Deck Spotlight of the "Week" #4: Because he's the hero Overpower deserves...

[Onslaught]

Since it's been a while since I've done one of these, just a quick reminder that these articles are an attempt to maximize the effectiveness of some seldom seen characters. Generally, people try to make the lower tier characters playable by shoehorning them into a deck - as an objectively inferior "junior" version of a better character. For example, someone wanting to use Witchblade might look at a Spawn, Starjammers, Scarlet Witch, Spider-Woman deck and simply swap out Starjammers for Witchblade and downgrade the reserve character to make the points work. I suppose this is one way of getting a character you like onto the battlefield, but it is never going to be as strong as the strictly superior original build.

The vastly superior way to create a deck with a lesser used character is to instead focus on what that character does that nobody else does. The best example of this is Holocaust vs. Scarlet Witch. They have the same cost, they both have the 8m, they both have the negate, and then Scarlet goes on to also have a ridiculous inherent ability, the AI, and the AR. Scarlet Witch is objectively superior to Holocaust in every single way if you are only using him for the 8m/negates. However, he has the OPD (Devastate) that removes the opponent's discard pile from the game. So if you wanted to use Holocaust, the best way to do so would be to make a deck that benefits from Devastate (via New Lease on Life, Temporal Anomaly, etc). This is a lot more fun (and powerful) than simply taking a deck that should be using Scarlet Witch and replacing her with Holocaust instead.

So you're trying to find things that your chosen character can do that is unique. Even if it is a situational or not very powerful effect, it gives you something to build on that "justifies" the use of a weaker character. Taking a holistic approach to deckbuilding with these kinds of cards/effects leads to something that is enjoyable to play - while still striving to maintain an ability to compete against more mainstream builds. So, this point can't be emphasized enough - focus on what a low tier character can do that other characters cannot. This doesn't necessarily have to be through special cards. For example, Azrael is not a very highly regarded character. He has one playable special, and he is a single stat max 8 character. However, he also happens to be one of the only 8 fighting characters that costs 19 points. Your other option at 19 is The Hand, and Azrael is much better suited for reserve than The Hand. This is where the holistic approach starts to make Azrael look more favorable. If I told you I was running a fighting team with Azrael in reserve, your initial reaction would be that I was using a suboptimal deck. However, if I presented it as a 57 point frontline with one 8 fighting character, a low special card count, and Any Heroes, who would you suggest for reserve? Azrael has a reason to be played here, beyond just "I want to include Azrael in my deck."

Unless a character is completely unplayable (ahem...Nightwing), you can always find something unique about them and work up from there. Want to use Tiffany? She is the only "8" stat character who has an attacking special from reserve. Want to use Venom? Lanadu, Luckman, and Lake gives you access to the most powerful card in the entire game in Warp Chamber. Wanna use Storm? The only dual stat character with a venture winning special that can't be avoided is Storm: Bloodstorm. Sometimes the unique thing that a low tier character gives you access to is a lot more obvious and helps inform the direction the deck can take. For example, someone like Psycho-Man or Landslide gives you access to certain kinds of effects that make you want to very obviously build an offensive deck.

So, who are we going to try to apply these principles to specifically?



Fun bit of Overpower trivia: did you know that Batman was in a regional winning deck? It's true! He can't be all that bad. Maybe we can glean some info from it...

The Marauders, The Ray, The Starjammers, Batman (R)

P.S. this was with unerrataed Vertigo

God damnit. At least this is a perfect real life example of the whole shoehorning thing mentioned in the intro. Ok, so we're on our own here. Let's see what we have to work with:

* BATARANG (AB) <BS> {U}
        Acts as a level 4 Fighting attack. May make 1 additional Fighting
            attack against a different opponent.
     * THE DARK KNIGHT (HL) <JL> {R}
        Opponent's team may not use Intellect Power cards level 6 through 8 to
            attack for remainder of battle.
     * MAGNESIUM FLARE (DM) <BS> {U}
        Batman's Energy Power cards are +2 for remainder of battle.
     * MARTIAL ARTS EXPERT (BA) <BS> {VR} [OPD]
        Acts as a level 3 Intellect attack. Can only be defended by a defensive
            Special card.
     * MASTER DETECTIVE (AJ) <BS> {R}
        Opponent must reveal any Special cards currently held in hand.
     * OLYMPIC LEVEL ATHLETE (AD) <BS> {R}
        Avoid any attack made with a Power card.

If you wanted to make things way easier on yourself, you could try using one of the holo heroes (preferably Detective). At least they skate by on the power of an 8 stat, since these specials are just disturbingly bad. Only one of them is remotely playable, and it is that disgusting kind of BA special where it is in a primary stat. However, let's stick with the non-holo version. It's more challenging, but on the plus side his character card art is so good that your opponent may be distracted by it and play poorly. Yes, this is how low Batman is in Overpower - his best hope is that your opponent is a cartoonish airhead thrown off by cool looking things.

