Editor: Keh-Gan Hau. Saturday 14th August 2004.
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Editor: Keh-Gan Hau. Saturday 14th August 2004.
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Cool & Competitive-THAT is the Challenge When Upper Deck first released Marvel Origins my interest in the game was curious, but not overwhelmingly so. I wanted/needed to learn the game because of my job. After a few games with unfamiliar characters I liked the game, but would rather play Star Wars, MTG or War Cry. I had an OK Brotherhood deck, Scott Smith kindly traded & sold cards to me for it, but I just didn't feel the urge to play. DC came out after we'd had a spoiler for around a week and I still wasn't convinced. However, the art actually looked better, if possible, than MOR (Marvel Origins) and it did have the guys Adam West & Burt Ward used to fight against each arvo. The clincher was that most people thought that whilst an OK set, Marvel was clearly superior in power/playability and that with the exception of Teen Titans, would do little to change the tournament scene. It is now my mission in life to prove these people wrong! In Magic The Gathering, a 60 card deck usually means around 23 or 24 land with 36 or 37 spells making up the balance. The Luke & Ray told me that around 35 characters/equipment and 25 plot twists/locations is around the optimal build. It is info like this that whilst basic, saves new players/deck builders a lot of hits to the head whilst they're working these ratios out themselves. It's not the same for each deck kiddies, but it's a good start. The DC starter has a Batman Friends & Batman Enemies deck in it, so it made sense to start the search for the Ultimate Inmates deck there. The Penguin looked the obvious bomb card, but the 4 & 7 drop Joker got me thinking as well. I bought a box to top up the starter and got a Mad Hatter, which everyone told me was junk. I liked the art so put him in as a joke. I also like Harley Quinn, as I liked having 1 drops and her ability to re-enforce from anywhere seemed a good thing. The starter also gave me strong Arkham uncommon Plot Twists & locations which are now essential for the deck. Luke was messing around with a Titans deck I think when I asked him for a game. As fate would have it I got a Ratcatcher early ("Oh Great, that makes scoring fun") and a Mad Hatter turn 3, stealing a boosted Hawk from Dove. I think I got beat anyway, but I started to learn what made the deck stronger. From then on I played pretty much anyone willing for a game, just to generate a better feel for the deck. Most guys I played were also testing decks, so as a result didn't get a chance to play against a Brotherhood build. I played against Doom, Bat Vomit, X-Men, Teen Titans and Fanastic Four. Whilst I was usually getting sconed, I was learning different strategies, even making dodgy decis! ions to see the different outcomes. By the time I finished I had some changes in mind. The next day I put on the 1966 version of Batman: The Movie dvd and went to work. As I won/nearly won most times when Ratcatcher came out, I put 4 in the deck. Because of this, Harley got cut to 3. With the reported power of locations, especially in Brotherhood, and because their really wasn't much else, I put in 4 Fireflys. Next up was the card I was always going to play 4 of, Mad Hatter. In a game where tempo is everything, this guy helps screw it up for your opponent. Plus, it's funny as most people thinks it's junk until it's played against them. I realise at this point I'm top heavy with weenies, but they all do a job. Charaxes is the man to play as a 3 drop when you have initiative (Mad Hatter when you don't)so I had 3 of him. After some experimentation I came to learn that Poison Ivy is fine as a 4 drop, especially when you're opponent has initiative turn 4. She beat out 4 drop Joker & Man-Bat, who depending on my mood, still could be good. As most people can see compared to the crazy fatness some teams have at their disposal on turns 3 & 4, whilst funny, Arkham lacks raw power in this area. Killer Croc selects himself at turn 5. Though he has an embarrasing tendency to get overloaded most matches, he is still way in front of Clayface. Thanks to a post on these forums, I gave Scarecrow a go as well. If Versus ran sideboards, then he would be first picked because against The Vomit varieties of decks he is insane. Unfortunantely, against everyone, he makes Alexander Downer look cool. Where Arkham probably has it's strength is turn 6 with the incredible Mr Freeze. Extensive testing has shown me that Mr Freeze is way better than Bane (no slouch himself), even if Bane is boosted. He is the 1 guy who Arkham can turn to to help turn a match, something that they sorely lack. In building this deck I checked out a number of other Arkham articles on other sites, and found that some only ran 1 or 2 Victors, if at all, prefering The Man Who Broke The Bat. I'm not sure if this is a personal preference these writers have for Bane, or their deck synergy called for him, or they just hadn't tested the deck and wrote a theorectical copy for the sake of it, keeping their tournament tech hidden. Whatever the reason, if you play Arkham in whole or even in part! , 4 Mr Freeze is the go. Still at 6, we look at Bane. No doubt it's the fatties who win games in Versus, and Bane is definantly one of those. The problem is, the other guy is also dropping something around 12/12 on turn 6, or something bigger/fatter on turn 7 than 14/14. I actaully started with 4 of him(I thought that was a given), realised the Mr Freeze thing, saw I liked my array of 1-2 drops, had to cut back and dumped Bane at one point. This was eventually changed back to 2 for my debut tournament only because I wanted a little more horsepower, but really it's touch and go. The thing that tips the scales slighty is his Attack:KO target stunned guy ability after Killer Croc has belted someone(and not been overloaded). This is fine when you have initiative, but he may as well be a referee at a South Sydney match when it's your opponent's first move.Like I said I'd rather have Mr Freeze at 6 cause even if he does get biffed, he slows the biffer down next turn. At the top of the curve I've gone for the jewel in the United Underworlds crown(and their only 7 drop) The Joker-The Clown