I know that UDE doesn't want popularity to dictate which team affiliations will be the most competitive gameplaywise, but stilll, wouldn't it be nice to see top 8s that consist of:

Spider-Friends
X-Men
Team Superman
Gotham Knights
JLA
Avengers
Green Lantern

Disclaimer: Please note that this ain't the definitive, most popular teams, I just noted the above as an example...

What about the Bad Guys?

Like I said, the list was just an example :) Yeah heck, throw anyone in as long as they're popular!

Aaaah, if our Hobby Leagues worked this way, I'd have lots of fun... Alas, Hobby Leagues serve only as testing grounds for competitive play and doesn't have room for much of this unless the organizer forces players to follow a theme...

So isn't it all based on your definition of "popular?"

I've been a Squadron fan for a long time.

i think he's trying to point out universally popular i would know the Xmen b4 i knew squad if some1 one asked me but yeah

Everyone wants their favorite super guys and gals to be the best. Batman, Superman, Spiderman, so on. But honestly iconic superheroes don't really play a major role in Tier 1 decks. Good Guys doesn't have any of the original JLA characters (except an occasional Martian) Superman has never been in a major tier 1 deck to my knowledge, and Batman has been only here and there, and only a centerpeice in FatBat. The entire F4 hasn't been used often. The X-Men have yet to disband from Puppet Master and use the rest of their roster. The new Ivy has stolen ALL of Joker's thunder. Punisher, Daredevil, Elektra, and Ghost Rider? Here and there, maybe. Spidey has gotten a bit of coverage, but not enough to justify his fans.

Of course, people love the obscure teams. Squad? Until MAV, never heard of them. Really cool team. But their major players haven't seen the light of competitive play! GLOCK is basically the Green Lantern deck, with EE spalshed. But it runs NO Hal Jordan (except as anti-Captain Marvel tech)!!! I would love to see a top 8 of iconic hero/villain teams. I could almost die happy if the finals of a PC was a battle between GK and AI!! The Joker vs. Batman! THAT would be BEAUTIFUL!

Doesn't popular mean having lots of fans as opposed to just a few (relatively speaking, of course)?

Sheesh, and I even bothered to put a disclaimer regarding that list, it's just an example...

I guess what I'm saying is: I disagree with you.

"Popular" teams shouldn't be the entirety of a Top 8 simply because they have more fans than other teams.

Well, since "team" decks are basically defunct in the current meta, one could claim that pretty much every team is on the same level. :)

Well, I've had this discussion before with my crew, and the game would easily be a lot bigger if the "popular" characters played a bigger role in the game. Nobody wants to play Superman, Batman, Spiderman et cetera just to get wrecked. Sure, teams like "Squadron" have fans, but I don't see movies about Squad bringing millions into the theaters.

I mean really, the UDE marketing team needs to have a meeting with the R&D guys, slap 'em around a little bit and tell them to make some of our icons into playable teams. That will only help the game. Pros don't care who's good as long as they are good. The target audience to bring in the cash are those guys who want to play with Superman and Batman and the like. Let's face it, in the long run, the fans are the ones that are going to keep this game running, not the pro's.

I was a little unhappy with the last crisis set. It's a fun set, no doubt, but I'm buying less b/c come on, team superman got what? A new Lois? She's cool, but is that really gonna help the team compete? A, ahem, "Super"boy? His power might as well be you gain 6 endurance, use this power once per game. I mean, really, what did he do in the Crisis storyline, prolong pain and suffering by providing false hope? And as an additional insult, he gets 8 defense? Talk about getting hosed all the way around. It's almost like somebody at UDE hates iconic figures.

SF:Top 8'd
X-Men:Top 8'd
Team Superman:Not top 8'd
Gotham Knights:Top 8'd
JLA:Top 8'd
Avengers:Top 8'd
Green Lantern: Top 8'd

Out of the 7 teams you posted, 6 have top 8'd.

Get with it.

:ermm:

Supes top 8'd with Phantom Phone Booth ;)

It obviously is a matter of playing style, that is say, the way in which you prefer to play the game, but generally I agree with this accessment. Myself included, my players have often discussed that we want more of the teams to matter. That being said, it is at present hard to determine what teams are popular without a serious survey.

I have not even seen the team I want to play most come out yet. I want a team based around the technology and equipment of Ironman. Perhaps team mates such as War Machine and the likes. Basically not an Avengers build (though I do like the Avengers, don't get me wrong) but a team built around the look, feel and flavor of armor, hardware and gizmos.

But I feel if you create a team in the card pool, it should have the tools and variety to become a serious set of deck types and versions so that it can be as strong as other decks. I really have not seen that on a broad basis yet. Only a few teams have really emerged, and usually not the popular one. However, when they do arise, I am sure someone thought they were popular and was glad to see that team become playable at the top level. More is needed.

I like the oportunities that the Enemy/Splashed quote "Rainbow" decks have added to the mix. It is good to have that approach avaible for those that like that flavor or just enjoy the tinkering around to find the many combo decks possible, but I also believe that UDE should strongly support the teams that brought the majority of players into the game in the first place.

I think this game can serve the pros well enough, but it should be able to just as well provide a respectible base of team base decks for what ever reason, if not to please the players that enjoy playing popular or team based decks.

I really think a continuous and healthy Meta that provides weenies, rush, splash, rainbow, mono, teamup and other deck types that equally can compete with each would be the best approach. But perhaps I am dreaming. It could be that this has been UDE's goal all along, but that it is too difficult to pull off. It may be like nailing jelly to a tree. I know pleasing everyone is a tall order. But here is too hope.

Have a nice day.

Not at the same time though...

Like the subject title says, popular doesn't mean (or is not equal to) it's competitive, my message is just this: ain't it nice to watch the popular affiliations, comic-wise, battle it out in the top 8? I'm not saying the popular affiliations haven't top 8'ed yet, or were never competitive, so I don't really get what you mean...

The reason why Spidey and Supe's teams didn't take off was because they were the subjects of new mechanics and ideas that UDE hadn't quite worked the bugs out of yet. I bet, with the new experiences and concepts, Spider-Friends and Team Superman could be really good in their eventual revamps. Same with the Gotham Knights, who could go insane with a boost.

However, which teams makes big money at the Tournaments depend entirely on the players and how they use them.