[{"text":"Hello, everyone! LRock here, and I\u2019ve brought a big slice of knowledge and experience with me today. Here at DCdeckbuilding.com, our big focus these past several weeks has been to put the radar on the draft portion of the game, since that\u2019s where most of the community\u2019s questions are pointed. Atmoz and Coiser have presented great articles and content recently about how to analyze the draft. As for myself, I want to show a spotlight on a concept that was presented in Atmoz\u2019s article (https:\/\/www.dcdeckbuilding.com\/article.php?id=10858) while also being touched upon in Coiser\u2019s write-up (https:\/\/www.dcdeckbuilding.com\/article.php?id=10861), and that is finding a team that fits you, the player! As noted recently, the most important thing to do during the draft is to remain flexible, and that especially applies if you\u2019re in one of the two middle seats. This means your team will need to be not only versatile, but also robust though not necessarily fast. Synergy is important, of course, but so are keeping your options open. For starters, let\u2019s focus on some teams that involve both a Tier 2 character and a Tier 4 character, and what that will signify for the draft, as well as you as a player. "},{"header":"ALAN SCOTT (2) + BEAST BOY (4)"},{"double":[{"src":"ala518202alan-sco.jpg"},{"src":"bea405560beast-bo.jpg"}]},{"text":"We\u2019ll start off first with a modern classic. The primary concept of this team has been written up about (https:\/\/www.dcdeckbuilding.com\/article.php?id=10802), and not much has changed since its origins. Beast Boy and Alan Scott is one of the few single-type-committed teams that can thrive due to the presence of the Kick stack. Effectively, the first Kick you play during the game is going to be the equivalent of a Speed Force, which is absurdly good for a 3-cost that you can always buy. The team only gets even more effective when you have additional non-Kick Super Powers in your deck, so be sure to snag those copies of Expert Marksmen or Vigilant Guard when you see them! The team, however, does have its downsides. While I recommend getting some table time with this team to discover what they\u2019re really all about, they do have some rough matchups that mean you have to pay attention to what others are drafting. The team operates very well when played early, preferably first, so always make sure that the person drafting first (to your right) didn\u2019t pass until 3s or else a Cyborg\/Superman or Oliver\/Roy team is going to make your game miserable. Remember, be flexible! Pros "},{"list":[{"listType":"bullet"},{"caption":"Immense draw power, arguably the best in the game"},{"caption":"Thrives very well off buying Kicks, and can sometimes get by on only Kicks and Super-Villains"},{"caption":"Plays very well ahead of other Super Power teams"}]},{"text":"Cons"},{"list":[{"listType":"bullet"},{"caption":"Plays horribly after other Super Power teams, especially those that obtain big ones faster"},{"caption":"Has a severe disadvantage against Shark players that take Frost, as they\u2019ll ramp before you do"},{"caption":"Randomly has a rough Deadshot matchup."}]},{"text":"Best played from: First to play\/last to draft."},{"header":"AQUAMAN (2) + GREEN LANTERN (4)"},{"double":[{"src":"aqu26191aquaman-.jpg"},{"src":"gre514472green-la.jpg"}]},{"text":"Truth told, I think Aquaman is one of the most versatile 2s in the game, primarily because he\u2019s just a great Tier 2 pick. The reason being because choosing him gives away nothing about your team. You can change into a 2\/2\/2 team that contains Swamp Thing or even Dr. Aqua Boom (broken down in the past by Darkhelment here: https:\/\/www.dcdeckbuilding.com\/article.php?id=10811). If you decide to ride him out into the Tier 4 choices, then Green Lantern is going to always be a great pick for what you\u2019re trying to accomplish. The game plan breaks down like this: buy something on turn 1 that will likely ramp you to 5-6 Power the following turn (due to Aquaman\u2019s stacking ability) and you may just have yourself an early bomb. Once you start obtaining several solid midrange cards, Green Lantern will essentially start playing himself and you\u2019ll ideally be killing Super Villains every turn in no time. Just be mindful of obtaining cards from the lineup first and foremost, as you don\u2019t want more than 1-2 Kicks in your deck. It\u2019s an easy trap to fall into. Aquaman can also work well in a similar vein with Dr. Fate or Wildcat, depending on your tastes. The Flash from Crisis 4 can also work well in Aquaman's spot if you want more of a VP-farming team that doesn't suffer quite as hard from getting locked out of the lineup. Pros "},{"list":[{"listType":"bullet"},{"caption":"Can ramp extremely well as early as turn 2"},{"caption":"Very explosive mid-to-late game due to Lantern\u2019s inherent Power creep"},{"caption":"No type-commitment, as Lantern only looks for different card names"}]},{"text":"Cons"},{"list":[{"listType":"bullet"},{"caption":"Can be easily &#34;lineup locked&#34; if you\u2019re unable to afford anything bigger than a Kick"},{"caption":"May get shut down by teams that ramp faster like Frost or Darkseid"}]},{"text":"Best played from: Most positions, though not at its strongest when you\u2019re drafting first\/playing last."