Dawn of a New Age
Part 1: Format Primer
With PC Atlanta fast approaching, the attention of many is turning to the Marvel Modern Age format. For the rest of us, though, the release of the X-Men set essentially means the last readily testable set for the Silver Age format to debut in San Francisco this June is available. With a bit over 4 months to go, there will be a good deal of time to test for this format, and the open metagame will provide a unique opportunity for crafty deck builders and players to break into the scene. This, the first in a series of articles, will introduce the format, as well as a look into the deck types I've begun testing that look to be some of the decks to beat this summer.

Rise of the Silver Age

The Silver Age is defined as the last eight legal VS System sets, and any 'attached' starter sets. When PCSF begins, decks will be allowed to run any card printed or reprinted after the Origin sets; everything from the Web of Spider-Man to the Infinite Crisis set will be legal. However, the IC set only becomes tournament legal the week before the PC. That means there will be almost no time to test that set for the PC (barring some incredible spoiler leaks), and we can make a safe bet that the X-Men set is the 'last' set for consideration. This doesn't take into account splash cards and generic pumps, but we'll look to those when the Infinite Crisis set is revealed.

Even with only seven sets available, our work is cut out for us. The development of the Golden Age metagame gives a good look at decks that can be played for Silver Age, possibly needing changes, and the disappearance of the Origins sets makes several other decks formerly unsafe in the GA format into better picks in the months ahead. The loss of Flame Trap, Dr. Doom, the Gotham Knight's bomb card, and the Teen Titans means the entire nature of control is fundamentally shaken. There are still options here, though, and I've already had success with at least one such deck, which I'll discuss later. However, by and large, the format looks to be a good deal more aggressive than the trickier metagame of the current GA.

To begin, let's look at some of the decks which have done well recently that can translate over into the new format...

Crisis on Infinite Tables: Anti-Matter Rush

It's funny how a couple of cards can so dramatically change the nature of a deck's performance. Chomin has changed a novel deck that runs out of steam into one of the fastest decks ever to see tournament play. Anti-Green Lanterns and their buddies within the Anti-Matter affiliation and without work with the nasty spy to provide a strong, consistent tempo that burns off an opponent's endurance before some decks even get into gear.

What they gain: My experience with this deck in the Golden Age is that a good Titans player, or a good Titans or Doom draw can wreck most of your plans. With them gone, the Anti-Matter army is free to bring forth the pain. Direct stopping power in Silver Age is harder to come by, so less deck building effort needs to go into combating that. As such, Bad Press and related cards can disappear to make room for other counter-tech more fitting to the Silver Age, or just more pumps.

What they lose: Given how much of the Golden Age versions of the deck relied mostly on Green Lantern set cards, the only thing really needed to prep this deck for the Silver Age is a shift in pumps and support cards. Some builds ran Mega-Blast, which can be removed in exchange for Trial By Fire, No Man, or other similar pumps.

What to watch: Felix Faust, a key character for one of the two basic builds of this decktype, doesn't like KO'ing effects. He's particularly stymied by Mutant Massacre, which effectively says he can't work this game. Likewise, anything that can stun smaller characters out of combat is going to be helpful here. Sunfire's a bomb character against the deck, and using Cardiac or Shocker, Vibro-Shock Villain to puncture Chomin is never a bad plan.

The Metagame's Mightiest Heroes: Avengers Reservist

It seems the Avengers have taken a break since helping to dethrone the Sentinels in Golden Age. The X-Men set introduces two new characters to the team that can reconcile the fundamental difference between the 'Jacob' and 'Bown' builds. The first big break for the Avengers came when Michael Jacob ran his leader-infused build into a win at 10K Orlando last October. Only weeks later, Karl Bown stormed 10K Gen Con UK with his all-Reservist build. The new characters, Dr. Druid, and Sub-Mariner, Namor, solve the problem of how to ensure greater consistency in both hitting one's curve and keeping one's resource row freshly stocked with reservists. In fact, my testing so far with the new pair is showing that Sub-Mariner is particularly strong, and the good Doctor's easily justified taking the spot from the lovely Miss Danvers.

What they gain: Able to out-beat the Curve Sentinels, what seems to have hurt them most in GA is the ability of several decks to outright ignore combat. With that gone, the Avengers have quickly proven in my testing to be a real contender for the 'Deck to Beat' title. With fat stats all along their curve, some hot tech characters like Hawkeye and Wonder Man able to manage decks relying on key characters, and the improved ability to get what you need when it's needed with the new characters fueling Avengers Assemble, this is certainly a safe bet for any Silver Age tournament.