Prince of Crime. He ain't 15/16 like Sub-Mariner, or 16/16 like Thing, but he's all we got, so I'm playing 4 of him. Reason being, his discard a character, stun a character with the same build cost is incredible(if you can get it off). Usually, if the planets align correctly, it's your initiative, you drop Joker with another 5-6-7 (whatever your opponents biggest casting cost) guy is, then stun it, you win and receive pats on the back and complementary comments like "Way to go, I didn't realise Arkham's that strong", or "Wow-great tech Kieren, you played that well".! Before you get to excited, this happens about 1 in every 18 games. For a commited(no pun intended)Arkham fan like me, who's not mega serious about winning, this is enough, so he's in. As for plot twists, Arkham seems to be on a fairly even keel with all other teams(Marvel included). I don't own Savage Beatdowns, but would play them if I did. I did, however, use Nasty Surprise & Acrobatic Dodge from MOR as they are just too good. Arkham guys tend to get bashed fairly readily, so with Acrobatic Dodge it gives you a chance to ride out an attack, and is crazy good with Mr Freeze. Nasty Surprise follows my long time belief that if one of your guys is gonna die, take one of them with you. It also works great with Poison Ivy in defense. If you play Arkham with Poison Ivy & Nasty Surprise, make sure you let everyone else in the event know, as players make different, and sometimes wrong, attacking decisions before they attack Ms Ivy suspecting you have a NS waiting for them. The more Arkham geared twists are Fear & Confusion and Kidnapping. F&C is frankly a bomb. Once again, other articles on other sites have not included this card in AI (Arkham Inmates) decks. I'm not sure if this was an oversite, a strategic move I can't see or just an untested deck generated for cybercopy. 4 of these in AI is a must. They are always good(Charaxes & Mr Freeze benefit naturally from this, all do when you flip Arkham Asylum during your attack step). Kidnapping HAS been getting a lot of good press, and rightly so. With the amount of little guys I play it should be an auto 4 inclusion. Funnily enough, because of other twists/locations, I only run 3. I ran 4, but realised I needed more things to keep my guys alive, or more importantly, to use Kidnapping you first must stun someone, something my little guys in funny hats seem to struggle with sometimes. So I play 3. Final position on the Plot Twists front goes to 4 Airborne Assaults. When I first saw this card, even with my minimal playing experience, I knew it was strong. After playing it, it is one card I'm always glad to see. Whatever deck you play, consider these, they win you games. On to locations, Arkham has 2 tailor-made. Arkham Asylum is strong. Either ways it's played, it swings the game. I keep saying it, but AI characters get bashed a lot. The ability to bounce a stunned guy helps overcome the loss of guys somewhat. If you can bounce Harley Quinn, you effectively are bouncing a +1/+1 pump. With Fear & Confusion your guys get +2 ATK vs exhausted guys, so your lesser stats guys start biffing their more beefy guys. I play 3 of these. No-Mans Land is also strong, but a little more resource consuming to play. The cost of flipping is to pitch a AI character. Since all AI characters are friends of mine, this can be a tough choice, particularly mid game (turns 3-4-! 5) when you're both setting up your board/hands. However, being able to exhaust your opponent's big fat idiot who has Ratcatcher/Mad Hatter/Poison Ivy on his menu when its your initiative, can help break up his tempo and enhance yours. This as well as makes your Charaxes, Mr Freeze and everyone else while you have the Asylum in play more potent. I had crept No Man's Land up to 3 for last Sundays tournament, but the pitch a guy thing has made me drop it back to 2 subsequent! ly. So, the deck I played on debut was: Ratcatcher-Otis Flannegan x 4 The decks I beat were a Brotherhood/Titans blend(2-0), Big Brother(2-1) & Gotham Knights(2-1). I lost to Fanastic Four(0-2 quite easily actually) and to Teen Titans 1-2. This put me in 6th of 17.(I sound like a Borg) Since then I have generally preached (even harder) the strengths of Arkham, roundly bagging every other build. I realised the vast gulf between my skills & deck, when supremely confident, challenged the event's winner Scott Smith(The Mighty Allan Shapre of Versus) to a game on Tuesday. In about 5 games the lowest he hit was 28. Feeling a little let down, I played Luke Bartter a few games. Luke came in 9th on Sunday so beating him was a given. I even had some witty insights to deck designs and play skills to benevolently pass on to him after I crushed him. These 5 games took about the same time as the games I played with Scott did, with the same results. So I crept back behind the counter, wondering what went wrong. I stewed for a few days then yesterday saw Foggo with a spare moment. After he crushed me(again-for the 24th time running I think)at WarCry, I needed to even the score. Out came Arkham against his unaffiliated Mojo deck(Pah !This shouldn't take long!). I lost 2-1 before heading home to put on the 1966 Batman: The Movie again to work on the deck... Developing & playing a deck is my primary attraction to ccg's. As a result, even if I hadn't gotten caned during the week by Scott, Luke & Chris (I think Tyng also booted me a few times as well,) I still would be looking at changes. I believe on the character front, the deck needs a finisher, so I've dropped in 1 Apocalypse at the expense of 1 Joker. Whilst I'm happy with the Plot Twists, if I had 4 Have A Blast!s & 4 Savage Beatdowns, I'd also try using those. More easily accessable cards, such as Not So Fast & Overload, are also on my "To ! Be Tested" list as my opponents have used them against me to great effect. Ike E Bear also had a version that ran 2 Puppet Masters that could serve the build well. The strength of the deck is it's ability to stuff up your opponents tempo. It's weakness is that the guys just aren't big enough compared to the rest of the field, which is just how I like it! I'm not gonna stop until an Arkham Deck wins, which may be some time... Sometimes it's not about the destination, it's about the journey! Until next time, stay safe and play nice. Kieren Otton |