[{"text":"Hello, friendos! This is LRock, back once again with a new article. It\u2019s been a while since the DCDB community has been blessed with a new Crossover pack (July 2018, to be exact), and we\u2019re getting 6 new Main Characters to play around with, along with a bevy of new main deck cards. Today, I\u2019ll be focusing on each of the new MCs by shining a spotlight with one example of a good team for each character, in addition to some honorable mention partners that players should feel free to test out. One thing I love about this set for cube purposes is that the tiers for the new characters are already evenly distributed, with two characters at each tier of 1 and 2 and 3. I\u2019m a numbers guy, so this kind of symmetry is right up my alley.&nbsp; For the sake of said symmetry, we\u2019ll start off with the Tier 1 characters, so awaaaaaaaaaay we go\u2026 "},{"header":"BATMAN (TIER 1)"},{"image":[{"src":"bat53333batman-c.jpg"},{"caption":""}]},{"text":"To start us off, we have the Caped Crusader himself. His ability is certainly interesting. It has Bane-like properties that essentially allow you to give up hard-earned VP to gain a benefit, which is represented in this case by drawing an extra card. The downside is pretty real, though, since not only can you not get rid of the always-available Kick stack to do your bidding, but you\u2019re also regulated to only using cards of 3 cost and greater, so the majority of his interactions can be a bit of a hard sell. For now, let\u2019s focus on a team that I\u2019ve been toying with since Ninjutsu was established for cube play: "},{"header":"DEATHSTROKE (TIER 2) + BLACK ADAM (TIER 3)"},{"double":[{"src":"dea470884deathstr.jpg"},{"src":"bla107224black-ad.jpg"}]},{"text":"Here we have a shell that hasn\u2019t been touched on in a while. It\u2019s a bit of a relic, but we have a more modern solution to throw in now. With the cube ruling for how Ninjutsu works in place, any non-Kick Super Power of cost 3 or greater can offer up some pretty amazing synergy. The play goes like this:"},{"list":[{"listType":"bullet"},{"caption":"Play your non-Kick Super Power of cost 3 or greater, resolve it, then return it to the lineup with Batman to draw another card."},{"caption":"Black Adam\u2019s ability then kicks in, allowing you to destroy the Super Power to gain a VP and draw a card, since the Super Power is still in the zone where it resolved."},{"caption":"Deathstroke provides an additional +1 Power for your turn because he\u2019s cool like that."}]},{"text":"Even if you\u2019re just buying Kicks, Adam and Slade (i.e. Deathstroke) provide some ancient synergy that\u2019s almost as old as cube itself.&nbsp; Furthermore, Slade provides a great incentive to buy cheaper do-nothing-else destruction cards like Atomica and Steel, so you should always be destroying something."},{"double":[{"src":"ato759663atomica-.jpeg"},{"src":"ste976214steel-.jpeg"}]},{"text":"Here are a few examples of cards that should lead to really big things for a team like this:"},{"double":[{"src":"col392552colony-o.jpg"},{"src":"eng22469engulfin.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"hom255299homicida.jpeg"},{"src":"mir17351mirakuru.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"mir28879mirror-i.jpeg"},{"src":"tra560101transmut.jpeg"}]},{"text":"Crossover 5 cards will also always be a big get as Batman, since you can Ninjutsu them and retain the VP you gained from buying them, no harm no foul, so that\u2019s something else to keep in mind. Honorable mention: Bane (3) or The Joker (3) can be slotted into Adam\u2019s slot for the team mentioned above, though they don\u2019t have VP retention. Same for Starfire Promo (2) filling in for Deathstroke in the event he's taken away from you. Constantine (2) + Zatanna Zatara 12 (3) can let you play cards off the top of your deck for profit. Chameleon Boy (2) + Martian Manhunter (3) can also let you unleash a Hero and Villain playing jamboree with lineup-playing shenanigans."