What they lose: When I switched my group's Avengers build over to be SA-compliant, I think the only card to be changed out was Savage Beatdown. With many strong pumps for the deck made in the Avengers set, it's easy to convert them over. Air Strike is a very good choice for the Avengers, since it's always an extra bit of cycling as well as a way to turn extra AA's into extra attack pumps, which is another little bonus.

What to watch: It's tough dealing with the Avengers, admittedly. Curve decks can't easily expect to use crossover attacks to avoid stunbacks like they can against others, and Hawkeye is able to put a crimp into many swarm plans. No Man helps to keep Black Panther from getting free shots at your field, and anything that quickly prevents stunbacks while attacking is a good call. If they get really popular, it's possible that some timely counter-tech could skew things in your favor. Darkseid's Elite enjoys the Reservist theme, and Trapped in the Sciencells can counteract their extra damage to some extent. Finally, any effects that can force the Avengers player to lose steam from their strong attacks can provide an opportunity for a deck to steal victory from them.

Getting Out of Hand: Squadron Supreme Handless Beatdown

Displacing the Avengers almost as fast as they displaced the Sentinels, this JLA parody has proven to be no joke, making a name for themselves in the Golden Age metagame with their ability to put down hits that few can replicate, while duplicating some of the strongest effects of a variety of teams in one tight package. The search of Answer the Call, the protection of AIDA, the burn of Golden Archer, and the recovery of Panacea Potion... all available at the 'cost' of ditching one's hand. They've begun to fade from prominence as well, though, with the rise in the Golden Age of decks that can stop their offense in its tracks.

What they gain: It seems the Squadron wasn't ready to face Doom when they jumped from their Other-Earth; Reign of Terror almost single-handedly neutered their early game momentum. With Dr. Doom seemingly retired to Latveria for the summer, the Squadron no longer has to fear that bad match-up. While other stalling tactics exist, AIDA can go a long way to solving those problems, meaning it's a lot easier to focus on doing their thing on-initiative. Also of note, Betrayal fades out of the format, meaning it's again safe to splash whatever oversized characters prove useful for the deck.

What they lose: Still not dramatic, several support cards must leave from most standard GA builds. There's no 'easy' replacement for Surprise Attack; we've actually been using Meltdown for its equipment-KO'ing ability and easy life gain. Likewise, No Man Escapes the Manhunters can take the place of Mega-Blast. Admittedly, these changes slow down the deck a slight bit, but it's not as bad as it sounds at first, and the new cards also provide answers to several problems you may well face.

What to watch: One big risk with the Squadron is that they're not too difficult to tech against if you're inclined to do so. The entire game plan of the Injustice Gang's card-drawing theme slaps them around, and anyone can run Slaughter Swamp to convert cards in their hand to cards in your own. AIDA solves a whole range of other problems the deck has, however, so trying to stop the Squadron with targeting effects may well require also running some tech to keep it from shutting down that option every turn. Since most builds don't run anything bigger than Albert Gaines <> Nuke, sometimes just surviving to later turns can beat them. The 8-drop Ghost Rider sets an upper limit to the Squadron Supreme deck; win by turn 7 or fold against any deck able to pull him.

When There's Willpower, There's a Way: G-Lock

Last summer, the Green Lanterns and Emerald Enemies showed their strength by dominating the DC Modern Age format. In Golden Age, their success has come from a different form of the same pairing. While they'd become famous as a rush deck, they see play today as a highly effective stall deck, slowing down offensive rushes in the early game until they're able to overwhelm the opponent in later turns while regaining the endurance they'd lost earlier. Deck manipulation (of the legal kind) and exceptional defensive characters synergize with a variety of effects that keep opponents from getting any real board or endurance advantage over them to form a good example of control in the Silver Age. While they lose a few important cards, our testing has proven that they're not as weakened as many might have thought. As compensation, the deck has a powerful ability to run a wide range of answers to many of the decks it's likely to face:

Martian Manhunter, John J'onzz: He can provide that extra ATK boost to get stunbacks on the defense, as well as provide a way to make up for the loss of Catcher's Mitts and keep up board presence and offense when needed.

Ghost Rider, Danny Ketch: This spirit of vengeance eats swarm decks and stunted curve decks alive. He sets up an upper limit for games in Silver Age for many decks, making it impossible to win if teams like the Squadron Supreme or JLI can't end things on turn 7.

Gorilla Grodd: A good tool against the Teen Titans and random stall decks, he loses none of his luster in Silver Age. Able to pick off key smaller characters from an opponent's field, he makes a good alternate play to Sinestro when you face a deck that gets a bit too reliant on one specific person.

