Breaking Off the Horns:
Modern Age B.Y.O.S. Breakdown (Pt. 2)
by Ludin Romero
�Fell down 27 times, but I think I got it, ok maybe not�
You know what will be played, you know what might be played, you know who is going to run the same deck (dammit Daisuke!), and you may know what your local hobby leaguers may run. It�s time to build the ultimate deck. Ok, well maybe not, but I�m here to help. Well I will try to help. It may not work but that�s half the fun, right? Your deck won�t be the best deck it can the first time around, unless you're plain lucky. At that point, you should be gambling. You need to play it, take it apart, and then put back together better than the last time.
�This Ain�t a Scene, it�s an arms race.�
Marvel Legends - Marvel Knights
I know it�s only 52 cards, but there is a reason for this. This is the basis of the deck, that�s all you really need to win. All the cards above are good at what they do. Tutors, concealed characters, attack modifiers and removal cards. At this point is where you add �win more� cards or �conditional cards�. The team-stamped options are: [Bring the Pain], [Encircle], [Dark Alley], [Desert Eagle], [Brass Grill], [Penance Stare], [Defensive Formation], and [Reload]. Now, some cards you know you won't be able to fit unless you change your strategy. So all of the equipment effects are taken out. And even though there are a lot of characters with range, you only have your 5-drop that is visible. You don�t need it because [Captain America�s] effect protects him, and you want [Vengeance] to stun. [Bring the Pain] isn�t as good if you only really use it on attack, and [Encircle] is ok, but it�s like another pump. Since you KO all of their characters you don�t need to move them out of the way. That leaves [Dark Alley], which really doesn�t help you since you don�t care if you characters stun back, because you just KO them.
Since none of the above cards help you need to think differently. Personally, I would have just added more pumps and tossed out all the team-stamped cards. But thanks to the innovation of Luis DeSantiago I am enlightened to how powerful Marvel Legends is. He has [Dark Alley], [Adamantium Claws], and [Berserker Rage] to his deck. Now the deck has a surprise factor and still has the power that MKO already has. His tricks has won him his BYOS and surprised us all on how powerful it is. Being able to attack the hidden with Wolverine means that he is able to [Berserker Rage] without fear of concealed characters and make his Wolverine a more efficient [Skreeeeeee!] Also with [Dark Alley] and [Crushing Blow] you�re able to keep your Wolverine popping off Sentinel heads all day. Little things like that make and break your strategy, Yes you may win without the [Berserker Rage], but with it you are able to beat more decks in the format, making your deck a better choice over a normal MKO.
�No witty titles, just my attempt at building a (bad) deck�
Marvel Legends - The Family (F4)
It looks like a pile of junk and in time you may still think it�s junk, but at least I will explain. First of all, it�s obvious that it�s a weenie deck (or off-curve), but it has a couple of tricks, so it�s not a rush deck. Being able to play big characters for their cost is what drove me to even think of under dropping. [Mr. Fantastic] can be 4/2, [Thing] is 6/5, [Luke Cage] is 3/3 and draws cards. So, when you play them with [Fantasticar 2.0] you make up the difference. On turn 4 [Thing] is a 7/6, but then it also makes [Mr. Fantastic] 5/3, and [Invisible Woman] 2/4. Big stats for what you pay for them. I also like being able to stop an attack with [Invisible Woman], defensive turns for these decks can be disastrous, even with a stun back like [Nasty Surprise]. If you can just remove an attack, then you don�t need to worry about being able to stun back or keep board. On your next turn you will have an extra character to attack with. [Human Torch] is very efficient in this deck, it�s hard to stop and activated ability even with World�s Finest buzzing around. It also allows for stun backs if they don�t attack him first, or even when they do pick on him. [Invisible Woman, First Lady] provides you with the reinforcement if needed and fuels [Force Field Projection]. I don�t know if I want to play [Invisible Woman] as my main 3-drop as [Thing] is huge and I need my 3-drops to be big. That is the main reason for playing [Nathanial Richards], his 5ATK allows me to stay as close to curve as I can when I under drop. His effect also isn�t too bad, as he allows me to save my equipment if needed for the next turn. [It's Clobbering Time] allows me to keep certain equipped characters and get through big defenses. [Savage Beatdown] is also there to make sure I can hit every character my opponent plays no matter the size or defensive modifiers. [Future Technology] allows me to keep my characters big on every turn, while being able to do something on defense if I don�t want to attack. A single copy of [Ghost Rider] is added because I don�t want to run out of steam in the later game. I can drop him with an equipment on turn 6 on and he will be able to keep up with my opponent�s character, size-wise, and he won�t stun back saving me board presence/endurance.
The whole point of this strategy is being able to dominate the early game so that you won�t need to play catch up the whole game. Your characters just get better every turn you play an equipment. I was also thinking of playing [Finishing Move]/[Quick Kill], but I don�t think I have the space. Maybe after a couple more matches I will be able to fine tune it a bit more.
Remember that there is a whole set of teams that work well with the off-curve strategy and you can also try those strategies out. Maybe team up with X-men and burn with [Cable] and use [Fastball Special]. Brotherhood has big characters for their cost, and they have the luxury of [The Next Brotherhood]. Marvel Knights have solid small drops like [Punisher, Suicide Run] and [Daredevil, Fearless Survivior]. They also have the equipment strategy that will fit in well, if you take the time to tweak it. Also all the mentioned teams have a team-up card with Fantastic Four that draws a card.
Remember that BYOSM is all about how well you can utilize the cards in each set, so don�t brush off those quirky draft combos that only worked in draft. They may help you win a couple of games and take home the prize.