},{"header":"NIGHTWING (TIER 1)"},{"image":[{"src":"nig567146nightwin.jpg"},{"caption":""}]},{"text":"Onto our friend Tricky Dick (Grayson, that is). With Nightwing\u2019s ability errata\u2019d for cube to affect cards from any Crossover set (rather than just Crossover 8), the name of the game is ramp! For the low cost of a single tier point, you can do your part of creating a full-blown ramp team for the first time in three seasons, this time at a different tier breakdown of 3+2+1. Let\u2019s have a look at what we\u2019re working with\u2026"},{"header":"THE FLASH (TIER 2) + DONNA TROY (TIER 3)"},{"double":[{"src":"the532326the-flas.jpeg"},{"src":"don377147donna-tr.jpeg"}]},{"text":"With this configuration, you can dig your way to double and even TRIPLE cost reductions in the main deck. Any Defense or Crossover card that enters the lineup is already being purchased at -1, and the dream will truly be realized if you manage to Flash out a card that\u2019s both Defense AND from a Crossover set! Let\u2019s have a look at some examples below:"},{"double":[{"src":"ast307564astro-ha.jpeg"},{"src":"bat691319batcycle.jpg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"gir32936girder-4.jpeg"},{"src":"lib60939liberty-.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"sca286621scandal-.jpeg"},{"src":"sha454141shado-4-.jpeg"}]},{"text":"In addition to all of this, even if Defenses aren't flipping out for you, Nightwing has the capability of reducing big game cards for you at no cost to the rest of your team, such as Phasing, Mystic Bolts, The Owlship and its ilk, Abra Kadabra, Mother Box, Million Monkey Maneuver, and many more! Honorable mention: Swap out Donna Troy for The Comedian (3) if Villains are your thing, but be warned that there are currently only two legal Crossover Attack cards (Scythe and Bane CO8). Onto the Tier 2s (the most common tier at a majority of given tables):"},{"header":"RED HOOD (TIER 2)"},{"image":[{"src":"red776975red-hood.jpg"},{"caption":""}]},{"text":"The man known as Jason Todd already provides one thing that\u2019s now unique to DCDB: this is the first time that the character has been represented as an MC, which is pretty exciting. His ability is extremely straightforward utility, similarly to Starfire from Teen Titans Go. It can be difficult to find synergy between Super Powers and Villains at times, but thankfully, one long overlooked character has got us covered:"},{"header":"LIGHTNING LAD (TIER 2) + RAVEN (TIER 2)"},{"double":[{"src":"lig268459lightnin.jpeg"},{"src":"rav283118raven-mc.jpeg"}]},{"text":"I personally always felt that Raven from Teen Titans was one of the more undersung Main Characters in cube, mostly due to the fact that she can have really big turns, but she never really had a great utility partner that could make sure those turns could consistently happen. With Red Hood, those worries are all but gone now. There\u2019s a lot of different plays you can make with a team like this, with this being the most common line:"},{"list":[{"listType":"bullet"},{"caption":"Start your turn by playing a Villain and granting Time Travel to a card of cost 4 or less in the lineup with Lightning Lad (Bonus points if it\u2019s also a Super Power or Villain)."},{"caption":"Discard a card from your hand to play the indicated card from the lineup. This can help you setup one or both of your other characters."},{"caption":"If the card you play is a Super Power, great! Use Red Hood to destroy a pesky Starter or Weakness in your hand."}]},{"text":"If the card you play with Lightning Lad is a Villain, even better! Use Raven to return a Super Power from your discard pile to your hand, or buy a Kick or different Super Power from the lineup to have a similarly big turn, then play that card to use Red Hood and destroy a pesky Starter or Weakness in your hand. Bonus points if you discard a Super Power as your Time Travel enabler for additional value! Having access to a Time Travel character is also great because it allows you access to easy cheating for free VP by stealing Ongoing cards from the lineup. This is especially great for cards like Lady Vic and Molecular Vibration that will already be providing synergy for you. Here is a list of some synergistic cards that you should always be on the lookout for: "},{"double":[{"src":"bla303772blank-cr.jpeg"},{"src":"for625785force-fi.