What they gain: Betrayal hurts the Squadron Supreme, but when you've got people like Dr. Light, Malvolio, Sinestro, and Guy Gardener working together, that's a disaster waiting to happen. With that easy 'free' stunning gone, it becomes that much tougher to slam through their defenses. Likewise, the format's movement toward combat means that the G-Lock deck gets to shine a bit brighter as it has less odd trickery it has to handle at the same time. Apocalypse's resource KO'ing no longer feels like a necessary choice, as auto-wins on turns 8 and 9 against curve decks are much harder to find.

What they lose: One of the key defensive cards for the deck, Cover Fire, is gone. Helping Hand is a lesser replacement, to be sure; it certainly can work to burn attack pumps and bounce attacks, but it's just not the same. Entangle is also no longer available, and this combines to require a different plan to stop opposing forces from overwhelming you before your field can stabilize.

What to watch: Since this is one of a few decks looking to use Dr. Light, Master of Holograms to get out free smaller characters, anything that gets cards out of the KO'd pile, cancel payment powers, or KO characters helps to maintain board parity there. In that vein, effects that automatically KO a character when it becomes stunned (Kill the Flatscans, Femme Fatality, etc.) are solid metagame choices against G-Lock, as are effects that cancel reinforcement. G-Lock can adapt in characters to manage any metagame where a single deck runs very well, so all other decks need to keep track of what character(s) can hurt them, and suspect a good G-Lock deck might end up running some.

Winning the Small Arms Race: Faces of Evil Swarm

There's no mistaking that Faces of Evil formed the backbone of the 'Deck to Beat' in Avengers draft circles. However, the Masters of Evil and Thunderbolts have been something of a sleeper hit in the GA metagame, making good showings throughout without claiming being able to claim any major victories. Even with Paul Ebersol <> Fixer, Problem Solver around, there are too many things that can stop their 2-drop flood in that format to let them become a true top-tier deck. In Silver Age, however, that all changes. With the means to punish them out of combat far weaker, it's possible to really abuse the ATK bonuses the namesake team-up provides. A new addition I've made with the need for Paul Ebersol fading is running a single copy of the new Hellfire Club character, Viper. The base stats are nothing special, to be sure, but the +1 ATK to all visible characters she provides is massive in the late game, giving another push to close off a game when you need it over.

What they gain: So many things could go wrong in the Golden Age, as stated above, and removing troublesome cards like Flame Trap and A Child Named Valeria from the format gives the deck a much better overall chance at victory. Troubles still exist, but they're not nearly as easy to splash into a deck. Likewise, increased difficulty in boosting defenses and restoring field presence means that the advantage that FoE provides (ATK strength per attacker) isn't as easy to quash. One must remain wary with this deck, still, but the opposition will have to struggle that much harder to stop your onslaught.

What they lose: Only attack pumps need to be changed in any big way from the Australian or Prosak builds of FoE to be SA-legal. Call to Arms makes a good replacement for Savage Beatdown, and No Man or Windstorm also have places in the deck.

What to watch: Currently the 'Deck to Beat' in the massive field department, this is a deck where the prevalence of certain cards makes their place in the metagame rise and fall. Some, like Insignificant Threat, Power Siphon, and Momentary Distraction, can be played around or stopped with Null Time Zone or Fixer. Others like Oliver Queen, Sunfire, and so on, just require practice in dealing with them. The primary use for characters such as these will normally be to either prevent a team-up, wreck a team attack, or to attempt to make pumps (especially The Wrecking Crew) go to waste. A careful balance of counter-tech and consistency to the main plan is needed to ensure success with the Faces of Evil.

The Magnificent Four-Or-Less: JLA / JLI Ally Beatdown

It's unfortunate for the JLA and their international brethren that, unlike the Avengers, they were introduced to the Golden Age format at a time when being good in combat just isn't enough. In the very beginning of VS, another deck focused heavily on power-up abuse, the Big Brotherhood, held the metagame for a while due to the sheer size of its characters. The Justice League has a variety of ways to capitalize on the notion of power-ups, and in the Silver Age format, they become a lot more powerful. When Shrink and Helping Hand are the standard defense pumps, being able to use Booster Gold to make power-ups provide +2 DEF each looks a lot more impressive, and when keeping characters out of combat is tougher to accomplish, having simply larger characters is actually a fairly viable plan. The synergy of a pair of teams where you have pumps that draw cards, characters that search for other characters, and a catch-all negation effect (Bwa Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!) adds up to a surprisingly robust build for the format. Since the 'Good Guys' haven't seen a lot of major success, it's easier to discuss them in regard to what they do well against in the format, and what hurts them.

How they win: Even without running a traditional character search card, the JLA and JLI have 1-drops and a 3-drop that help to hit your 2-drops and 4-drop of choice, which is good. Nth Metal's ease of accessibility and its synergy with the team's Ally abilities is strong as well. Finally, tying it up with immensely strong 5-drops and access to a range of tools is icing on the cake. The versatility of power-ups in the deck makes it possible to establish strong board presence early that adds up to a punishing turn 5 or 6. A field of Booster Gold and Katar Hol with Nth Metals and either John Henry Irons <> Steel with a Flamethrower or Black Canary, Blonde Bombshell is a common sight in my testing, and that's a minimum of a 4/4, 9/10, and 13/11 or 12/10 for stats. That's effectively a 6-drop, 5-drop, and 3-drop. A good amount of flight and some other trickery makes it possible to stop many effects that could ruin anyone else.

How they lose: Unfortunately, Unmasked hurts the Justice League nearly as much as the old Big Brotherhood decks, and Kang, Kang Kong is a pain in the deck's side as well. Builds reliant upon Nth Metal can be teched against with cards like Misappropriation or Meltdown, which can shrink Katar from a potential 9/9 to an average 7/7. Beating them often merely comes down to anticipating their potential to halt you, and overcome that. It's rough to do, but it's possible to do with any of the decks listed before this. That's not to say the deck is bad, though; a good build can post at least near-even results with anything in SA not specifically teching against it.

The Metagame Widens: Cards and Decks to Watch

These six decks might not end up providing the single-best deck in the format, but they provide a great testing ground of what you can expect to face this summer. There are a variety of other decks that are worth testing, as well, and cards of particular note that can shape the metagame. One of the single-most influential characters is going to be Dr. Light, Master of Holograms. He forms the basis for any number of non-Army rush decks, and a good deck able to squeeze in cards that nerf his power without slowing themselves too much will have a decided advantage. Recovery and reinforcement effects will also prove more useful than in the past, I believe, given the generally powerful attacks most of the competitive decks can give out almost at will. The Injustice Gang hand-drawing deck might get the last tools it needs in the IC set to become truly competitive, and it may not even need them in a format where the easiest ways of stopping Lex Luthor are gone. Interestingly, Blue Abuse is a better choice for this metagame than it was in DCMA, given the viability of curve decks and new cards which improve the consistency of the deck. Zazzala and Enemy of My Enemy go a long way to generating the necessary advantage to make it work well, I've found in preliminary testing. The Brotherhood Reservist theme is proving to be a bit weaker than the Avengers so far, but they have some bomb characters, and I suspect it's just a matter of finding the right build to make them truly competitive. Many other teams can possibly make a good showing where before they'd been overlooked. The Spider-Friends synergize well now with the Morlocks or Marvel Knights for a variety of options, for example.

Starting with my next article, I'll get more in-depth with one or two deck types, discussing my testing results with them. If you've got a preference as to what I cover first, or if you've got some hot tech idea you'd like to see get exposure, let me know. Thanks, as always, for reading through this. Good testing!

I wanna start a canamrock fanclub

Valuable information. I suspect this will be required reading when undivided attention is turned to Silver Age following ATL.

Canamrock, your posts and insight are the only reason I read these boards. Thanks for writing yet another great article.

You the man

.........like a rock......OHHH LIKE A ROCK........

In the JLA/I section you mentioned the wrong Kang, I think you're referring to Kang Cobra.

Wow, way to blatantly rip off my last Korner, right down the the title! Tres original...

I looked back at the last Kergy Corner and it wasn't called "Dawn of A New Age". Can you direct me to what you are talking about?

Nice article Matt.

RE Dave: Chad? Wait, what?

RE Kerg: Kerg, I submitted my article about a day before seeing yours on Star City. I felt really weird when I saw the title. Our titles aren't exactly the same, and our opinions on Silver Age aren't identical, by any means. There is the saying, "Great minds think alike," which could apply all too well here. I honestly had no idea about your article at all until after I'd written and submitted my own. We could fight to the death for the title & theme, if that'd make you feel better? lol ^_^

Yeah, I didn't catch that. My bad on that one. Then again, considering he can grab both Cobra and Unmasked, he's not exactly a benefit to the JL-Beats theme. ^_^

Umm Rock.. GLock doesn't lose Catcher's Mitt. Not until Glock loses itself. Catcher's Mitt was in the GL Set.

StormWind

Did I say that? I re-read the Glock section, and I never even mentioned the card, as far as I can tell. I wouldn't be too surprised if Meltdown becomes a viable tech card for SA, given several good decks' proclivity toward using equipment cards. In fact, one of our test decks already does... ^_^

Yes. You did.

-Mike

I meant 'loss' as in Meltdown removing them, not the format shifting them out. Sorry I wasn't clear there. ^_^;