I finally got to use this and in short - it was awesome. I'll need far fewer changes than I thought, and I'm still in the midst of deciding what those are. That said, there were lessons learned.
Lesson 1: Bolts don't flow the way that masks do.
I used Phoenix "Redd" for her global rather than Mr. Fantastic since it cost a bolt, and generally went very bolt heavy with the build. I'm used to a similar structure from my control team, but that team produces masks like that's its job - and it kind of is. This team doesn't get bolts at the same clip. Why? I think because it's still very much Beast driven, and he's a mask guy.
That said, I'm not sure that I can change it up that much. This squad won't have the masks either to support Mr. Fantastic the way that he's supported in other squads. I think the answer here is to grin and bear it.
Lesson 2: Think about the order!
I would frequently use the global ability from NOGG to get extra dice in prep, and that worked exceedingly well. I've talked about that at length. However, what I should be doing all the time is waiting to do this on my opponent's turn. There are a few reasons.
- I might need those sidekicks, so why take them out before I absolutely need to? The best time to play it is during my opponent's attack step.
- If I need to ensure that my Genetic Experts are KO'd during the attack step, I may need to use the global to damage Beast and guarantee the KO to trigger his ability rather than knocking out my own sidekicks.
I forgot this early on, and it nearly cost me on at least two different occasions. You quite simply need to have the flexibility during your opponent's turn, and so waiting is most definitely worth it.
Lesson 3: Johnny Blaze was sort of ok.
I don't like him.
Everyone knows that. Taking him for cheap bolts was a bitter pill to swallow, but he did help out. And it was nice having a go-to on the first turn when I didn't roll a single. solitary. mask.
And in the end, he helped me win it - I finally fielded him on the last turn and he was a part of my winning attack. So I can't really complain about this guy. I don't know that I'd purchase more than one or two of him, but he worked in this context.
Lesson 4: I didn't miss Beast 666 like I thought I would.
I kept it simple - I didn't buy many characters. The execution was mostly Genetic Expert-centric, with a single Focus Power and a Storm offering support. I had a Ghost Rider that I never fielded until the very end - he was just energy. If it had gone a turn or two more, I may have considered throwing in my Human Torch just to seal it, but I didn't need to. This meant that I didn't need to worry about draw acceleration. I was intentionally getting my main character dice knocked out, so between that and NOGG's ability, I was almost always rolling more than four dice.
So what would I change?
I'm actually not sure.
In the end, in spite of it's success, I looked at it and I didn't like everything. I started to examine it - it's pretty hard to see what an adequate replacement would have been for any given card. Despite some uncomfortable moments, I had the tools to be adaptable even while sticking to a pretty straightforward and simplistic win condition.
With Beast, it's still fast because of the low purchase cost, not to mention his wonderful Tsarina countering; by including Wind Rider, I had a means to avoid a potential Gobby incursion. Beyond that, there's not a lot that I wasn't planned for. I lost probably eight to ten total life in the game, but I won 20 - 0 through using Genetic Expert's life gain efficiently. I suppose, in a sense, this is a life gain deck in at least a minor way.
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Next, we'll look at how to pare this down to work at a hybrid constructed event. Also - we experiment with Spider-Man "The Amazing" and try to see if a viable deck can be made with him as the feature player. Stay tuned!
First thing that pops to mind looking at this team, is if I were up against it, I'd be using NOGG's global to get rid of your lvl 1 Beasts before attacking.
ReplyDeleteI've also been trying out Magneto: Former Comrade as a counter to this Beast. He gets +2 against X-Men, and another +1 with Thrown Car. In early tests it looks like I'm willing to absorb this damage and just power through. At Magneto's highest level with all the bonuses he's 9A vs 2D for Beast. 7 trample going through for a net life swing of 4 (nets out 2 KO damage and 1 life gain from lvl 1 Beast). This can be an issue for the Beast player if they've spent time getting their wall built only to face multiple Magnetos and a Car.
ReplyDeleteAll the talk about how crappy of a character Ghost Rider is, doesn't bother me since I never use him as a character. He's on the field for the 2 bolts he provides. He helps me get to Cyclops "ILCK" or "Scott Summers" faster, which in most cases assures me a victory.
ReplyDeleteAgree but the tough part is if you roll the character face - expensive and tough to use - and without any ability it can gum up your plans. If you just need for energy, Invincibility actually has a higher expected return on energy per roll.
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