[{"text":"Greetings, everyone! This is LRock reporting in with an article, my first in quite some time, turns out. Today, I want to talk about one of my favorite shells from the current season. This team has technically been around for quite some time, but I\u2019ve only seen it played as recently as this season, so we\u2019re going to break down what exactly this team can do, and how they can benefit you for your next game of DC Deck Building. First, let\u2019s have a look at those abilities: "},{"double":[{"src":"cap812992captain-.jpeg"},{"src":"dea274746deadshot.jpeg"}]},{"text":"In truth, these two characters have worked well as a part of multiple different configurations for years now: Boomerang with discard pile interaction, and Deadshot with discard-from-hand interaction. So there\u2019s not much to explain about them individually, I feel, but how do they synergize? On paper, they don\u2019t. But since this is only 4 of the 6 tier points that you\u2019re allowed for your team, we have some room to work with, and we\u2019ll get to that in a moment. Let\u2019s utilize this space to go over some main deck cards that you should always be on the lookout to obtain. In Boomerang\u2019s case, any card that\u2019s worth a printed 0 VP should always be at the top of your list, since he can return those just as easily as he can a Punch, giving your deck a much bigger boost overall. Here are some examples: "},{"double":[{"src":"abr615894abra-kad.jpeg"},{"src":"air978620air-walk.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"cap548456captain-.jpeg"},{"src":"eng261504engulfin.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"pha625365phasing-.jpeg"},{"src":"roy597265royal-fl.jpeg"}]},{"text":"Be sure to prioritize obtaining at least one card that allows you to destroy cards, especially if it destroys from hand. Not only is getting rid of your starting copies of Vulnerability ever important, but the necessity spikes with Boomerang due to having to make sure that Weaknesses are kept out of your deck. He\u2019s required to return a Weakness in his discard pile over any other card."},{"double":[{"src":"ama42690amanda-w.jpeg"},{"src":"ban61356bane-4-r.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"ene217645energy-a.jpeg"},{"src":"red374489red-lant.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"sou737829soultake.jpeg"},{"src":"vic436215victor-z.jpeg"}]},{"text":"Onto Deadshot, his key cards are two-fold. In the first instance, any card that causes a player to discard a card, whether it\u2019s yourself or a foe, should be taken into consideration. Remember, Deadshot\u2019s ability can fire on any player discarding a card, on any turn, but only once per turn. Some examples include:"},{"double":[{"src":"aer222354aero-dis.jpeg"},{"src":"ine849634inertia-.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"r02864433r02-kyle.jpg"},{"src":"par102418parasite.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"r0294860r02-sine.jpg"},{"src":"tel26892telepath.jpeg"}]},{"text":"For the second instance, Deadshot is one of the best characters in the game when it comes to interacting with the top card of your deck. With proper information and scouting, you can always be in a position to get value from knowing what the top card of your deck is. Here are some examples of cards that you\u2019ll likely want to push to obtain for this purpose:"},{"double":[{"src":"dea16993deadman-.jpeg"},{"src":"hom283599homicida.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"met810128metropol.jpeg"},{"src":"mir890401mirror-i.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"nth10586nth-meta.jpeg"},{"src":"two776283two-face.jpeg"}]},{"text":"Of these examples listed, Mirror Images is particularly good for this team since it\u2019s a 0 VP card for Boomerang to return and play every turn and should be considered an outright bomb. It\u2019s a high skill card, but very high reward when played properly. Now that we\u2019ve got that all out of the way, let\u2019s look into constructing our team!"},{"header":"Potential Partners"},{"text":"For team construction, the name of the game is discarding, so we want to make sure we have a Tier 2 partner that allows us to discard cards, preferably Vulnerabilities. Both Boomerang and Deadshot have relevant interactions with the discard pile in addition to Deadshot allowing us to improve our current or future turn with a usable discard outlet. For the opening game, here\u2019s a reasonable sequence that you\u2019ll see often:"},{"list":[{"listType":"bullet"},{"caption":"Buy a Kick or 3-4 cost equivalent on your first turn"},{"caption":"Discard a Vulnerability from hand after making your purchase for no value"},{"caption":"Use Deadshot\u2019s ability to put your newly-purchased card on top of your deck for next turn"},{"caption":"Return a Punch to your hand using Boomerang\u2019s ability at the start of your second turn"},{"caption":"Congratulations! You now likely have somewhere between 6-7 Power on your second turn!"}]},{"text":"This sequence can lead to some fairly unreasonable purchases on the second turn of the game, racing your way to bombs better than most teams would be able to. However, even though discarding is the name of the game, there are a couple of characters that I would recommend avoiding as your third partner. They are as follows:"},{"header":"No Punch or Judy<div> <\/div>"},{"double":[{"src":"bat602556batgirl-.jpeg"},{"src":"mis403921mister-t.jpeg"}]},{"text":"Discarding Punches isn\u2019t where you want to be this early in the game, or probably at any point, due to how limiting it is. Think about it: on your first turn, if you have a hand of 3 copies of Punch and 2 copies of Vulnerability, you can\u2019t even put a purchased Kick on top of your deck. Avoid running either of these two unless you have something very specific in mind, or if you\u2019re just trying to get cute, and there\u2019s certainly nothing wrong with that. For our first choice of partners, I\u2019ve decided to discuss the partner with the least amount of upside, but that doesn\u2019t mean she can\u2019t provide some precision-based good turns:"},{"header":"Untapped Earnings?"