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If you guys are like me, there’s a chance you thought this day would never come. However, thanks to the help of community members like BatHulk, BerserkerBob, BigSpooky, blues686, bkwrds, Bliven731, captain_comet, carlosthedwarf, Christo, conykchameleon, cretin, Dawn_Kabaus, DDH, DoomStat, Eponymous, Fiend28, fizzle.me.sexy, Gambit07, gdaybloke, GREYDON, Grumga, Guglio, iLeKtRaN, I_Avian, InsanityFTW!, kansashoops, K’lrt, Likeitoldyourmom…, Locke, lukerod, m4g0, Melonball, mhtsos_gr, Morpheus1981, necaras, Obsidian3d, odietamo, On52, OnyxWeapon, Orange_Soda_Man, Philosopher, pptmaster, Savage Tofu, Shadowtrooper, Shamilton777, sirthomas, Skrullfan, stubarnes, Sun Eater, Trader2699, unclechawie, vs_savant2, Zuranthium, and many many more (I’m waaay to lazy to scroll through all those threads to find a complete list, so forgive me if you were ommited – please make yourself known in the comments below to get your due recognition!), we’re finally ready to kickstart ‘The 100 Ideas’ tournament! READ MORE »
Monthly archives for July, 2009
The 100 Ideas: Gambling Circle
The 100 Ideas: 100 Decklists
This post is a reference post listing all 100 decks from The 100 Ideas. I will list the names of the decks below as an index. Hit control+f on your keyboard and type in the index code to skip down to the decklist you want to see (unless you’re a HUGE fan of the scroll wheel)!
You can also use the control+f feature to search out team names, character names, or mechanics. This is a great feature for those of you trying to find decks that will help you get your friends in on the game. Do they like Green Lantern? Then do a search for ‘Green Lantern,’ ‘Kyle Rayner,’ or ‘Hal Jordan’. Have a friend that already knows the basics and want to teach them the Willpower mechanic? Then search it out below and assemble the deck!
On the off-chance you’re into the construction aspect of the game, you can also click the links to get to the discussion pages where the decks were created . Enjoy! READ MORE »
Bearsday: Gleaming "The Cube" – X-men
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A few weeks ago, I managed to purchase a sizeable collection from a friend. This new found collection not only allows me to ‘Miguel’ my local group – of which there is interest in playing but not enough events – but also to fulfill my dream of making a VS System cube.
So what is a cube?
A cube is basically a preselected set of cards from which we make an eight player draft from. It has its origins in Magic: the Gathering, but I thought it would fit especially well in VS System – where the limited aspect of the game is many times funner than constructed.
My particular plan with my cube, is to make a cube that is not only reflective of the VS System’s competitive history, but also allows players to draft a wide myraid of archetypes that have been in the game’s history. In addition, I want each team to have exactly one card in this cube, whether it be by dual affiliation or what not.
So here’s my thought proccess. I urge those of you who are interested to also build along too. The cube is relatively easy to build and pimp now that the game has been discontinued.
Speaking of pimping: some cards are denoted with a *. This means that I need a foil in new frame/EA/pimped out copy of the card and I would love to get it off you through trade or purchase.
: )
Set-Up
Since most previous limited sets have had 4-5 teams with some number of smaller teams, that’s the framework I’m going to work with.
Let’s do some math first.
Eight players x three packs per player x fourteen cards per player = three hundred and thirty six unique cards.
Now, given that most players build decks with a twenty/ten split, I’ve decided that two thirds of the cube should be characters and the rest should be plot twists, locations, and equipment. Maybe this ratio should be a bit closer to even, and I will certainly tweak it in the coming months.
Now what about the teams?
I’m looking for depth here, and there have been three affiliations in this game that have been featured the most. The Brotherhood and the X-Men are the foremost, with three sets and a starter deck, but the Titans are right behind them with three set.