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"ine45191inertia-.jpeg"},{"src":"lad922352lady-vic.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"mil273936million-.jpg"},{"src":"mol890711molecula.jpeg"}]},{"text":"This team also tends to get some of the best use out of the much-maligned Ongoing starting Super Villains: Vandal Savage and Slade Wilson. These are always great for Raven and Red Hood to have in play because you\u2019ll only need to play one card in order to enable either of them. The same can be said for either version of Terra later in the game."},{"double":[{"src":"sla41209slade-wi.jpeg"},{"src":"van132729vandal-s.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"ter344295terra-10.jpeg"},{"src":"ter624139terra-sv.jpeg"}]},{"text":"Overall, I think Red Hood is going to end up being one of my favorite characters this season to play. For someone who\u2019s type committed, he arguably has the easiest time of getting where he wants to go faster than most others do, thanks to the presence of Kicks and Super Villains. I can\u2019t wait to see what some of the rest of you can come up with! Honorable mentions: Swap out Lightning Lad for The Flash C4 (2) or Superman 9 (2) if you want some additional consistency for your card types at the expense of easy VP gains from playing Ongoing cards from the lineup. Wonder Woman BS (2) also works if you want additional draw power, but you\u2019ll need a higher critical mass of Villains overall."},{"header":"ROBIN (TIER 2)"},{"image":[{"src":"rob199895robin-co.jpg"},{"caption":""}]},{"text":"The Boy Wonder is back! This time, he\u2019s doing everything he can to be much more cost effective, because that\u2019s what he\u2019s pushing for: cost! All of those cheap 2-cost cards that you want to flood your deck in the early game with like Defenses and conditional draw spells? Turns out Robin makes sure that they\u2019re always putting in work for you. So what does being cost effective mean in this case? In this instance, I recommend pushing for a team that wants to go heavy on cost synergy, such as:"},{"header":"SKITTER (TIER 1) + DOCTOR FATE (TIER 3)"},{"double":[{"src":"ski938744skitter-.jpeg"},{"src":"doc935257doctor-f.jpeg"}]},{"text":"The synergy here is apparent, but tricky. First and foremost, buy any 2-cost you see; doesn\u2019t matter what it is, just buy it. This is already something you should be doing as Doctor Fate anyway, but in this case, Robin will allow you to dig for your other costs so you can have a bigger turn, particularly common 3-costs like Kicks. In the case of Skitter, the more different 2s that you can get, the better, especially if they\u2019re Ongoings."},{"double":[{"src":"bat862801batmobil.jpeg"},{"src":"bum253461bumblebe.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"giz388249gizmo-.jpeg"},{"src":"gra65323grapple-.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"gyp469670gypsy-.jpeg"},{"src":"zoo64944zoo-keep.jpeg"}]},{"text":"Be sure to grab any 1-costs that you can as well, though there are very few of them, so that may prove difficult. 4-costs will also be important to your chains for Fate, but any turn where you can have two different non-Ongoing of each 2-costs and 3-costs is going to result in +5 Power (2 from Fate, and 3 from Skitter). Be sure to stock up on those draw spells while you\u2019re at it so you can go really big with your turns! Honorable mentions: Mirror Master can also provide great turns similarly to Doctor Fate, plus you get Teamwork to go with it, but you lose the reliability of the Kick stack since Mirror Master doesn\u2019t want many Super Powers. I\u2019m also pretty certain there\u2019s a Robin + Black Lightning configuration somewhere that I can\u2019t find, so let that be one for the lab. Finally, onto the cap of our day: the new Tier 3 characters!"