So it occurs to me looking at the blog that not only am I slack in updating it but there’s also a dearth of VS content here. Allow me to rectify that forthwith with a healthy dose of jank!
It may be obvious to some of you that my favourite X-Man is the blue-skinned teleporter, Nightcrawler and today I present to you a deck that makes the most of his finest Vs incarnation: Man of the Cloth.
Up until the release of Legends, our German chum had been given short shrift. Origins gave us Fuzzy Elf and Kurt Wagner, both of which implemented his teleporting ability by allowing him to attack as if he had flight and range without actually giving him either of those attributes. The Kurt Wagner version edged out Fuzzy Elf by virtue of his not stunning while attacking ability. Neither was fantastic, however.
It would be a couple of years before the pointy-tailed teleporter would show up again in the Marvel X-Men expansion and the X-Men starter deck. Both of these versions were quite aggressive and out of character – Swashbuckler had 6 attack on a 3-drop and an ability to help remove reinforcement to get most of it across as breakthrough. Teleporting Teammate from the starter set was just as belligerent with 9 up front on a 4-drop although it did come with the ability to reinforce itself – or a teammate – which made up for his paltry 6 defence. Still nothing to write home about though.
Another couple of years passed and the release of Marvel Legends bought with it another version of Nightcrawler, this time one that could hold its head up high. Man of the Cloth is very similar to Quicksilver – Mutant Avenger from the Marvel Avengers expansion, the main differences being the stats switching around – Nightcrawler is an aggressive 5/4, Quicksilver a more sedate 4/5 – and MotC lacking the Reservist keyword. Although the main ability – ready when a team-attacked defender becomes stunned – is functionally similar, Nightcrawler has to actually take part in the attack to ready whereas Quickie can just sit there letting his teammates do the dirty work and then ready for free. Some nice synergy between those two though which gave me the starting point for a pile of jank that I like to call BFF – Best Friends Forever.
Characters
1 drops
4 x Beast – Furry Blue Scientist
3 x Multiple Man – Army
2 x Archangel – Angel
1 x Shadowcat – Phase Shifter
2 drops
4 x Natasha Romanoff Black Widow – Super Spy
3 x Cyclops – Slim
2 x Dazzler – Rock Star
2 x Wasp – Janet Van Dyne-Pym
1 x John Walker US Agent – Loose Cannon
3 drops
4 x Nightcrawler – Man of the Cloth
4 x Quicksilver – Mutant Avenger
4 drops
3 x Carol Danvers Warbird – Galactic Adventurer
3 x Vision – Young Avenger
(this was Professor X – Headmaster but when I saw the preview this guy had to go in. Obviously, I’ve not tested the deck with Vision in it but you get the gist)
Plot Twists
4 x X-Men United
4 x Legendary Battles
4 x Fastball Special
3 x Battle Tactics
Locations
4 x Harry’s Hideaway
3 x Playroom
2 x Worthington Industries – X-Corp
The theory behind the deck is simple. Take even initiatives, get teamed up as soon as possible, keep their numbers down with the extra stun from Nat Romanoff and the bounce from Carol Danvers (her ability, you filthy minded…), keep your dudes around with Harry’s Hideaway and then go nuts on 6 with Legendary Battles, Battle Tactics, Playroom and the shiny new Vision from Marvel Universe. Fastball Special should help you deal with any fat that hits the board and X-Men United can be replaced if you find yourself in a tight spot about to take a massive amount of breakthrough. When I get the chance to test this with Vision – Young Avenger I have a suspicion I’ll be trying to fit 4 copies of Press The Attack in here so that he can work his mojo more than once a turn. Come to think of it, the new 2 drop Captain America makes a pretty strong case for inclusion in this deck.
It’s as janky as hell and, as it’s only Golden Age legal, you’ll win probably one out of every ten games you play with it but when you get Quicksilver and Nightcrawler working in unison – especially in conjunction with Wasp or Legendary Battles – then I can’t think of many finer sights in VS.
Now, about that Nightcrawler legend in Marvel Evolutions…