There are quite a few teams with two features. Presently, I’m leaning toward Gotham Knights and the Fantastic Four being the last two. This makes my cube sort of ‘comicky’ but also enables equipment based archetypes too.
Each week, I’ll talk about my thoughts on the team. I would love to hear what cards you think are fun and historically signifigant to the archetype so that I may add them.
X-Men
The X-Men have traditionally had quite a few archetypes to them. From tournaments we have had X-Stall, X-Mental and X-Babies. That’s enough to fill a cube by itself – control, curve, and rush – but they also have other possibilities in Wolverine Legend and Age of Apocalypse.
I plan on exploring all of these themes in the cube.
One drops (6)
Wild Child, Age of Apocalypse
Shadowcat, Phase Shifter *
Domino, Neena Thurman *
Angel, Archangel
Multiple Man, MadroX *
Longshot, Mojoverse
Longshot is of course not that great in a highlander format, but I think StuBarnes deserves some mention.
Two drops (8)
Sabertooth, Age of Apocalypse
Bishop, Age of Apocalypse
Cannonball, Blast Field
Beast, Wild and Wooly
Forge, the Maker
Cyclops, Slim
Nightcrawler, Brimstone Cowboy
Sage, Earth 616
Three drop (7)
Wolverine, Skrullnucklehead
Wolverine, Logan
Iceman, Jack Frost *
Sunfire, Age of Apocalypse *
Cable, Nathan Summers
Mariko Yashida <> Sunfire,
Sage, Xavier’s Secret Weapon
One card that kind of sticks out is Wolverine. This is threefold; first it lets you play Skrull, second, it’s another unique Wolverine, and finally… it has seen tournament play on the competitive level.
Four drops (5)
Wolverine, Age of Apocalypse
Professor X, Headmaster
Rogue, Power Absorption *
Cyclops, Man of Action
X-23, Genetic Miracle *
Some other four drops I’ve considered are Gambit, Remy Leabeau. Regardless, the X-Men have very saucy fours.
Five drops (5)
Wolverine, Secret Avenger *
Blink, Age of Apocalypse
Sunfire, Shiro Yoshida
Mystique, Foxx
Emma Frost, Friend or Foe
Six drops (4)
Gambit, Traitor
Mimic, Exile *
Jean Grey, Red *
Cable, Temporal Traveler
Maybe Rogue, Powerhouse or Cyclops, Astonishing X-Men? I like both of them, but I am weary of putting too many sixes, and I really like the art on Gambit, Traitor…
Seven drops (2)
Jean Grey, Jean Grey Summer
Professor X, World’s Most Powerful Telepath *
Eight drops (2)
Cyclops, Mutant Messiah *
Phoenix,
Two eight drops is a bit exccessive for the X-Men. What do you guys think? I like Mutant Messiah a bit more personally but would love to hear which you guys like more.
Now comes the rest.
Plot Twists (11)
Berserker Rage *
Healing Factor *
Adamantium Claws *
Bamf! *
Children of the Atom *
Snikt!*
To Me, My X-Men *
X-Men Assemble!, Age of Apocalypse
Turnabout * (I believe there is an EA version of this one…)
Duck and Cover
Fastball Special *
Locations (4)
Xavier’s Institute for Gifted Youngsters *
Worthington Industries, X-Corp
X-Corp: Amsterdam, X-Corp
Siege Perilous
Equipment (1)
Blackbird Blue
That’s 54 cards altogether, which is about right.
I cannot understate how much I want feedback. The purpose of the cube is that I can have something to bring around to conventions that can entertain multiple VS players while simultaneously offering them a unique experience. To do that, I need to know which X-Men cards and themes are fun and are missing.
I do think I am short a few more recovery effects although almost none of them strike me as very… cubeworthy. I think Phoenix Rising deserves a spot, although it seems like it would be very tough to consistently get off in the cube.
