesn’t stick around long enough. I most likely would have gone with the 4-drop, to shore up the curve in anticipation of a 6-drop. There are also legitimate reasons to take Knight Armor or the Car here.
Adrian picks: Brother Eye
My pick: Amanda Waller, Queen
Pack 3, Pick 7
Taking Up the Mantle; Systematic Torture; Amulet of Nabu, Fate Artifact; Dodge the Bullet; Sinestro, Villain Reborn; Thanagar; Knight Armor; Manitou Dawn
Wow. Now that’s a card we want to see. Another Knight Armor—and also Thanagar and Sinestro—but hot dang, Finishing Move seventh pick? Slam.
Adrian picks: Systematic Torture
My pick: Systematic Torture
Pack 3, Pick 8
Ishmael Gregor ◊ Sabbac, Malevolent Marvel; Roy Harper ◊ Arsenal, Knight; Retrieval Protocol ◊ OMAC Robot, Army; Rose Psychic, Ghost Detective; Laser Watch; Batman, Earth 2; Living Legacy
I love Laser Watch, and I would have picked it. Adrian went with another 2-drop and said that he took the VU 2-drop because he thought he was much more in VU than Checkmate.
Adrian picks: Ishmael Gregor ◊ Sabbac, Malevolent Marvel
My pick: Laser Watch
Pack 3, Pick 9
Scandal, Savage Spawn; Traitor to the Cause; Lex Luthor ◊ Mockingbird, Evil Exile; Seiobo’s Garden; Magical Lobotomy, Magic; Blue Devil, Big Blue
In desperation, I would have slammed my Scandal power-up, but Adrian had other ideas. He took Lobotomy, which didn’t make the final cut of his deck. Still, those sorts of things are hard to nut out when you aren’t allowed to look at your packs during the draft (as I am writing it all down).
Adrian picks: Magical Lobotomy, Magic
My pick: Scandal, Savage Spawn
Pack 3, Pick 10
Grand Gesture; Coercion, Team-Up; Maxwell Lord, Black King; Fiddler, Isaac Bowin; Madame Xanadu, Cartomancer
That is why he’s the No.1 limited player in the region. I would never have had the balls to run that gamble. Nice.
Adrian picks: Coercion, Team-Up
My pick: Coercion, Team-Up
Pack 3, Pick 11
Detective Chimp, Bobo T. Chimpanzee; Taking Up the Mantle; Pawn of the Black King; Kilowog, Drill Sergeant
Still with only three 4-drops, we might as well get mediocre. What is Kilowog’s favorite Ice-Cream? VANILLA. Ugh.
Adrian picks: Kilowog, Drill Sergeant
My pick: Kilowog, Drill Sergeant
Pack 3, Pick 12
Catman, Thomas Blake; Blackbriar Thorn, Druid of Cymru; End of All That Is
Pure cuts now.
Adrian picks: Blackbriar Thorn, Druid of Cymru
My pick: Blackbriar Thorn, Druid of Cymru
Pack 3, Pick 13
Catman, Thomas Blake; Dr. Fate, Lord of Order
Can we add this to the “random 3-drops are out there” list?
Adrian picks: Catman, Thomas Blake
My pick: Catman, Thomas Blake
Pack 3, Pick 14
True Name, Magic
Adrian ended up with this deck:
2 The Calculator, Noah Kuttler
Ishmael Gregor ◊ Sabbac, Malevolent Marvel
Retrieval Protocol ◊ OMAC Robot, Army
Talia, Beloved Betrayer
3 Zazzala ◊ Queen Bee, Mistress of the Hive
Dr. Polaris, Force of Nature
Amanda Waller, Queen
Deathstroke the Terminator, Lethal Weapon
Valentina Vostok ◊ Negative Woman, Bishop
2 Mr. Freeze, Brutal Blizzard
Roy Harper ◊ Arsenal, Knight
Scandal, Savage Spawn
2 The Calculator, Crime Broker
Coercion, Team-Up
2 Baddest of the Bad
Join Us or Die
Thanagarian Invasion
Systematic Torture
Deflection
Death from Above
Grand Gesture
Brother Eye
Brother I Satellite
Secret Checkmate HQ
Adrian said he liked to work for a curve like this (turns 1-7): 2-3/4-4-3/4-3-2-1/2. He fell short of the necessary two 6-drops, but he did have two search cards to get his 6-drop. He decided that the 1-drop Calculator was so good that he could rely on it to get his Team-Up, which was ideal for his VU-heavy deck.
Adrian carved out a solid 2-1 performance with the deck. He said the Join Us or Die/Dr. Polaris interaction single-handedly won him a game, though he thought the 4-drop Deathstroke was overrated. He thought the 7-drop Calculator was great too, but he couldn’t draw Brother Eye at all, so I can’t justify my criticisms of him earlier.