},{"header":"CHAMELEON BOY (2) + HARLEY QUINN (4)"},{"double":[{"src":"cha507356chameleo.jpg"},{"src":"har757752harley-q.jpg"}]},{"text":"Admittedly, a lot of Tier 2 characters can fit in this slot. Just look for any ability that reads &#34;discard a card&#34; if you want to get the most out of Harley, so characters like Beast Boy, Black Lightning, Batgirl, or Mister Terrific will serve similar purposes. But, I\u2019ll still to talking about Chameleon Boy here since he\u2019s the partner I have the most experience with. The name of the game is card advantage; in the early game, you can discard your Vulnerabilities to try drawing Punches, and that usually works. It doesn\u2019t take a degree to teach you that turning Vulnerabilities into Power in the early going is a good thing. However, it\u2019s what you do in the mid-to-late game that starts to truly shape your direction, as getting any high cost card for this team is almost always worth it, even if it doesn\u2019t fit your strategy. Cards like Princess Diana of Themysicara and Ultraman may not always yield positives, but that\u2019s the opposite with Chameleon Boy as he can just pitch them to effectively play any card in the lineup instead AND you draw a card for your efforts. For additional upside, you\u2019ll have a great matchup against pesky Swamp Thing players since you can just buy the Locations that they want to use and discard them to Chameleon\u2019s ability rather than play them, thereby negating his upside. I also must admit that I personally like this team a lot because they don\u2019t really appear to have any bad matchups, and even create their own headaches for at least one popular character in Sinestro. The only downsides you can really run into are decks that can go bigger than you even faster, though I\u2019ve certainly managed to pull off some wins against Frost players. Be sure to also snag that Inertia or The Deep whenever you see it! Pros "},{"list":[{"listType":"bullet"},{"caption":"Extremely versatile and in no way lineup dependent"},{"caption":"Can buy high cost cards with little-to-no downsides"},{"caption":"One of the best shells in the game when Time Travel cards are in the lineup, thanks to Harley"}]},{"text":"Cons"},{"list":[{"listType":"bullet"},{"caption":"Big ramp decks can zoom past you with very little recourse"}]},{"text":"Best played from: Anywhere."},{"header":"DEATHSTROKE (2) + DARKSEID (4)"},{"double":[{"src":"dar122545darkseid.jpg"},{"src":"dea964102deathstr.jpg"}]},{"text":"Here we have one of the best-performing teams in ranked games thus far this season, having something like ten games under its belt before finishing in a place lower than 2nd. Having played similar teams since last season, I can honestly say this team is a powerhouse. You always have the option to ramp as long as the Kick stack is intact AND you have 3 Punches in your hand, plus you always get even more severe benefits if you can manage to buy a 1 or 2-cost card during your turn. Trust me, you\u2019ll never want to turn down the option to buy and destroy a Venom Injector or Steve Trevor right away with this team, unless you can kill the Super Villain otherwise, and even in some cases it\u2019s still worth it. With the ever-present Kick stack, you have the option of cashing in a Kick immediately for the same amount of Power in addition to drawing a card to try to acquire more Power. Getting a 6-coster like Rioters or Heat Vision on the first turn is never out of the ordinary with this team and the correct lineup configuration, and it\u2019s all snowballing from there. Cards that can access the destroyed pile like Signature Trenchcoat and New York City only serve to make things even more ridiculous. The only thing to really watch out for with this team is to make sure you don\u2019t dilute the Kick stack too quickly, or else your mid-to-late game options run it, so teams like Alan Scott\/Beast Boy playing ahead of you can derail that plan. Oh, and Red Lantern Supergirl, as she\u2019s quite pesky.&nbsp; This team also works well with Bizarro in place of Deathstroke, providing additional utility in the form of additional card draw and Weakness protection. The tradeoff is that the Kick stack isn\u2019t nearly as useful for farming as it is for Deathstroke thanks to the additional power.