So now that we know what his flaws are (everything), let's focus on what he actually does bring to the table. Dual 7s for 20 points, that's reasonable. A somewhat OK special that could be useful in late game situations....and it has to be included because he has nothing else. Backing up dual stats and having one worthwhile card of course means he is going to be the reserve character, but hopefully with a more active role than that "Batman deck" from the regional. Ideally the deck would not be heavily intellect based outside of a few teamworks, thus maximizing the efficiency of his stupid crap junk terrible BA special.



So now we're on the hunt for a 7f, a 7i, and probably at least one 8 stat character. A negate would be nice but not mandatory, depending on the direction the deck takes. After the restrictive oppression of Batman's limitations, we now actually have an embarrassment of riches to choose from. There are some really good 7f characters. There are some really useful 7i characters. And in fact, we even have access to multiple characters with a 7f or 7i that also have an 8 stat. Heroes for Hire, Spawn, and Professor X are all wonderful choices to anchor this frontline. Since Batman's special indicates a tiny bit that you'll be a deck that plans on having characters die while going for KOs yourself, we can eliminate Spawn. Spawn works much better when his 9 or less is augmented by other defensive cards to create a net, and then all we are doing is locking Batman out and making a supbar cookie cutter Spawn deck. H4H is offensive and works in basically any kind of deck, so that is definitely an option. Something like H4H, 7i char, _____, Batman reserve with Any Heroes is probably acceptable.

But since Batman is 20 and we still have two other frontline spots to fill, I'm going to go with Professor X. He will neutralize Batman's 20 point cost, giving us a lot of flexibility on our other two characters. At the same time, Telepathic Coordination loves to see lots of teamworks, and already this deck has access to a whopping 7 teamworks of 3 different colors. So now, the only true requirement left to cement Batman's usefulness in this deck is to find a 7 fighting character, and the only soft requirement left (now that we have an 8 stat) is to look for a negate. At this point in planning, it's also worth thinking ahead to Any Heros vs. Battlesite, which mission set could have synergies with what you have built so far, and so on. Neither Batman nor Prof X provide any sort of team defense, so if we go with Any Heroes then I would say a backup 8 stat is mandatory since you'll be a more offense oriented deck. If you have the Battlesite instead, you can eschew the backup 8 stat and start thinking about running some more tricky/gimmicky stuff with your last two character slots/mission set. I'm going to move ahead with a Battlesite build, but the Any Hero route could certainly be a fairly elegant/minimalist build. Super low special count (3-4 per character), 7+ teamworks, Shattered Image, Any Heroes, Prof X, 8e char, offensive oriented char with at least a 6 fighting, Batman (R).

Instead of being so straightforward, I'd like to play around with a Battlesite and not be restricted by neeing a backup 8 stat. So, back to just being locked into Prof X and Batman in reserve. We're still looking for a 7f charater. Starjammers and any 19 point character you want to fill the final slot is a fine choice. Scarlet Witch and any 21 point character with a 7F also jumps out to me. This is where you can even start to factor metagaming in. Do you play against more Battlesite decks than Any Heroes? Do you frequently play against decks without very strong teamwork lineups? If so, then the final lineup for this deck becomes pretty clear:



Dual negate decks are fairly rare in the modern OP metagame, but they should not be underestimated. This lineup is alluring to me because I've never seen Prof X with the Reavers before, nor have I seen Scarlet and Reavers on the same frontline before. Ironically enough, this is one of the few instances where you could drop Scarlet Witch for Holocaust due to his ability to back up the Reavers 6 strength teamwork. In fact, if this was the Any Heroes version, I'd run it with Holocaust instead of Scarlet Witch and probably use the AG and maybe even AH for Charles. Not too shabby.

As far as finishing up the Battlesite version with Witch, I'd elect for a site with a steady stream of offense/defense, unless I had a specific trick in mind with Events. Since you are all over the place with your teamworks, you lose access to the more powerful icon lockout events. You could always run Infinity Gauntlet for some DOW protection, but Reavers give you Deathstrike. A slim battlesite with a DS special could be useful to find quickly find Deathstrike (to nuke DOW, or the KO event, or Shockwave Rocks the World, etc), so let's consider sites with Banshee, Ghost Rider, Thor, and the Inhumans. Muir Island is ruled out due to running Prof X. Avengers Mansion is interesting and the lack of a negate is inconsequential for this deck, but there isn't any OPD that jumps out at you from the Mansion besides Viking Pyre. That's certainly an option and would make your mission choice simple, as you would want to make sure you were maximizing your ability to win after the Viking Pyre turn. Personally I would lean towards Hell's Kitchen, which gives you a nice mix of offense, defense, and a venture winning special that can't be avoided. For the events, we've already come this far doing everything possible to accomodate Batman, so why stop now? Something that lets him play his 3i from reserve or make his stats somewhat useful isn't a bad idea. In the Holocaust/Any Heroes version with a slimmer special card count, I think I would probably run Brave and the Bold with the KO Event and "move the reserve character to the frontline for this battle." Besides letting Batman attack that turn, it would also most likely bring up a weak reserve character to pick on for free venture (like Spider-Woman). For this Hell's Kitchen build, I'm gonna go with Eye of the Storm. First, "reserve may defend front line with powercards" gives a little utility to Batman's stat backing, and "no cards with the word avoid" is actually pretty strong. Your characters wouldn't be running any Avoid specials, and you'd be shutting off 9 or lesses, EEs, etc while still having access to some strong battlesite defense from the Daredevil CN, Enforcers CD, and The Hand CC. Voila!

