[{"text":"Hello everyone, Coiser and renoramen are here to bring you the hottest DCDB tech!&nbsp; We've worked together on this team the last few weeks and are ready to share our thoughts on it."},{"header":"meet the team"},{"double":[{"src":"bla9660black-li.jpg"},{"src":"rob699551robin-co.jpg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"pow616408power-gi.jpeg"},{"src":"car51105card-bac.jpg"}]},{"header":"core strategy"},{"text":"The core of this team is Black Lightning + Robin, with the plan being to pick up some one and two cost cards, then recur them by discarding Starters.&nbsp; With just under 20% of the main deck consisting of one and two cost cards, your opponents will find themselves fighting an uphill battle if they plan on cutting you out of them.&nbsp; Furthermore, there are some cheap cards that are flat out useless to some teams, so they might be hurting themselves more by trying to keep cards away from you then to just let you have them.&nbsp; As we'll see, that's good for us, because it makes the team harder to cut. Knowing the core members of the team, we can see a good bit of our plan revolves around discarding Starters.&nbsp; These Starters in turn ensure that we have a steady supply of Punches to be returned with Power Girl, making her an excellent choice for rounding out the team."},{"header":"common plays"},{"text":"Before we get to in-depth, let's showcase a common opening for this team:"},{"list":[{"listType":"bullet"},{"caption":"Turn 1: Buy a Kick."},{"caption":"Turn 2: Discard 3 cards to pickup the Kick, then play it and pickup a Punch."}]},{"text":"With this opening, any Vulns we're able to discard result in a net power gain for us by giving us immediate access to the Kick we bought on turn 1.&nbsp; Instead of say 2 Punches &amp; 1 Vuln, we now have 1 Kick and 1 Punch, for an overall gain of 1 Power.&nbsp; We'll now have more power and can hopefully pick up a more powerful card, or two cheaper cards."},{"header":"cheap cards - the worst of the worst"},{"text":"As mentioned before, scouring the list of one and two cost cards yields some pretty narrow cards.&nbsp; Cards which other teams will often pass up, even when they are actively trying to cut you.&nbsp; Some of these include:"},{"double":[{"src":"bla438592blaster-.jpeg"},{"src":"esc547824escrima-.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"gri384322grid-.jpeg"},{"src":"vib497891vibe-.jpeg"}]},{"text":"Even the most ruthless people trying to cut you out of the game will likely pass on these cards, allowing you to pick up some cards that we can use for value."},{"header":"CHEAP CARDS - Getting Better"},{"text":"This next list is comprised of inexpensive cards you'll happily pick up, but others will be more likely to cut from you at any point of the game."},{"double":[{"src":"bum5948bumblebe.jpeg"},{"src":"r02715247r02-cons.jpg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"leg923937legion-f.jpeg"},{"src":"two306261two-face.jpeg"}]},{"header":"CHEAP CARDS - The Cream of the Crop"},{"text":"Cards in this category are made up of cards that will let you dominate the game.&nbsp; While being able to amass cards from the other categories above goes well towards winning, picking up any cards in this category begins to solidify your lead, especially if you pick them up in the early stages of the game."},{"double":[{"src":"acr9620acrobati.jpeg"},{"src":"bat804574batmobil.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"har516701harley-q.jpeg"},{"src":"gia655754giant-gr.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"giz378276gizmo-.jpeg"},{"src":"sol718807solstice.jpeg"}]},{"header":"team philosophy"},{"text":"This is one of the few teams where you can get by with little to no destruction.&nbsp; Being able to convert Vulns and Weaknesses into real cards is a nicety not shared by many teams.&nbsp; The overall idea is to build up a large deck, so that we shuffle as few times as possible.&nbsp; We need cards in our discard pile so we can recur the with Black Lightning.&nbsp; Once we get to that point, we can begin a cycle where we pick up our best cards each turn with BL, play them to return Punches with Power Girl and draw cards with Robin.&nbsp; After that we discard those Punches to pick up more cards and keep going through our discard pile. "},{"header":"synergistic cards for the team"},{"text":"Here's an assortment of cards to keep an eye out for.&nbsp; These cards each work with your team in their own unique ways and help make sure you come out of each game in the winners circle."},{"double":[{"src":"r02405839r02-aris.jpg"},{"src":"dau422672daughter.