[{"text":"Hello everyone.&nbsp; As I was brainstorming on which team I wanted to showcase for our next article I kept coming back to Aquaman + Vixen.&nbsp; At first glance, the team appears quite straightforward; however as I'm hoping you'll see as we go along, the decisions you have to make can often be anything but that.&nbsp; First let's get properly introduced to our team:"},{"header":"aquaman (tier 3) + Vixen (tier 3)"},{"double":[{"src":"aqu295686aquaman-.jpeg"},{"src":"vix61990vixen-mc.jpeg"}]},{"text":"Hailing all the way back from the Base Set, Aquaman is one of the best accelerants the game has seen.&nbsp; For the most part, the best starting hands max out at 5 Power, which is perfect for Aquaman as it means you can stack anything you buy on turn 1.&nbsp; His ability isn't restricted to only cards from the lineup either, so as long as it's your turn then anything you buy or gain is fair game for him to put on top of your deck, which helps make him very consistent. Vixen has joined us more recently, and her ability is often anything but reliable.&nbsp; She has a plethora of different abilities depending on the type of card on top of your deck, but she tends to substantially under perform because she provides no benefit for Starters, which is statistically the type you are most likely to reveal, at least during the early turns of the game when it really counts. Herein lies the 'match made in heaven' where Aquaman gives us perfect information about the top card of our deck so that we can make well informed decisions and better take advantage of Vixen's abilities.&nbsp; Since Aquaman is relatively straight forward, we'll concentrate on Vixen in this article since she will be the star that carries the team."},{"header":"vixen&#39;s abilities"},{"image":[{"src":"vix647834vixen-mc.jpeg"},{"caption":""}]},{"text":"The inspiration to write this article stems from what I believe to be a misconception of how to best utilize Vixen.&nbsp; While the idea of how best to construct your deck will always change from player to player, I'll offer a few examples to help clarify my intent."},{"header":"heroes and\/or Super Powers"},{"text":"Note: By titling these sections as &#34;Type X (and\/or Type Y)&#34; we mean anything that triggers Aquaman, so predominately any buying or gaining of cards with cost five or less of the stated type during your turn. Perhaps a good way to begin this section is by a case study in gameplay.&nbsp;&nbsp;I have seen this play error made countless times, so it can be worth reviewing. Let's assume it's the first turn of the game and you have 3 punches &amp; 2 Vulns.&nbsp; The only card you can afford to buy from the Line-Up is an Catwoman, or you can buy a Kick from the Kick stack."},{"double":[{"src":"cat265266catwoman.jpeg"},{"src":"kic456794kick-.jpeg"}]},{"text":"You are invited to pause reading for a moment and figure out what you'd do in this situation. Often enough, I witness the following sequence unfold:"},{"list":[{"listType":"bullet"},{"caption":"Play three Punches = +3 Power"},{"caption":"Buy and stack Kick with Aquaman"},{"caption":"Reveal the Kick with Vixen; Draw it"},{"caption":"Play the Kick = +2 Power"},{"caption":"Buy and stack Catwoman with Aquaman"},{"caption":"Pass turn"}]},{"text":"This method results in you gaining 2 VP on turn 1 (a great start for any team), and your second turn will be even better as you stacked a +2 Power Hero for next turn.&nbsp; The player feels great as well and is starting to understand why the team is so good. Unfortunately we've just played the first turn incorrectly, and we can already begin to feel the game slipping away from us.&nbsp; But wait, we just gained every card we could on turn one, along with using both our MCs; what else could we possibly have done Let's rewind and take it from the top:"},{"list":[{"listType":"bullet"},{"caption":"Play two Punches = +2 Power"},{"caption":"Buy and stack Catwoman with Aquaman"},{"caption":"Reveal the Catwoman with Vixen; +2 Power"},{"caption":"Play our final Punch = +3 Power"},{"caption":"Buy and stack Kick with Aquaman"},{"caption":"Pass turn"}]},{"text":"We gained the same 2VP on turn 1 as we did before, but now instead of our Kick being in our discard pile (where we likely won't draw it for a few turns) its on top of our deck, and will be in our hand on turn 2, for 2 power more than we had with the previous line.&nbsp; Instead of our hand being 4 Starters + Kick it will be 3 Starters + Catwoman + Kick, giving us a better second turn than we would have had with the previous line of play. I have seen this happen time after time in tournament level play, and it's worthy of repeated study to help make sure you never make this mistake."},{"header":"Villains"},{"text":"I typically offer a word of caution to players about Villains, because they can be a double-edged sword with Vixen.&nbsp; They seem so enticing, and their lines of play are very straight forward:"},{"image":[{"src":"bla499953black-ma.jpeg"},{"caption":""}]},{"list":[{"listType":"bullet"},{"caption":"Turn 1, Play 3 Punches: +3 Power"},{"caption":"Buy and stack Black Manta"},{"caption":"Reveal to Vixen; Destroy a Vuln in Hand"},{"caption":"Pass turn"}]},{"text":"Any team that can consistently destroy Starters the first few turns of the game is worth testing.