DC Origins is in stores right now, but if you haven’t already seen the cards . . . well, then you haven’t spent any time at any Vs. System fan sites. A lucky few had a chance to play with the cards before their release at Origins in Columbus, Ohio, and I was lucky enough to see a lot of players open a lot of DC packs for the first time. I really like to see players' initial reactions when they see a card for the very first time. I also like to see what they find confusing when reading a card for the first time.

One of the most frequent questions people there had for the judges and myself was, “What the heck happens to a stunned character who can’t be KO’d during the recovery phase?” There are two cards that cause exactly that situation to arise and I’d like to examine them today to make sure everyone sees how they work and why they are useful/nasty.

First up is Poison Ivy. Her game text reads: “Whenever Poison Ivy stuns a character, if that character would be recovered this turn, instead that character is not recovered and that character cannot be KO'd during the recovery phase this turn.”

Poison Ivy doesn’t have a great ATK, so she might need some help to stun opposing characters. However, the text, “Whenever Poison Ivy stuns a character,” applies while she is attacking or defending. And don’t forget team attacking. That’s probably the best way to make sure that her text is triggered. Just don’t bother to team attack with a character that will likely KO the defender or her power just won’t happen (though I’m sure you’ll get over it).

“[I]f that character would be recovered this turn, instead that character is not recovered,” throws some players for a loop. Why would it be recovered? Well, if it’s a player’s only stunned character, he would certainly want to choose to recover it. If a card were ever printed that forces a player to recover a certain character it could happen that it was the only choice. But Ivy puts the kibosh on it either way. As a replacement effect, the character is not recovered even if the character’s controller really wants it to and asks nicely.

“[T]hat character cannot be KO'd during the recovery phase this turn,” is where things get tricky. The rules of the game don’t tell you what to do with a stunned character when the rest of the heroes are either getting up or going away. But since the card tells you to not recover it and not KO it, it must get to stay in play stunned. Lying around bleeding has never been so much fun!

There are a couple of Arkham Inmates who like to see broken bodies lying about. Man-Bat, Dr. Robert Langstrom gets big and bloodthirsty when he smells blood. “Man-Bat gets +2 ATK for each stunned character your opponents control” is nothing to Skreeeeee at. Bane, The Man Who Broke the Bat takes pity on the fallen and sends them to a better place . . . the KO’d pile: “Whenever Bane attacks, you may KO target stunned character.”

Even if you can’t find synergies with other characters, her ability does just fine on its own. Players will often times recover their biggest and best character. If Ivy can stun an opponent’s best character, that player will just have to make due without it next turn. This can give you a real edge on the competition, as he or she will probably recover a lesser character for the turn. She effectively sees to it that your second best character can easily dominate your opponent’s second best character on each subsequent turn. I say second best as the new drops on the following turn are probably going to be each player’s best character.

Just like Poison Ivy, one of Lazarus Pit’s powers (the one I’m examining today) will keep a stunned character around for another turn (maybe more than one). Its activated power reads: “Activate >>> Target stunned League of Assassins character cannot be KO'd this turn.” But why would you want to leave a character in play stunned? Well, it certainly beats having to KO it. If you’ve got more than one stunned character in play, you’re going to end up KOing one of them unless you come up with a trick and quick. Why not keep that stunned character around for a while? Perhaps next turn you won’t have any newly stunned characters and you can recover the "extra-stunned" character.

That stunned character in play still counts as a character. There are lots of reasons why it’s good to have large numbers of characters hanging around, stunned or not. There are a good number of League of Assassins characters that are loyal and some are so loyal they won’t even come out and play unless Ra’s al Ghul himself is around. Lazarus Pit gives you the chance to keep a 4-drop Ra’s around turn after turn in order to recruit the deadly Lady Shiva, who requires that Ra’s be in play. She doesn’t care if he’s stunned at the time.

Besides keep a stunned character around for a while, the Pit can also save a League character from being KO’d by a Finishing Move, Death in the Family, and lots of other KO effects. If you do, you can choose to recover the character or choose a different one to recover knowing you may have a chance next turn to recover the "extra-stunned" character.

When you’re done messing around with your bevy of stunned characters (hey, you might have up to four stunned characters in play, as the Pit is not unique), go to town in the late game and KO your Pits. Recover a bunch of the characters that you’ve been stringing along for the past few turns. Just be sure to do it near the end of a turn so they can ready during the recovery phase and be ready to fight next turn.

So you better get used to seeing stunned characters hanging around more often than before. They’re here to stay. Literally. Fortunately, they don’t eat much.

Comments and record-setting plays may, as usual, be emailed to mhyra@metagame.com.