Presently, I do believe the X-Men are a bit too stalltastic – although too be fair the other teams are more aggressive – and could definitely use a bit of a retooling. Are there any aggressive X-Men I’m missing?
Leave your comments here.
Peace,
-TDB
DSM-2 Team Makes Huge Strides, Stumbles, and Then Bolts For the Finish Line
As many of you know, many (many, many, many) weeks ago, our good friend and associate, Patrick Yapjoco had to hand off his work for DSM-2 to the VS Council, due to life and its accompanying trials. Cliff Parameter and myself were the happy recipients of the project, and dove in with gusto. There were polls, and posts, and arguments, and discussions, and various other interactions regarding the project. We studied what Patrick had done, and invited Joe Corbett to continue the role he had with Patrick, in continuing development. While evaluating the set, however, several things have become apparent to the design team, which have delayed, and ultimately changed, the direction we are headed with the project.
1) DSM is a beloved and well-played set. As bad as it was from a design standpoint, there are cards and characters and decks that exist throughout VS that rely on cards in DSM as they were printed. Many, were re-printed. This impacts what we are trying to do, greatly. How does a team ‘fix’ a set, without ruining the history that the cards have generated for themselves?
2) DSM is made up, primarily, of four teams. Team Superman, Revenge Squad, Darkseid’s Elite, and New Gods. Of these teams, and the legacy content, Revenge Squad and Darkseid have both been re-envisioned, and seen significant improvement in playability and design since the printing of DSM. Team Superman has also been re-designed, but arguably, only Superman himself has seen improvement, while the rest of the team remains lost in mediocrity. (One VsSystem.org member described the DWF Team Superman team as the DC version of Warbound. I think it’s quite a poignant statement.) The remaining team, New Gods, saw only 9 additional cards printed since DSM, and has never been ‘rebooted’ in VS.
3) The major challenge of this project, was to make a playable set of DSM. Designing a completely new set by changing text boxes, but staying confined to the 165 cards, characters, attack, defense, and the rest, makes for a mediocre and uninspired effort. Anyone who has worked on a fan-set can tell you how difficult it is to design cards when you’re NOT confined to a predetermined character set, with pre-defined casting costs, curves, and support cards.
4) DC Final Crisis is almost ready. In January, it made perfect sense to release DSM-2 to the world, but due to the delays we have seen, DFC is nearly completed, and very likely may see distribution before DSM-2. Rather that swamp the players with multiple fan-sets, it seems necessary to make changes to the project plan.
In the end, these major points, and other less important ones, brought the design team to the following conclusion: We can’t fix DSM. Simply put, it’s not broken. What is broken is the Team Superman and New Gods teams. So here is where the team is headed. We will be reviewing and updating the New Gods cards from DSM (DSM-035 through DSM-060), utilizing minor, errata-styled changes, that will make the New Gods playable, but not significantly impacting the existing DSM cards. Additionally, we will be designing a short list of new cards to supplement the existing New Gods team. In the end, we hope to have a reimagined, all inclusive, sub-set of cards, similar to the MAA and MUL styled sub-sets of the past. This set of updated and new cards will be designated DNG (DC New Gods). Our hope is by taking these steps, we will make the New Gods a more playable and interesting team, but without compromising old-school decks and strategies based on the New Gods. The greatest benefit of this release is that the fan voting that was so hotly contested for the creation of a new Mr. Miracle card can/will be fully realized in a completely new card form. Rather that squeeze all the requested powers onto an undersized and pre-existing 5-drop, we can now (maybe) imagine a 7-drop with all the impact that Scott Free should have on the game.
Additionally, based on fan imput and acceptance, we will then be making a similar effort with Team Superman (DTS) shortly there after, giving the ‘Team’ in ‘Team Superman’ the love they so desperately deserve.
I look forward to hearing your comments and complaints, and I hope you’re as excited about this announcement as we are having written it.
Sincerely,
HomerJ (with Captain_Comet and Savage_tofu)