},{"double":[{"src":"bat605493batgirl-.jpeg"},{"src":"car660379card-bac.jpg"}]},{"text":"Due to being a Crisis character, Batgirl Crisis has an ability with some fairly confusing wording. In layman\u2019s terms, she allows you to discard any one card from your hand once per turn. If that card is worth 1 VP or greater, you draw a card. That\u2019s all well and good, but she\u2019s definitely better for this team than her Punch-based counterpart since she can discard Vulnerabilities and Weaknesses to &#34;do nothing,&#34; which then allows Deadshot to &#34;do something.&#34; So where does she excel? Well, not many places, but she does have the potential to abuse really cheap Defenses better than the rest of the options. Any Defense of cost 2 or 3 can really do some work here, since discarding something like Katana or Construct Train to draw a card and immediately putting that same Defense for protection on the following turn or another great card with cost 5 or less with Deadshot\u2019s ability on top of the deck can lead to some invaluable protection over the long haul. If needed, she also has the ability to reshuffle the deck so that Boomerang can retain his discard pile on the following turn, which may not happen often, but it helps."},{"double":[{"src":"aer589146aerie-on.jpeg"},{"src":"bla58816black-or.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"r02610528r02-cons.jpg"},{"src":"cos612693cosmic-s.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"kat38603katana-.jpeg"},{"src":"mam360653mammoth-.jpeg"}]},{"text":"These cards should be sought after regardless of who your third partner is. But I feel as though Batgirl has the best chance of abusing them over a number of turns. Just something to keep in mind."},{"header":"Dropping Bombs"},{"double":[{"src":"bea730547beast-bo.jpeg"},{"src":"car553257card-bac.jpg"}]},{"text":"Garfield here is arguably the most popular choice to pair up with Boomerang and Deadshot, and it\u2019s not hard to see why. In addition to letting you discard Vulnerabilities for free value, the capability he has of turning your junk 2s and 3s into cards like Mystic Bolts and Iced Over every single turn will lead to some really wild plays. Beast Boy seems to always play for the high roll, but the big swing of it all is that he usually ends up getting there. All it really takes is one abusable 6-cost to throw out every turn and you\u2019re going to see him do an intense amount of work."},{"double":[{"src":"bla385847black-la.jpeg"},{"src":"cap667377captain-.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"glo94315globe-of.jpeg"},{"src":"ice39991iced-ove.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"mys488726mystic-b.jpeg"},{"src":"red777857red-robi.jpeg"}]},{"text":"In addition to free rolling 6s on a whim, don\u2019t forget that Beast Boy\u2019s ability looks for interactions of cards with the same type, so any card that can add types to another card should always be at the top of your list to obtain!"},{"double":[{"src":"ele809209element-.jpeg"},{"src":"gar545961garfield.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"ind85191indigo-t.jpeg"},{"src":"sha721795shapeshi.jpeg"}]},{"header":"Lineup Shenanigans"},{"double":[{"src":"cha34342chameleo.jpeg"},{"src":"gor447647gorilla-.jpg"}]},{"text":"For our last two entries, I\u2019ve chosen to group them together due to their similar playstyles. Both Chameleon Boy and Gorilla Grodd are trying to go big with the Lineup and can pull off some spectacular cheating plays. Who you choose is really up to your playstyle: Chameleon Boy is more versatile due to his ability to scale down, but Grodd being able to go slightly up or break even can net him some bigger hits for a reduced investment. Personally, I prefer Chameleon Boy due to the versatility and more favorable interaction with Mother Box since he would be the only Super Hero on your team, but Grodd will likely create some more interesting stories for the future. So what are these two looking to do? It\u2019s simple while also not being simple. Discarding a card to play an equivalent or similar from the Lineup will almost always pay off more due to Deadshot\u2019s ability allowing you to put a card on top of your deck immediately after, effectively setting you up to do the same thing next turn. Which means the redundancy is there, which is a good thing because that\u2019s what we want. The other fish we\u2019re trying to fry with these characters are, as with any team featuring one or both of them, Ongoings; especially Ongoings that discard themselves during your own turn."},{"double":[{"src":"aza527939azarath-.jpeg"},{"src":"bum49202bumblebe.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"det129629detonato.jpeg"},{"src":"lad304964lady-vic.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"mar65117mara-al-.jpeg"},{"src":"mol905922molecula.jpeg"}]},{"text":"Few things will ever feel better as Grodd than discarding a 6-cost to play Mara al Ghul from the Lineup and then putting it into your discard pile on the same turn. You just generated 4 Power with a big brain play AND gained 2 VP and a busted card in the process! Now that\u2019s what I like to call value! Oh, and those other cards are good hits, too. Can\u2019t forget about the cards that let us cheat other cards from the Lineup in a similar fashion!"},{"double":[{"src":"cad345831cadmus-l.jpeg"},{"src":"pla13965plasmus-.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"sil278252silent-a.jpeg"},{"src":"the769607the-hour.jpeg"}]},{"header":"Conclusion"},{"text":"For my departing words, please don\u2019t ever pass these cards if you can afford them. They\u2019re way too good for you and should be treated as such."}]