Imitation Energy

[Onslaught]

If events didn't exist, I think the best deck in the game would be the dual 8 energy team. For reference:

Spawn, X-Man, Scarlet Witch, Spider-Woman, Team Overpower, Shattered Image, Any Heroes


^{Top tier decks can be so cruel. This blonde kid just wanted to use a Danger Room homebase deck...}

This deck has a lot of things going for it. Like most top tier decks in other games, each small benefit has synergy with another element of the deck - allowing for an overall strategy that most other decks can't emulate. Some of its strengths:

• 1) It has two 8 stat characters.
• 2) It has a character that can play specials from reserve
• 3) It has an EE special
• 4) It uses Any Heroes
• 5) It has a negate

These all seem really basic at first glance. In fact, most decks probably have 3 out of 5 of these elements right off the bat. But all 5 in the same deck? That creates a perfect storm of interaction that really takes this deck to another level. The two 8 stat characters ensure that you will win in the powerpack against decks with only a single 8 stat character. Having a character that can play specials from reserve allows for lower duping. Any Heroes also allow for lower duping (no chance of duping activators, immune to DoW). The EE is the only thing allowing you to run Any Heroes, since it can stop level 10 teamwork followups from toppling your defensive net and causing a snowball effect of discards. The low duping/discards ensure that you can kick around in venture long enough to take advantage of your powerpack supremacy.

All that being said, this is most definitely not the best deck in the game. Why is that? It's way too heavily invested in energy, which is the most commonly teched against icon. It really hates to see the KO event or Shockwave rocks the world. So the upcoming deck is an attempt to find if the above 5 bullet points could be used as a template for a non-energy based deck. On paper it would of course be slightly inferior to the energy lineup, but you'd have the added benefit of a) running anti-energy to win against the "superior" version, and MUCH more importantly, b) you would be immune to the anti-energy cards played against you that would otherwise cripple the X-Man/Spawn version.

So from the template above, it would be best to start with the most scarce thing and then move on from there. In order from most widely available to least: Any Heroes, 8 stats, Negates, useful specials from reserve, EE.

The EE characters:

• X-Man
• Reyes
• Sentinels
• Bastion

So part of what lets the energy deck cram all 5 of the guidelines in is the fact that their EE character is also an 8. I first started by trying to get away with using Reyes as a junior 8 stat character. It would make you less potent in the powerpack, though still overall similar to the energy build. Reyes and Donald Pierce are the obvious starting points, leaving us two character slots to come up with another 8 stat and someone who can play specials from reserve. The emperor of the 8 intellect stat is of course Mr. Fantastic, and this deck badly needs some more defense in the form of Spider Woman.

Reyes, Mr. Fantastic, Donald Pierce, Spider-Woman, Any Heroes, Fatal Attractions

This deck is crummy. It doesn't have enough special cards to keep your powercard count down, so you lose the ultra low duping benefit. This lineup won't do in the search for Secretly the Best Deck in the Game, but it would actually be pretty formidable with a proper battlesite (Hell's Kitchen looks nice with this) and a different mission set (maybe Infinity Gauntlet).



So as long as we're still poking around the options provided to us by intellect characters, you might think it's time to investigate Bastion. However, a problem arises. EE Char, Negate char (no eights with a negate), 8 stat char, 8 stat char, and someone who plays specials from reserve. That's five roles to fill with four slots, and our EE character isn't an 8 stat. Uh oh, there are no 8 intellect characters who can play a special from reserve, so the same problem as before could arise where you don't have enough special cards to keep your powercard duping low. If only there was an eight stat character who could play specials from reserve...(FORESHADOWING!)

Sentinels, Zealot, Serpent Society, 3-stat Sabretooth, Any Heroes, Fatal Attractions

Now we're cooking. Sabretooth fills a dual role of "play specials from reserve" and "backup 8 stat," just like X-Man filled two roles for the energy deck. Sentinels have some acceptable offense to go with the EEs, and Serpent Society and Zealot are the BFF Fatal Attractions tandem due to their complete lack of energy icons. It is lucky that 3 stat Sabretooth works out to be 18, so this deck comes in right on the nose.

