MWS Gems: TreeHug’s “No Damage For You”

Sorry for the lacking of posting this week. Just sort of walked away from me because I’m an idiot.

This is just a quick post to say “I’m alive” and to feature a combo that made me go “ouch” a while back.

This deck was built by a user with the name of TreeHug. He was also featured on Alec’s To The Power of (X) blog so this is his “famous” week. Anyways, I played him earlier this week and he was playing what looks like your standard basic World’s Finest deck but there was one big combo in it.

World’s Finest, No Damage Edition

Team Superman/Gotham Knights

Modern Age

Characters:
4x  Superman Batman Robot, Supa-Mecha-Bat

4x  Alfred Pennyworth, Faithful Friend
4x  Maggie Sawyer – Gotham Central

4x  Krypto – Guard Dog of El

4x  Natasha Irons <> Steel – Unlikely Alloy
2x  Renee Montoya – Gotham Central
2x  Barbara Gordon <> Oracle – Hacker Extraordinaire

4x  Superman – Last Son of Krypton

3x  Batman – Cape and Cowl

1x  Superman, Founding Member

1x  Kara Zor-El <> Supergirl – Claire Connors

Plot Twists:
4x  Flying High
4x  Bat Got Your Tongue?
4x  Bat-Signal
2x  For the Man Who Has Everything
4x  Impervious
4x  Soaring to New Heights
4x  The Hook-Up – Team-Up

Locations:
1  City of Tomorrow – Team-Up

The main reason I’m featuring this list is the combo of Maggie Sawyer, Natasha Irons, Superman: Last Son of Krypton, Superman/Batman Robot. If you don’t see the combo, those characters basically say “I take no damage going into turn 8″. Sure, it also helped that TreeHug negated all my search but Dang! I ended up doing exactly 8 damage heading into turn 8. I’m within inches of trying to bust this combo by going straight Team Superman with Kandor to make Maggie unattackable.

So, TreeHug, props on bringing that combo to my attention. Just incredibly nasty.

Stay tuned because on Monday I’ll be posting my next Vs. Resolution later this week. Planet Kalee’s still around, just been a bit slacking this week.

MWS Gems: Roguer’s Mystiqual Sea Creatures

Welcome to the next in Planet Kalee’s new featured articles. Between custom cards, match write-ups, and The Great Vs. Resolution, the Planet is already getting a bit crowded but now things are really gonna start hopping.

MWS Gems is an incredibly simple idea that I don’t know why I didn’t come up with sooner. See, I have played against some really, really neat decks on Magic Workstation. Most of these I’d never seen before and never saw much of after. I always felt that the fact that these incredible decks were only really known amongst the few who play the deck creator’s on MWS was a travesty. So, MWS Gems is here to change that.

If I play you on Magic Workstation (under the username of Grievous) and you’re using a deck I particularly like, I might just ask you if I can feature it here on MWS Gems. You can feel free to say no but if you say yes, I’ll give you my e-mail and you can send me the deck and some notes which will then be featured here in these articles.

Now, the first MWS Gem is brought to you by a user who goes by the alias of roguer. He’s a regular on Workstation and always tends to be playing something cool. This past weekend when I played against him, he was packing what was perhaps one of the nastiest jank decks I’ve ever played against and it featured everyone’s favorite saddled critters, the Sea Creatures.

However, his Sea Creatures deck doesn’t run Aquaman. Nope, these poor Sea Creatures have been tricked into following a far darker path by a certain shapeshifting woman.

The Great Vs. Resolution #13: Revenge Squad

About time I got back to my Resolution. As you can see via all the below posts, I’ve gotten a bit busy with other content but the Resolution will continue in full force with at least one posting a week. Combine this with my Doctor Who fan set, The Game of the Galaxy match reports, and an upcoming feature which will be debuting sometime this week and Planet Kalee is in the middle of getting kicked into high gear. Hold on because I’m hoping it’ll be quite the ride.

Anyways, Revenge Squad. The last of the great DC Modern Resolution decks, at least for a while. They have their awesome little theme of ongoing plot twists which I utterly love. They also have my favorite three-drop ever.

Now, hidden in their little ongoing plot twist theme is a theme I really like. That’s the “put everyone up front” theme. I have no idea WHY I like this theme so much… Oh, wait, I do. It’s called “Beats” and as much as I love a combo that sweeps an opponent by surprise, I love smashing face with hugely oversized drops just as much.

Step Forwards!

Revenge Squad

Modern Age

Characters:

4x Terra-Man – Toby Manning
4x Brainiac 13, Mental Giant

4x Professor Emil Hamilton <> Ruin – Power Suit
3x Mongul – Son of the Tyrant

4x Livewire – Leslie Willis
2x Atomic Skull – Cursed

4x Preus – Citizen’s Patrol
1x Lex Luthor, Metropolis Mogul

3x Doomsday, Evolution Advanced

1x Lex Luthor, The Everyman

Plot Twists:
4x Battle for Metropolis
4x Standoff
4x Executive Privilege
4x Never-Ending Battle
4x Future Shock
4x Mobilize
2x Imprisoned in the Source
1x Total Anarchy

Locations:
3x Graveyard of Solitude

The Game of the Galaxy, Part 1: Pre-Game

Oh sure, everyone can write a match report. Just write down what you play in your resource row and what your opponent flips and all that fun stuff. And there’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, a simple match report with just the important details of the game is the best way to report on a competitive Vs. game.

However, I don’t generally play competitively. Heck, none of the games I play are in the slightest bit “competitive”. That’s why there’s never been a match report on this site.

Until now.

See, there is another way to write up a report on a game of Vs. System. A way that is far too time-consuming when someone is trying to detail what happened in the semi-final matches at a Megaweekend. That way is called “storytelling” and I have the free time to give it a shot.