&nbsp; Here we've got a Vuln out of our deck (meaning we never have to draw it again) and our second turn will be good since we stacked a +2 Power card. To make matters even better, let's say that another villain flips out on our second turn, and we repeat the buy-stack-destroy process and rid ourselves of another Vuln.&nbsp; We have two vulns out of our deck on turn 2, what's not to love?!&nbsp;"},{"header":"the blind reveal"},{"text":"Problems from buying Villains rarely come up in the early game.&nbsp; It typically becomes a problem starting around the mid-game, and players shrug it off as being unlucky.&nbsp; This typically comes in the form of being a power short of buying the boss, or a really good card in the lineup.&nbsp; Let's look at a potential scenario.&nbsp; Here's the Line-Up:"},{"double":[{"src":"aza642313azarath-.jpeg"},{"src":"roy116701royal-fl.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"pow981977power-ar.jpeg"},{"src":"nin414144ninja-cl.jpg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"min580228mind-con.jpeg"},{"src":"car680174card-bac.jpg"}]},{"text":"And here's your hand to begin the turn:"},{"image":[{"src":"kic503525kick-.jpeg"},{"caption":""}]},{"text":"Right away we see that we have 7 Power and we can buy Mind-Control Hat and pass the turn.&nbsp; Since it costs seven we can't stack it with Aquaman, and if we just pass the turn we're not using either Aquaman or Vixen, so that doesn't seem right... Its turns like these that lead us to the 'Blind Reveal'.&nbsp; A blind reveal means that you are using Vixen's ability when you don't know what the top card of your deck is; you are taking a chance that it could be anything. Maybe we'll hit that Skeets we bought earlier in the game and we can buy The Flash (the starting SV)!&nbsp; If nothing else we'll hit our other Hero or Kick and have enough for Power Armor and if it's just a Starter, then no harm done, we'll just buy the Hat and pass the turn as we had originally planned to do.&nbsp; Then it happens... and you begin your turn with a harmless Vixen blind, showing:"},{"image":[{"src":"bla117474black-ma.jpeg"},{"caption":""}]},{"text":"This forces you to Destroy a card in your hand (no doubt you will choose to Destroy a Punch).&nbsp; The outcome of this is rather bleak.&nbsp; We're down to six power and we've already used Vixen so we'll be getting no more help from Aquaman\/Vixen shenanigans this turn.&nbsp; A quick check of the Line-Up shows us that the best we can do this turn is buy a 1VP card and pass. Herein lies the 'Villain Trap' with Vixen: the early game destroys are great, and make all your future turns that much better... until they don't.&nbsp; This happening is one of the worst outcomes, and although the cards involved are hypothetical, I've seen this same line of reasoning happen enough times to know that it's real. There is no way of consoling someone that follows the above sequence late in a game (perhaps they are trying to get to a 13 cost SV, and they have no zero VP cards in hand).&nbsp; Vixen is a ruthless MC, and she will Destroy a real card just as easily as a Weakness.&nbsp; I had the unfortunate task of enforcing this at the Pennslyvania Championship (https:\/\/www.dcdeckbuilding.com\/article.php?id=10902) when a player blind revealed a Villain and wanted to choose 'not to destroy' with her ability.&nbsp; Her effect is worth a re-read... as long as you have at least one card in hand you must destroy something if you reveal a Villain with her."},{"image":[{"src":"vix88399vixen-mc.jpeg"},{"caption":""}]},{"text":"There is a way around this conundrum in our previous example, and it involves the player taking the exact same line of play, except first playing out their hand prior to using Vixen.&nbsp; This removes the potential of wrecking your turn by revealing a Villain when you don't want to destroy a card (we'll consider ending the turn without at least buying Mind-Control Hat to be disastrous).&nbsp; Now you have the same line where you can potentially buy the Power Armor by revealing a Hero or Super Power, you can defeat the Super Villain with a reveal of an Equipment and you can still get the Mind Control Hat if any other card is on top. I have seen this misplay happen countless times, and it is worth practicing sufficiently with the team so that you don't make the same mistake.&nbsp; Remember to play out your hand before blind revealing if you don't want to risk having to destroy one of the cards in it."},{"header":"equipment"},{"text":"Equipment is the least universal of the card types that Vixen triggers on, because the majority of your turns do not involve defeating Super Villains.&nbsp; If we aren't beating SVs then revealing an Equipment is comparable to a Stater because it doesn't do anything.&nbsp; There will be times when you have a lackluster turn and blind reveal a Villain to destroy a Weakness, and then there are times when you blind reveal an Equipment for no value. To that end, you should prioritize other card types over Equipment for any but the most synergistic of cards.&nbsp; That includes passing on 'better Kicks' and instead just buying a Kick from the stack.&nbsp; Some Equipment that you should consider passing up for a Kick include:"},{"double":[{"src":"aqu737818aquamans.jpeg"},{"src":"r02970213r02-inte.jpg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"sec90011secret-s.jpeg"},{"src":"wat237466waterbea.jpeg"}]},{"text":"In each of these cases, unless your deck synergizes well with the card you should go ahead and buy a Kick most of the time.