[TGW]

I enjoy the heck out of these articles, very informative. Thanks for posting.

[CoS]

As always your articles are clear, articulate, and convey your message effectively to your target audience. Keep them up

[gameplan.exe]

well done, Onslaught.

I don't use the Reavers because they're bad guys. who else do you suppose I could use? what about if I took out S.Witch and Reavers, and went with X-Men:Original and Alpha Flight? seems like it's swapping negates for some AD avoids (both unstipulated)... but that seems to deviate from the KO-mentality... on the other hand, it allows for ProfX to die off pretty quickly... thoughts?

[Onslaught]

Professor X has done far worse things than the Reavers have ever dreamed of accomplishing, so I'd say you should drop him too if you are restricting yourself only to "good guys."

[TGW]

@ncannelora; I've seen your replies against using 'bad guys' in numerous threads and am just wondering, what inspired the preference? In comics, so many 'bad guys' have had moments of 'good' or have been reformed at one time or another. Even Dr. Doom has had moments of 'good' and one can argue that some of these 'bad guys' have the best intentions, they just execute them poorly or break the law to accomplish their goals.

And if it's a case of breaking laws; a lot of superheroes are portrayed as vigilantes. The Punisher essentially uses crime to combat crime. Granted, his type of crime doesn't involve the killing of innocents, but he still is going against the law by taking matters into his own hands.

What about Cyclops? Under your moral code against playing 'bad guys', are you allowed to use him at the moment? Magneto? Do they have to be portrayed as 'good guys' in the current story-lines in order to be used?

I'm not making fun or attacking you, I am legitimately curious. When I see your replies in some threads stating your preference for heroes only, I imagine a scenario in which a sealed deck Overpower tournament is taking place and you open your deck and it has Dr. Doom in it; you pause to consider your options, let out a sigh, stand up and announce that you're out on the basis of having a villain in your deck, lol. Would that actually happen?

[gameplan.exe]

@TGW- well first, my inspiration is faith-based (3John 11). I admit that in a card game, it's obviously not important, but then it's just a quirk that I like 

as for other circumstances, I pretty much always make themed decks. I can't imagine wanting to play a sealed-pack game anyway... but, you guys are right; like most real people, comic characters have their moments on both sides. then, it goes back to theme. My AoA decks have plenty of used-to-be baddies. also, my Dept H deck has Sabretooth (they were gov' agents, initially). or I'll make a deck themed with Callisto, when she was fighting alongside the good guys. etc.

the problem with a character like The Reavers, or Marauders, is that they're pretty much ALWAYS evil.

@Onslaught- is that your way of telling me you don't want to talk about it? 

[chuu]

LOL, if you think ncannerlora's restrictions are odd you'll certainly find mine hilarious Basically my teams can only have "cool" looking characters...lol...no moleman, psychoman, crux, donald pierce, croc leader...etc..

[TGW]

No Donald Pierce, chuu? He's a beast in OverPower, and his character card looks pretty cool. I like Psychoman as well, but his card art is a little lame.

I don't have any restrictions when using characters. I've tried out just about everyone at one time or another. I like it when my character cards have nice art, but if the artwork is bad (IQ Captain America), I'll still use the character if he fits the deck build I want to make. I did print out all of Bio's character cards and I use them all now in place of the original OverPower character cards as I prefer the art layout and the grids for every character (except for Black Adam, who Bios made too underpowered in his grid, but I have my own homemade for him). The character card Bios designed for Captain America is incredible, in part because he didn't make him look mentally handicapped like the IQ card does. That alone was enough to make the switch for me lol.

[chuu]

Didn't notice cap's character card until my wife pointed it out.  "Why is his mouth open like that? Looks like he's waiting for something to be put in his mouth" lol. She's funny since she actually threw in some curse words

[thetrooper27]

LOL, if you think ncannerlora's restrictions are odd you'll certainly find mine hilarious Basically my teams can only have "cool" looking characters...lol...no moleman, psychoman, crux, donald pierce, croc leader...etc..

I just realized from this comment that I often overlook characters that just aren't cool enough to make my squad... not always, but often.

Mr. Onslaught, I have a request...

More.  Please.  And anyone else that has a neat take on deckbuilding.  If I had someone to play with here at home, I would sleeve up this deck and have a blast.  But ready about it is equally as entertaining.  For a game that I never get to play, I spend a great deal of what little free time I have available reading about it here on the forum and building decks that won't likely get used.  Except next week... blowing the dust off some card then!

[Onslaught]

I had some PMs asking for any hero versions, I actually pulled the cards for this one and sleeved it up just to have a Batman deck around:



It does drive me crazy how horrendous Marrow's hero card art is, especially considering how nice most of her specials look.

This seems playable too, and as mentioned earlier I'd run some of the personal defense for Prof X: