Editor: James Paraha. Saturday 26th February 2005.
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Editor: James Paraha. Saturday 26th February 2005.
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“Why players should welcome
the new sets...” Like most Vs. players coming from Magic or Yu-Gi-Oh, I have grown accustomed to metagame shifts when new sets are released or new combos are discovered. Most TCGs release new cards that strengthen current strategies while promoting new and powerful strategies in an effort to change the game's environment. With the fifth set's release upon us, many players are sceptical about the set's potential impact on the game. Who could blame them? All of the tier one decks come from Marvel and DC Origins. Does this mean that the first sets were given cards that were too powerful, or that the sets have been watered down since.... definitely not! Of course, that is the easy answer though, and I accepted that for a while too. As I watch this game progress, I think I am beginning to understand the complexities behind the Vs. System. 
Vs. was initially talked about as a game of balance. When Marvel Origins was the only set around, there wasn't a lot of opposition towards the game being considered 'balanced' (with the exception of some Brotherhood hate). Now, that might be a controversial stand to take - you know...Bastion is too good, Roy Harper is broken and Common Enemy just won't die. Even those who think there is a balance among the tier one decks probably wonders what's going on with the other 80% of the cards in the game. Make some popcorn, grab a seat, and leave the 'netdeckers' alone because I am going to tell you what I think about the Vs. metagame. Like I said before, most games will see a metagame shift when a set is released. This means that the cards determine a game's environment. With the Vs. System, it is truly the players controlling the metagame. It appears that every possibly strategy has potentially successful counter-strategy. In Yu-GI-Oh, Yata Garasu was the bird to beat when it was introduced to the game. Then, Chaos monsters took over the game upon their release. With every set, more powerful cards were produced to replace the old cards. I haven't played Magic in a while, and I know that nothing will compare to the old powerhouses, but for arguments sake we can talk about the type II environment. How powerful was blue/green 'madness' when it was around (I told you it's been a while)? Many of the tier one Magic decks would have stayed strong no matter what its competition was at the time (within its potential type II playing environment). In the Vs. System, a tier one deck is only as strong as its competition. Curve Sentinels appears to be the most dominant force in the game right now. Every major tournament sees at least one in the top 8 (some are seeing up to four in the top 8!). The deck has offensive power, defensive power, board control, and it almost never misses a drop. It looks like Curve Sentinels may be a top contender for a while. As its popularity rises, other decks will follow. The entire Superman expansion was written off for months. Right now it could be Team Superman's time to shine. The deck has some trouble against Titans, it can't do too much against CE, and it has no chance against Cosmic Cops - but it can ravage a Sentinel deck as long as you hit Gangbuster. Phantom Zone is pretty powerful in the game's current environment too, hurting Reconstruction Program while it also tries to put Garth @ Tempest in his place and slaps Phoenix Force in the face. I can only imagine how useful the card will be if the Underworld team becomes popular. As the game shifts into an environment that favors Sentinels, it also shifts into an environment that will favor Team Superman. There is no guarantee that Team Superman will add its name to the list of tier one decks, but it will probably give Sentinels enough trouble to bump them out of the number one spot. I am sorry if this sounds like an article on Curve Sentinels now, I just thought they would be the best current example. Lets take a look at something else that may give Curve Sentinels a problem. Does everyone remember Rigged Elections? Well, Sentinels have almost no chance against this deck (as long as you are running Utility Belts to stop Mark II's of course). Rigged Elections can stop Cosmic Cops or X-Stall from even getting started...while also giving Titans a good fight. Now that CE has fallen in popularity, it is the most opportune time to run Rigged Elections.
Now, If players started playing
Rigged Elections and the metagame shifted, CE
would start to see more play again as fewer people played Curve Sentinels. A new
competitor might hit the field to combat
Rigged Elections as well. In an
environment where something like
Rigged Elections dominated and
Common Enemy was
on the rise...The Source might become more than an idle threat. What can you do
when you lose every copy of
Rigged Elections to
The Source? Plus, New Gods
offers options against other popular decks as well.
The Source can take out
copies of
Common Enemy,
Teen Titans Go, and
Cover Fire (but of course, we have
all thought about this before). With John Rich's Sentinel build becoming the
popular way to run Sentinels,
Himon would have some use in shutting down
Nasty Surprise and
Overloads. New Gods could easily become a popular deck, it
just needs the right competition. Speaking of
Himon, did you see how many 1 cost
plot twists are coming out of Marvel Knights? If any of the teams from this set
prove themselves, you better start dusting off your
Himon's, along with
your
Not So Fast's and
Detective Work's. Dustin 'Yata Lock Yo Azz' Pidgeon.
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