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"esc880870escrima-.jpeg"},{"src":"jum290314jump-cit.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"mis294579mister-m.jpeg"},{"src":"sha210656shadow-t.jpeg"}]},{"header":"don&#39;t forget power girl"},{"image":[{"src":"pow368187power-gi.jpeg"},{"caption":""}]},{"text":"Savy readers will notice we haven't touched on Power Girl yet.&nbsp; That's because the core of the team is built upon the interaction between Robin and Black Lightning.&nbsp; But that isn't enough to guarantee us first place, so the DCDB gods gave us Power Girl to make sure we get there!&nbsp; For this article we're going to concentrate on Power Girl because of her unlimited capacity to return Punches."},{"header":"super powers"},{"text":"Since turn one, we have been graced with the presence of the Kick stack, and what better way to abuse it then with Power Girl.&nbsp; On top of the plethora of cards we just mentioned, we can also happily pick up any Super Powers that come our way.&nbsp; Just as a sampling, here's a few certain to excite the Lightning Ninja in you:"},{"double":[{"src":"eid19599eidetic-.jpeg"},{"src":"pow781430power-of.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"tel462473telepath.jpeg"},{"src":"wat849480water-co.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"whi149637whirlwin.jpeg"},{"src":"xra180885xray-vis.jpeg"}]},{"text":"Some quick notes for each of these because their utility is maybe not as readily apparent as some of the other cards we've discussed so far:"},{"list":[{"listType":"bullet"},{"caption":"Eidetic Memory: With Robin we're already drawing one per turn. Coupled with the assortment of two-cost cards that do nothing except &#34;draw a card&#34;, you'll need to put this card on a record player."},{"caption":"Power of the Green: Often an alternately named Kick, occasionally when you buy an Ongoing you can return this from your discard pile to put it directly into play."},{"caption":"Telepathy: For those turns when you couldn't reset your deck, this offers you a means to discard a Punch and then pick it back up with Power Girl."},{"caption":"Water Control: Defenses will always come in handy, and one that provides fuel for Robin & Black Lightning is great."},{"caption":"Whirlwind: A great card to fetch from your discard pile when you drew a hand full of Starters."},{"caption":"X-Ray Vision: The utility from revealing a card that triggers Robin or Power Girl is real."}]},{"header":"1-cost cards"},{"text":"Not much really worth saying here.&nbsp; 1-cost cards are few and far between, so just buy every one you can and return it to draw with Robin.&nbsp; Blank is the worst of the bunch, strangely enough due to its having Ongoing so we can't do it every turn."},{"double":[{"src":"acr675535acrobati.jpeg"},{"src":"bla641931blank-cr.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"hum639956hummingb.jpeg"},{"src":"mon999225monkichi.jpg"}]},{"header":"pesky attacks"},{"text":"Many of the cheap Attacks have specific phrasing that makes them more useful at some times than other.&nbsp; This teams ability to return those cards to hand as needed makes them solid contenders as well.&nbsp; As with one-cost cards in general, there aren't many of these style Attacks, but due to their inherent low power they might get passed up by some teams, allowing you to pick them up.&nbsp; We recommend sticking mostly with two-cost Attacks so you can get some synergy with Robin."},{"double":[{"src":"dea377519deadshot.jpeg"},{"src":"har563675harley-q.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"r02290584r02-maas.jpg"},{"src":"car628366card-bac.jpg"}]},{"header":"pro plays"},{"text":"Now that we have a good understanding of how the team operates and what cards to look for, here's some play tips to help you get going with the team. The strategy of the team is to keep all your Starters and 5+ cost cards hidden inside your deck while you keep a bomb two-cost card in your discard pile to provide you with a toolbox of options and additional draws. An ideal turn two consists of buying a card, then discarding two cards to return a two-cost card to your hand, and then play it, forcing you to shuffle and draw one card. This will reset your deck so that you can make the same play again on future turns as well as have a two-cost card ready to return again on turn three (along with any other Black Lightning targets you find along the way).&nbsp; You don't always get a two-cost on turn 1, but keep this in mind for when you do. Pick up every Batmobile effect you can.&nbsp; Being able to reset your hand every turn and draw an extra card with Robin is well worth the price of admission."