},{"header":"CATWOMAN (TIER 3)"},{"image":[{"src":"cat891945catwoman.jpg"},{"caption":""}]},{"text":"Having been pegged early on as the best and most versatile of the Crossover 8 characters, there isn\u2019t much I can say in regards to Catwoman that will properly do her justice in the eyes of many players, but I\u2019ll do my best to showcase her without being redundant. She\u2019s the kind of character that doesn\u2019t add much power to your current turn, but she does do an excellent job of setting up your upcoming turns (similar to Ozymandias). The major difference with her is that she interacts with the discard pile rather than the top of your deck, plus she ensures that you won\u2019t be drawing those cards on your next turn. She fits pretty well with any number of characters, but today, I\u2019ve chosen to focus on one specifically: "},{"header":"KALIBAK (TIER 3)"},{"image":[{"src":"kal82016kalibak-.jpeg"},{"caption":""}]},{"text":"If you desire draw power galore in the mid and late game, then this may be the team for you. Catwoman does a great job in making sure that Kalibak has to hold onto as few Starters as possible for his turn, which will eventually lead to turns where you can end your turn by seeing 8 cards and customizing them for even better hands. By this point, the hands you have should almost always be able to optimize themselves, as there\u2019s no real reason to play Punches unless you have to buy something insane like a Super Villain. Cards to be on the search for include your typical bombs for Kalibak. Some examples include:"},{"double":[{"src":"aza63761azarath-.jpeg"},{"src":"bet226147beta-clu.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"jet69275jetpack-.jpeg"},{"src":"nin322935ninja-cl.jpg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"pow92424power-of.jpeg"},{"src":"the87915the-peng.jpeg"}]},{"text":"Just treat these as more ways to get rid of Starters you don\u2019t want for free value so you can obtain your goal faster. Destruction cards should also be at the top of your list so you can ensure that you\u2019ll never have to see them again. You shouldn\u2019t have to look too far to find them either. Honorable mentions: Arsenal also pairs with Catwoman quite well, with the only small downside being the fact that you can\u2019t destroy a card using his ability on the first turn of the game, and you also need to watch out for annoying early game attacks like Harley Quinn and Maash. "},{"header":"RED ROBIN (TIER 3)"},{"image":[{"src":"red20538red-robi.jpg"},{"caption":""}]},{"text":"For the end of our long-traveled road today, we have a new Red Robin. Upon first glance, he already draws many similarities to an often-played tournament character in Beast Boy from Teen Titans Go only with a different type of commitment. In this case, Equipment can often be relied on for being cheap and efficient, but the downside is that it isn\u2019t always available similarly to how Super Powers are going to be. So how do we mitigate that? Well, it might be tough, but we have the option of pairing him up with someone who gets better use out of a type that\u2019s more widely available while also making the Equipment we already want even more powerful. Presenting:"},{"text":"CYBORG (TIER 3)"},{"image":[{"src":"cyb581666cyborg-m.jpeg"},{"caption":""}]},{"text":"The classic and arguably most complete Tier 3 character in all of cube, Cyborg can pair well with just about anyone. The upside he can provide someone like Red Robin is the ability to buy a Kick or other Super Power in the event that Equipment is unavailable and acquiring additional Power to (hopefully) ramp to the larger Equipment that\u2019s stuck in the lineup before anyone else can, along with even more draw potential for the Equipment that you are able to obtain. I\u2019ve seen the team in action, and it\u2019s pretty amazing how reliably this team can go off with as little as even one Equipment. You just get to have so much draw flexibility this way, not to mention the ability to play out of the discard pile. Here are some key Equipment cards that you\u2019ll probably never want to pass over due to big turn potential: "},{"double":[{"src":"aer241937aero-dis.jpeg"},{"src":"bla866553blaster-.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"clo871948cloak-of.jpeg"},{"src":"det967949detonato.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"ele863976element-.jpeg"},{"src":"esc255873escrima-.