PC Amsterdam is rapidly approaching. Trying to tackle a discussion of Marvel Knights development so shortly before gaining all the insights we will undoubtedly glean from the PC seems ill advised. Instead, I’ll challenge you to see what predictions you can make about the upcoming show.
The Best Players?
We’ve finally accumulated enough events to have a sense of the most original deckbuilders and the best players to be found in Vs. System. Who do you think will shine in this new format? Will it be the innovative deckbuilders or the simply the best players who dominate this event? Certainly these two categories aren’t mutually exclusive, so if you think you know which top players are also excellent deckbuilders or have access to teammates who are, maybe you can predict who will take home the prizes.
1) Choose the three players you think will take home the largest sum of money from the event. Feel free to add on any number of alternates in the event that your picks don’t attend the PC. In case you are struggling to come up with names to finish off your list, here are a few possibilities based on recent performances and/or creative deck selection.
Jose Maria Aramburu (Winner $10K Madrid, Brotherhood of Mephisto)
Tim Batow (Winner $10K Las Vegas, My Beloved)
Craig Edwards (2nd Place PC Indy, Rigged Elections)
Michael Jacob (Winner $10K Chicago, Mutant Nation)
Hans Joachim Hoeh (Winner of two $10K events, Bologna and Hannover, Curve Sentinels)
Ryan Jones (Winner PC Los Angeles, Teen Titans)
Robert Leander (Winner of two $10K events, New Jersey and Texas, Teen Titans)
Dean Sohnle (Winner $10K London, Fantastic Four Equipment/Burn)
Alex Tennet (Winner Modern Age $15K Los Angeles, The Brave and the Bold)
Gabe Walls (Winner $10K Columbus, Teen Titans)
Just to be clear, you need not choose from this list. If you would like, choose you hometown champ, your favorite player, your favorite writer, or your favorite fan-site hero.
The Best Deck?
When all is said and done, one player will walk away with all the glory. The deck he or she plays will gain the attention of everyone around the world and become the deck to play and beat in the upcoming PCQ season. For that matter, it will be a deck you might find yourself playing next week at your local PCQ. So, what deck will survive the best of three quarterfinal and semifinal games and the best of five final games?
2) Name the exact team affiliation(s) that will be represented in the deck that wins PC Amsterdam. This includes characters of the given affiliation and any non-character card referencing that affiliation.
How Diverse a Field?
Recently in Chicago, there were seven different decks in the Top 8 of the Golden Age $10K. Some of the other recent Top 8s have been somewhat less diverse. Even with large number of players running Sentinels and Titans, the top of the standings have represented a reasonably large number of deck types. How do you think Marvel Modern Age will stack up? Will there be a powerhouse deck that everyone has figured out? Or, with only six major teams, will there still be plenty of variety? And will that variety come from most of those teams being viable or from better options available for teaming up with cards like Midnight Sons?
3) At the end of Day 1, how many different decks will be represented in the Top 10? For the purposes of this challenge, I’ll consider each different combination of teams to be a separate archetype. If two decks are very different but have the same teams, I’ll consider them the same for the purposes of this answer.
The Best Teams in Draft?
Let’s not forget that nine of the rounds are Booster Draft! So, which teams are the strongest in draft? Or maybe more appropriately, which teams will be the most underestimated by all but a few of the pro players who will then take those teams to victory?
While I’d like to do a thorough breakdown of how each team does in each and every draft, I’m not sure I can guarantee such an analysis, so instead I’ll let this contest revolve around table #1 (the table with the players who are highest in the standings).
4) In the 3-0 deck at table #1, to which team will most of the cards be stamped?
A) Crime Lords
B) Marvel Knights
C) Underworld
D) X-Statix
5) In the 3-0 deck at table #1 during the first Man of Steel draft, to which team will most of the cards be stamped?
A) Darkseid’s Elite
B) New Gods
C) Revenge Squad
D) Team Superman
The Best Legacy Teams?
While the Modern Age format figures to hail the arrival of many new decks and teams, the main Marvel Origins teams should also get into the mix. I’d be surprised if some of the following cards don’t enter the fray this week: Bamf!, Hounds of Ahab, Professor X, Mental Master, Silver Surfer, and Supernova. Maybe someone will manage to team up the X-Statix with the few X-Men available. Scarlet Witch, Eldritch Enchantress or Insignificant Threat could show up in some techy deck. And finally, since everyone seems to love Curve Sentinels these days, maybe Sentinel Mark V will be filler in the occasional deck.
Which Legacy team will appear in the highest percentage of decks?
6) Which two of the following teams will be the most represented? And which of those two will appear in more decks? (Not in terms of the greatest quantity of cards, but just in the most decks. Characters with that affiliation and any non-character card referencing that affiliation will count.)
A) Brotherhood
B) Doom
C) Fantastic Four
D) Sentinels
E) X-Men
F) Skrulls
Your Reward
I’ll have to rummage around the office for some prizes to dole out to the best prognosticators. I’m not sure whether you’ll simply receive a “Good job!” via email, a couple of Jeff Donais’s business cards, Yip’s Frosted Mini-Wheats, one of Danny Mandel’s stuffed animals (it’s probably for the best if he doesn’t cuddle up with Eeyore and the Princess of Norway every night), some baseball cards, or a bunch of Vs. product. Some of this will depend on the amount of feedback I get. If you have any good ideas for simple or silly prizes, let me know. You may still be hooked up even if you included Skrulls as part of your answers. By answering, you’ll also help to hype your favorite players and teams. I’ll summarize the responses and name the people with some of the best predictions when I next write.
Comments and predictions are welcome at DHumpherys@metagame.com.
Please include your UDE number and make sure you get me your submission by tonight at 12:00 AM PST. Good luck!