},{"double":[{"src":"bat926264batmobil.jpeg"},{"src":"r02884108r02-b-dg.jpg"}]},{"text":"A combo that comes in many forms is Kick + Solstice. Discard your typical 5-card hand to pick them up.&nbsp; Then play the Kick and get back a Punch with Power Girl.&nbsp; Next Play Solstice and draw two cards (one for Solstice and one for Robin).&nbsp; At this point we have a 3 power (Kick + Solstice) and three cards in hand (Punch + 2 unknown cards).&nbsp; Those three can then return another card (possibly a Super Power to trigger Power Girl again, etc) and keep the chain going."},{"double":[{"src":"kic469869kick-.jpeg"},{"src":"sol125515solstice.jpeg"}]},{"text":"A few cards reward you for being cognizant of the cards in your deck, and when played proficiently these can lead to big turns."},{"double":[{"src":"tul452809tula-con.jpeg"},{"src":"ya-848377ya-wara-.jpeg"}]},{"text":"We didn't touch on it, because its so straightforward, but any two-cost cantrip is effectively The Fastest Man Alive; an effect whose cost starts at five.&nbsp; Play Johnny to draw, and then draw again with Robin.&nbsp; Welcome to easy street."},{"double":[{"src":"joh601591johnny-q.jpeg"},{"src":"the47304the-fast.jpeg"}]},{"text":"We gave Blank a hard time earlier, and complained of his having Ongoing as being a detriment to us.&nbsp; Bumblebee is somewhat in the same boat, but has a hidden element that can easily bee missed.&nbsp; Leave Bumblebee in play as a safe haven for turns when you have to shuffle.&nbsp; At the start of your turn discard her for power and now you have a two-cost card you can return with Black Lightning and then use to draw with Robin.&nbsp; There are worse uses for two Vulns.&nbsp; Molecular Vibration is in a similar boat due to its synergy with Power Girl."},{"double":[{"src":"bum105422bumblebe.jpeg"},{"src":"mol995473molecula.jpeg"}]},{"header":"opponent&#39;s trying to ruin your plans"},{"text":"As noted before, some players will try to cut you on two cost cards.&nbsp; With so many of them in the deck, hopefully you'll manage to pick up a few over the course of the game.&nbsp; Even picking up a mid-game Tula can suddenly turn the game around for you.&nbsp; Don't give up hope if the player before you is cutting you, as that correlates to more lineup options for you and perhaps you can just pick up a powerful Super Power that functions just fine with Power Girl."},{"header":"counter pick"},{"text":"This team has a love hate relationship when playing against a Darkseid team (you can read about that team here: https:\/\/www.dcdeckbuilding.com\/article.php?id=10886), in that we love to play in front of it, and hate to play after it."},{"double":[{"src":"dar700714darkseid.jpeg"},{"src":"dea960149deathstr.jpeg"}]},{"text":"Astute players will readily see the struggle between these two teams as each attempts to acquire all the cheap cost cards they can. Darkseid just wants to destroy them while we want to put them to good use! Keep this in mind during the draft so you don't end up on the wrong side of the equation. Here's a few other notable matchup notes to keep in mind:"},{"list":[{"listType":"bullet"},{"caption":"Skitter: Signaling they want cheap cards; similar to the Darkseid matchup, we'll happily draft this team after them and buy them all up. "},{"caption":"Dr. Manhattan: A signal they will be a Super Power heavy team, playing this team ahead of them means you can give them some headaches when you pick Power Girl."},{"caption":"Golden Glider: They thrive on high power, very efficient cards. Meanwhile our deck is packed full of Starters and cards they would generally consider garbage. We'll happily take a VP so they can play our Construct Beast."},{"caption":"Killer Frost: Their ability to control the lineup can cause you some early headaches...be wary."}]},{"header":"potential partners"},{"text":"Because the base of the shell is Black Lightning + Robin, how you spend your other two tier points is up to you.&nbsp; We've presented a case for Power Girl due to her ability to repeatedly recur Punches (sometimes even the same Punch over and over during the same turn), but here's a few ideas for other candidates that can complete the team."},{"double":[{"src":"dea876649deadshot.jpeg"},{"src":"red77185red-torn.jpeg"}]},{"header":"conclusion"},{"text":"Having tested this team for the last few weeks, we've caught ourselves numerous times saying something to the effect of &#34;I have so many options right now...which to pick&#34; along with &#34;its gotta be impossible to play this team perfectly&#34;! If you're looking for a competitive team that is challenging while rewarding high level play then look no further, this is the team for you!"}]