[drdeath25]

Good post. Finally a deck thread about competitive decks!

[rucker73]

Yes thank you so much Onslaught, without your insight and benevolent kindness and knowledge we would all be lost in the wilderness.

[Dog]

Fun stuff.  Thanks for that.

[Onslaught]

Yes thank you so much Onslaught, without your insight and benevolent kindness and knowledge we would all be lost in the wilderness.

What the **** does this even mean? Get over your persecution complex. I posted a new deck, and somehow it offends you? Reevaluate your life.  

[rucker73]

Watch the language friend.

and the not so subtle "meaning" is me poking fun at Dr.D always fawning over your posts. 

Not meaning to offend.  Also your new deck and deck constructing ideas, seem to fit very nicely with what was discussed in another thread.  About how all of your decks are built using the exact same criteria and generally with the same 20-30 characters.

A thread in which you berated anyone and everyone who disagreed with you. 

So I guess an alternate "meaning" to my post could be me just agreeing with you so as to avoid upsetting you but judging by the F-Bomb you dropped I guess I must have upset you in some other manner.

Sorry if you took it that way.

Just try and keep an open mind.

[Onslaught]

Hm yes commonly used cheese characters Sentinels and Sabretooth, always showing up so frequently jeeze...

[Overtime]

Yes thank you so much Onslaught, without your insight and benevolent kindness and knowledge we would all be lost in the wilderness.

Wow wasn't there a thread about civility posted? Mods?

I understand you don't like the guy, but as a new player browsing the forums trying to learn rulings and tips, it is very hard to digest your ill comments.

[rucker73]

And I apologize to you Overtime.  Also kudos on finally writing something other than nonsense on one of these boards.  Your input is appreciated and will be taken into account, in my future dealings.

[drdeath25]

Iv'e never seen a sabretooth 3 stat in a deck in a competitive tournament in my life, and sentinels are also rarely used also. Why someone would think that they are part of "the same 20 characters always used" is beyond me.

I would ask rucker which same 20 characters he thinks are overused, but he got banned from these forums due to his abusive language toward Onslaught, so he can't reply.

[gameplan.exe]

Top tier decks can be so cruel. This blonde kid just wanted to use a Danger Room homebase deck...

This kid actually looks a little like I did at age 11, or so 

Also, for the record, I think DANGER ROOM would hang in there with a lot of the top tier decks if the Aspect card wasn't nerf'd by the errata. If the errata instead simply removed the last words, "... already in play." and you couldn't use Special cards to defend my attacks made with Power cards... 
Post Merge: July 11, 2011, 08:44:36 PM
Oh yeah, also,

@ Onslaught:

That's a pretty fresh, potentially top-tier deck, for sure. So, kudos there. But I was really curious what the actual deck-build would look. Would you mind posting the specifics for how you would balance this deck out?  (that's my winningest smile)

P.S.
I was gonna say, "in particular the Power cards." but that's not even true, I'm sincerely curious how you would build the whole thing, top to bottom.

[drdeath25]

Appropriate power card distribution is pretty easy to figure out for that deck. I would use three 8's, and two of everything else. Even though the only 8-stats in the deck are energy based, i would still use one 8 any-power so you have one 8 that wont get stopped by EVENTS.

[Hot Rod]

Nice deck!

I really like the way this deck plays on paper.  The pure teammate avoids are so good, playing 2 characters with them in the same deck can't go unmentioned.  With the 2 avoiders, Sentinels will almost never get attacked, and the 7 energy and strength teamworks allow for instant 10's from Zealot or Sabertooth.  All of the cards that can be played defensively also allow you to greedily place power cards, and play cards like Mutant Countermeasures without getting smashed by a teamwork right off the bat.

[gameplan.exe]

Appropriate power card distribution is pretty easy to figure out for that deck. I would use three 8's, and two of everything else. Even though the only 8-stats in the deck are energy based, i would still use one 8 any-power so you have one 8 that wont get stopped by EVENTS.

I meant for this deck:

Sentinels, Zealot, Serpent Society, 3-stat Sabretooth, Any Heroes, Fatal Attractions

[drdeath25]

Still the same for that deck IMO. Three 8's, and 2 of everything else.