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"war513804warhorse.jpg"},{"src":"whi189694white-la.jpeg"}]},{"text":"Lots of combo potential here. Don\u2019t forget to subscribe to additional Equipment synergy like Black Manta and Wonder of the Knight while you\u2019re at it."},{"double":[{"src":"bla66510black-ma.jpeg"},{"src":"won648373wonder-o.jpeg"}]},{"text":"Honorable mentions: Batman (Base Set) forces you even more into the type, but losing out on consistency can hinder the flow of your deck at the cost of power, but the ceiling is certainly high. 3 Equipment in a turn will usually outshine Cyborg. Playable partners also exist throughout the Tier 1s and 2s with a wide range of characters like Katana, Star Sapphire, Cosmic Boy, Wonder Girl, and others."},{"header":"GORILLA GRODD Promo (TIER 2)"},{"image":[{"src":"gor841218gorilla-.jpg"},{"caption":""}]},{"text":"Surprise! We\u2019ve got us a bonus round! Grodd managed to eek his way in via being an easy-to-obtain promo, which is something of a rarity given the history of DCDB. On paper, Grodd\u2019s ability looks like just another discard outlet, which it certainly is that, but the big ape has an affinity for pushing the cost of his ability. He\u2019s very similar to Chameleon Boy in his application, except he sacrifices versatility for the capability of going bigger. Discarding to play the same cost or 1 greater doesn\u2019t quite give you the reach that you need to, say, counter a Swamp Thing player, but it can let you do a lot of things with a team like this:"},{"header":"BATGIRL HU (TIER 2) + MISTER MIRACLE (2)"},{"double":[{"src":"bat405516batgirl-.jpeg"},{"src":"mis786445mister-m.jpeg"}]},{"text":"This is a bit of a synergy push we\u2019ve got going here, but the team can also create a lot of solid plays. Batgirl and Grodd both serve as discard outlets to use with Mister Miracle, and you can reuse a Punch and a card for Grodd on subsequent turns to spike the lineup, plus get a free draw with the Punch. Typical lines might look something like: - Discarding a card with Grodd to play a card in the lineup, stacking the discarded card with Miracle, then discarding a Punch with Batgirl to draw the card you stacked (for a big turn) - Discarding a Punch to draw a card, stacking the Punch for next turn if you\u2019re low on them for your deck, then discarding a card with Grodd to play a card in the lineup for a big turn, so you have both Batgirl and Grodd optimally setup for next turn; this play is especially good if you\u2019re using a Defense to play a lineup card so you can have a Defense next turn to avoid pesky attacks. There\u2019s a lot to toy around with here, and be sure to lookout for cards that synergize well with Mister Miracle."},{"double":[{"src":"amn526246amnesty-.jpeg"},{"src":"jer951728jervis-t.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"mis50920mister-m.jpeg"},{"src":"tam658349tamaran-.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"the470254the-hour.jpeg"},{"src":"whi888527whirlwin.jpeg"}]},{"text":"Honorable mention: feel free to swap out Mister Miracle for Deadshot if you manage to catch other players drafting discard-based teams so that you can get more value. Harley and Grodd would also make a classic pairing, though I\u2019m not so much on the lack of synergy with a potential Mother Box acquisition, so it could be a hard sell over running her with Beast Boy, Chameleon Boy, or one of the Batgirls. "},{"header":"dcdb tournament series"},{"text":"Don't forget the first DCDB tournament of the new season is tomorrow!&nbsp; This will give everyone their first shot at playing with the new set and showing off their best teams.&nbsp; Details can be found here: https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/events\/758742907932690\/"},{"header":"conclusion"},{"text":"Phew\u2026 now that was a lot of content. I\u2019m aware that some of these teams may come off as obvious to some DCDB players, and if so, that\u2019s cool. Great minds think alike and all. I can\u2019t wait to see what other teams players will come up with. Until next time, take care, everyone, and have a great season!"}]