&nbsp; Pros&nbsp; "},{"list":[{"listType":"bullet"},{"caption":"Arguably the most explosive ramp team in the game"},{"caption":"Plenty of additional value out of Starter destruction thanks to Deathstroke"},{"caption":"1-cost and 2-cost cards in the lineup will likely always yield a great turn for you"},{"caption":"Access to the destroyed pile usually spells &#34;Game Over&#34; for everyone else"}]},{"text":"Cons"},{"list":[{"listType":"bullet"},{"caption":"Won\u2019t have as many big turns once the Kick stack runs out"},{"caption":"Suffers quite a bit if another ramp team plays ahead of it, since you\u2019ll lose out on resources"},{"caption":"Red Lantern Supergirl directly counterpicks this team better than any other destruction team"}]},{"text":"Best played from: Anywhere but last to play\/first to draft."},{"header":"KING SHARK (2) + KILLER FROST (4)&nbsp;"},{"double":[{"src":"kin630125king-sha.jpg"},{"src":"kil999842killer-f.jpg"}]},{"text":"I'm pretty sure everyone expected this team to get a feature. While rendered temporarily dormant due to the dominance of Teamwork back in the spring and summer, Killer Frost has surfaced as the premiere ramp character of choice, thanks to the powerful enabler known only as King Shark. Getting to 6 Power on the first turn has never been easier than it has with this team, and you can sometimes hit 7 if you're lucky enough to see a Birthday Cake or Hawk &amp; Dove in the opening lineup (and in even more rare cases, 8 Power if you see a Mera or Giganta). The philosophy is simple, really: gain a VP to start your turn, then spend it to play a midrange card in the lineup that allows you to ramp to bigger cards, or to buy multiple cards for a big VP gain. Don't forget, even cheaper and less desirable cards are still great for Killer Frost because you can just discard them to use her ability once you've maxed out on VP, so don't take those Harley Quinns and Cold Guns for granted! Pros "},{"list":[{"listType":"bullet"},{"caption":"The most consistent ramp team in the game, even being able to kill a Super Villain on turn 1"},{"caption":"Easily the best team in the game at hosing teams that are looking for a specific card type"},{"caption":"The destroyed pile fills fast which allows for great use of cards like Owlman and Superwoman"}]},{"text":"Cons"},{"list":[{"listType":"bullet"},{"caption":"A lineup full of cards that cost 5 or greater effectively hoses this team until it's corrected"},{"caption":"Can be hosed by Teamwork characters (albeit at random) due to shutting off Shark's ability"},{"caption":"Tends to do perform worse if another ramp team plays ahead of them"},{"caption":"Red Lantern Supergirl also performs very well against this team"}]},{"text":"Best played from: First to play, though any spot other than last works."},{"header":"KING SHARK (2) + SINESTRO (4)&nbsp;"},{"double":[{"src":"kin219312king-sha.jpg"},{"src":"sin419437sinestro.jpg"}]},{"text":"As a counterpoint to the &#34;other&#34; Shark team, here we have one with a bit more stability... sort of. Sinestro is the classic counterpick to the counterpick, being a viable option to select as your Tier 4 if an opponent takes a Red Lantern Supergirl team while drafting Tier 3s, forcing a dilemma on you for choosing King Shark. It's how the draft works, after all, though I definitely know some players that prefer playing this team to the Frosty alternative. This team can provide a stable foundation of card advantage, but it does come at a cost. Specifically, Attacks are some of the hardest cards to acquire in the game, and they'll certainly be at an all-time premium if everyone is aware that there's a Sinestro at the table. Once you've maxed out on VP tokens for Shark's ability and are able to string together a constant flow of degenerate cards played towards your opponents, this team can definitely get out of control in a hurry. You'll certainly want to prioritize attacks that affect the whole table like Azarath or Constructs of Fear, but that shouldn't prevent you from wanting to obtain targeted Attacks like Dr. Light or Mantis either. Until you've reached that goal, you'll be starting every turn with a 6-card hand just so long as you're spending your VP on Power via Shark's ability correctly, so it's a fair bit skill-intensive, but well worth it if this is the style of deck that you want to play. Pros&nbsp;"},{"list":[{"listType":"bullet"},{"caption":"Every turn starts with a 6-card hand until you've capped on VP. No other team duplicates this"},{"caption":"Snowballs incredibly hard with enough Attack cards in the deck"},{"caption":"Gets great use out of cards that allow the spending of VP such as Iron Heights and Frankenstein"}]},{"text":"Cons"},{"list":[{"listType":"bullet"},{"caption":"Attacks are one of the hardest type commitments in the game. You're hosed without them"},{"caption":"Other players generally want to buy Attacks since it means not having to play against them"},{"caption":"High skill curve of VP spending to accommodate for Sinestro's draw power without Attacks"}]},{"header":"wrap up"},{"text":"That'll do it for ol' LRock this week! Be sure to tune in next time as I break down even teams in the Double Tier 3 range to discover and get familiar with in order to determine your own choice of a &#34;pet deck!&#34; Have a Happy New Year! "}]