With the results of $10K Philadelphia radically altering the almost hegemonic rule of Curve Sentinels, the second $10K to reach Sydney would be the first test for the new kid on the block: Dr Light & Friends.
The deck itself was out in force, even if many attempts to jump on the bandwagon were thwarted by a sheer scarcity of cards. With a target on its head, the deck was always going to attract a lot of attention, both for and against. While what seemed like infinite variations on the combo itself were in evidence, what was perhaps more interesting was how those choosing
not to run the gambit from the 30
th century aimed to stop the madness.
Interestingly, instead of the metagame narrowing to confront its latest challenge, players were more willing to tweak existing archetypes than to take on the daunting task of an entirely new archetype or even affiliation. As one can see from the deck breakdown, a large number of historically established archetypes were in competition. It is almost a given that a $10K would showcase a more varied selection of decks and deck types than a Pro Circuit. However, in the face of the vaunted Dr Light combo, most players held fast and showed that they were creatures . . . umm . . . characters . . . of habit.
Curve Sentinel players adjusted with
Total Anarchy,
Search and Destroy and
Have A Blast!, the latter being a general inclusion in decks across the board. Teen Titans players could be seen maxing out on
Foiled and in some cases even returning to
Betrayal, in the search for even the smallest advantage. The Doom archetypes, New School and
Common Enemy, besides having access to the veritable Achilles' Heel of Dr Light in
Dr Doom, Diabolic Genius, looked to
Power Compressor.
Black Cat, Master Thief and
Mephisto, Soulstealer even made cameo appearances where they could be supported by
Midnight Sons. Gotham-based decks, even when strictly curve based strategies, upped the number of
Utility Belts.
Latverian Embassy increased its small band of followers throughout the day, even if the rampant
Have a Blast! diluted much of its potential. The sleeper affiliation of the tournament, Green Lantern, utilizing the power of
The Ring Has Chosen, was able to find the brutal
Scarlet Witch, Wanda Maximoff, or even
Dominus!
Outside of the established archetypes, some interesting technology was on display. Both New Gods (for
The Source) and Team Superman (which shares access to the
Phantom Zone) saw play, although they met with little success. An Unaffiliated deck was running the oft-forgotten
Lock-Up and those brave souls playing Spider-Friends could be seen enjoying
Fun and Games at several tables.
Sonic Gun even made its way into a Doom-Bomb build, supported by
Tech Upgrade. An anonymous source mentioned
Stilt-Man as a possible avenue of defense.
At the end of Round 7, the Dr Light decks could be seen moving up the tables. A motley crew could be seen rising to the challenge, spearheaded by the amazing GL/EE deck brought by the New Zealanders. With popular opinion transforming this event into much of an ‘us vs. them' event, as in those playing Dr Light against the might of Infinite realms, we can only wait and see whether any of the above mentioned cards will make a difference.