&nbsp; Although each is generally considered a 'better Kick', because we will inevitably blind reveal with Vixen you'll be thankful that you went for the 'worse' of the two because revealing a Kick is better than an Equipment when you can't get the SV. "},{"header":"maximizing vixen"},{"text":"Now that we've reviewed some do's and don'ts, let's look at some general guidelines: "},{"header":"purchasing cards"},{"text":"I recommend purchasing cards according to the following order: 1.) If a Hero is available, buy and stack it, then reveal it to Vixen for an immediate +2 Power (hopefully allowing you to make another purchase). Then play it next turn for double the benefit. 2.) Buy a Super Power, stack it, then reveal and draw it with Vixen, as long as you can use it to get another card this turn or somehow improve your current turn.&nbsp; Otherwise leave it on top so you can play it next turn. 3.) Buy a Villain, stack it and immediately reveal\/destroy.&nbsp; Play it next turn as normal. 4.) Buy an Equipment and stack it for next turn.&nbsp; Watch for Equipment that can provide an immediate buff next turn or that will be really good for you the turns you draw it, such as stacking a Bat-Signal in a deck full of Heroes.&nbsp; Eventually you'll blind reveal that Bat-Signal for no benefit and you'll want it to have been worth it."},{"header":"general gameplay strategy"},{"text":"As much as possible, you want your blind reveals to be 'live'.&nbsp; This means you want to be revealing a Hero or Super Power as often as possible for the bonus effects each turn, hence why those are the top two types you want to be filling your deck with.&nbsp; You will repeatedly be faced with scenarios where, if you can blind hit a Hero or Super Power with Vixen then you can beat the boss.&nbsp; This is the place you want to be more often than not, and you need to pack your deck full of the right types so you can take advantage of these chances when they arise."},{"header":"Team specific cards"},{"text":"I always try to recommend the best cards for a team, as well as some that have synergy that is maybe not readily apparent.&nbsp; A few notable ones for this team are:"},{"double":[{"src":"aqu487944aqualad-.jpeg"},{"src":"boo900109book-of-.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"cap117936captain-.jpeg"},{"src":"dea367708deadman-.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"doc219644doctor-d.jpeg"},{"src":"dr-672736dr-mid-n.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"r02988548r02-gree.jpg"},{"src":"ind3681000indigo-t.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"joh261594john-con.jpeg"},{"src":"lib897777liberty-.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"sir517387siren-co.jpeg"},{"src":"t-s492447t-sphere.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"vib804683vibe-.jpeg"},{"src":"whi28387white-la.jpeg"}]},{"header":"best cards for the team"},{"double":[{"src":"ele478809element-.jpeg"},{"src":"r0236378r02-oa.jpg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"sha909143shapeshi.jpeg"},{"src":"car314276card-bac.jpg"}]},{"text":"Its worth noting that Vixen will resolve in order and that all of her abilities apply for each type revealed, so revealing either Element Woman or Shapeshift results in the following chain of events:"},{"list":[{"listType":"bullet"},{"caption":"Revealed a Hero, +2 Power"},{"caption":"Revealed a Villain, Destroy a card in your hand"},{"caption":"Revealed an Equipment, SVs cost 3 less to Defeat"},{"caption":"Revealed a Super Power, Draw a card"}]},{"text":"Oa, while not as back breaking as the other two, is still great for the team b\/c of its ability to let you use Vixen to reveal the most beneficial card type you have access to (potentially ever turn), while completely skirting around this whole blind reveal nonsense."},{"header":"mc draft interactions"},{"text":"Since they are not a type-committed team, Aquaman\/Vixen can be resilient to counter-draft strategies, and because both of the MCs are tier three this team tends to be one of the last teams to be taken during a draft, and as such they are in a prime position to counter-draft the player drafting before them."},{"header":"playing against the team"},{"text":"There are a handful of main deck card interactions that can interact with the team, either favorably or not, that you should be aware of.&nbsp; They all generally revolve around the AquaVixen player gaining information about the top card of their deck, so thereby removing the possibility of them needing to do a blind reveal.&nbsp; A few of these are:"},{"double":[{"src":"har203778harley-q.jpeg"},{"src":"eye931474eye-beam.jpeg"}]},{"text":"Harley is one of your best tools against the team since it typically results in them having a useless type on top of their deck.&nbsp; However it's worth thinking twice before doing this if they have a Shapeshift in their discard pile, as this sets them up for a perfect turn! Eye Beams is another card that gives the AquaVixen player perfect information, and any effect like this should be targeted at another player who may not benefit from the information as much."},{"header":"conclusion"},{"text":"Whether you have experience with the team or not, if you plan on participating in any upcoming events you would be wise to prepare for it, as you'll likely see it multiple times during the event.&nbsp; Hopefully the tips I've provided here give you a strong foundation if you decide to give the team a try."}]