…

Stumbling forward, dazed and confused, was a man. He didn’t look particularly extraordinary but looks can be deceiving. One second he was in the conference room of his business headquarters and the next he was… Where was he? He glanced around but all he could see was mist. Swearing under his breath, the man continued to walk forwards. He had no idea where he was but he knew he’d figure out how to leave. He was a genius, after all.

“Shall we play a game?” The voice pierced through the fog.

Squinting, the bald man saw a human-like shape in the distance. A grin appeared. Surely whoever this was would happily help him get back to his headquarters in exchange for the money and power he could provide. Rushing forwards, the shape became clearer and clearer until the man could finally see who he was running towards.

Sitting before him was a man with blue skin. His white hair came up like horns and his eyes glowed as they stared back at the bald man. He was wearing a large yellow robe with a high collar and a red diamond on the front. The being was seated next to what looked like a small square table.

“Come, sit,” He said, gesturing with his yellow-gloved hand towards the stone stool positioned across the table from him. “It is time for us to play.”

The bald man could not help but wonder who this… thing thought he was. “You brought me to this place, didn’t you?” He demanded. “Take me back or else I swear I will make your life hell.”

The response was a cackle, “Oh come now, everyone has time for a game. Even you, Lex Luthor.”

Doctor Who: An Introduction and The First Previews

Check out that new banner on the top of the site. When I decided that I’m going to be rocking something new, I figured I’d go all-out. Expect some other minor design changes to the site as well while I try and get it all to fit with the Who.

So, I guess I should probably start this article with an introduction to The Doctor for those who aren’t aware of him. Doctor Who is a British show that’s a huge phenomenon on that side of the pond. The original series started in the late 1960’s and ran through into the late 80’s before it finally ended. It brought with it a massive amount of alternate media with it like books and audio plays. After the 80’s, however, the series disappeared, for the most part, until a movie was released in 1996. Doctor Who then, again, faded away until it blazed back on to television screens in 2005 and has since returned to its place as cheesy Sci-Fi series extraordinaire.

Doctor Who is all about a Time Lord (an alien species that are highly advanced but mostly look human besides having two hearts) known only as The Doctor.  He travels around in his trademark TARDIS (which looks like a police phone booth) and generally has a few human companions with him to keep him company. The Doctor takes these people through time and space and shows them fascinating things and get involves in some insane conflicts. That is the primary basis of the series. If you want to know more, check out Wikipedia.

Now, this set will primarily be based on the new Doctor Who series. That means there won’t be as much Tom Baker as there will Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant. I will be delving into the original series for a few things (the Daleks require their creator, for example) but the set as a whole will mostly be the new era of Who. Oh, and of the new series, you’ll notice more of a bent towards the David Tennant incarnation of The Doctor. That’s just my personal bias showing through. You can feel free to ignore it.

I currently don’t have firm card numbers locked down for this set.  I’m currently figuring I’m going to end up with 120 or so cards. These cards will generally be based around three affiliations: the TARDIS Crew (The Doctor and friends), the Daleks (The Doctor’s greatest enemies and also the best villains ever), and the Time/Space Dangers (any/all characters The Doctor has come into confrontation with in the new series). There will be also be a sub-team in the Time/Space Dangers which is the Cybermen who I don’t feel have quite enough people to build their own entire affiliation around but are notable enough to at least have a few cards referring specifically to them.

Now, with all the above out of the way, its time to get to the first four previews of the Doctor Who set. Onwards into the breach!

The Grand Unveiling

Tomorrow will be the dawn of a new era.

Well, maybe its not that big but its still the start of something new here on Planet Kalee.

A few days back I got struck with inspiration. I’ve been watching a certain television program constantly as of late and my brain cells finally clicked. Why not translate it over to Vs. System? I couldn’t find a good reason.

Since then, I have been sitting on the computer typing out stats. I’ve been scribbling away in a notebook during the long car rides. I’ve been discussing ideas for cards with my Vs. playing brothers while waiting for food at Olive Garden. Since that fateful day, I have been hard at work creating concepts, finding images, and putting all that text into Magic Set Editor.

Now, finally, I have enough cards created to unveil my newest work. A complete mini-set of Vs. System cards is in the pipeline. More cards than an Essential Collection but less than a complete set. Three primary affiliations alongside a few secondary ones. Legend treatment given to the characters that deserve it most. Finally, it is time for the man who has been everywhere and every time to enter the world of Vs. System.

The Great Vs. Resolution #12: The League of Assassins

I love ninjas. Ninjas are the coolest people on the face of the planet. If I could be a ninja, I would. According to the Nintendo Wii’s “Everybody Votes” Channel, America agrees that ninjas are cool. The statistics from that poll says that the people who like ninjas outnumber those who like pirates by a 2-to-1 margin.

Someone else likes ninjas. That person is the immortal Ra’s al Ghul. I’ve always sorta liked Ra’s ever since I first saw him on the Batman animated series all those years back. Back then I always liked the people that used swords. I still like people that use swords. Anyways, his whole gimmick sorta escaped me at first but is actually really cool now that I’m older and can appreciate it.

Ra’s is, for all intents and purposes, immortal. He just goes into his fountain of youth known as the Lazarus Pit and comes out clean as a whistle. The Pit has a cost, of course, and that is the user’s sanity. Ra’s hatred for human kind is incredible and makes him different than the other villains in the Batman Rogue Gallery since he’s the only one who really attacks humanity on a global scale.

In Vs. System, Ra’s al Ghul and his League of Assassins has a thing for locations. I’ve never particularly liked locations simply due to the fact that you are forced to row them and generally can’t have more than one copy in play at a time. However, the LoA has ways around this as can be seen in the Modern Age build that is after the jump.