[{"text":"Greetings, friends! My handle is LRock, and I\u2019m here with the inaugural article for Season 17! Today, I\u2019ll be putting the spotlight on a character that was probably my favorite character in all of DC Deck Building prior to discovering the Cube format. Entering Cube this season as a Tier 4 character, we have\u2026 Batman 12, from Rivals 1! First things first, let\u2019s have a gander at his character card:"},{"image":[{"src":"bat424272batman-1.jpeg"},{"caption":""}]},{"text":"Okay, first of all, that artwork is sick. That\u2019s it. That\u2019s all I have to say for the first bit. Secondly, all of the props and praise go to CallmeAwe for the unban choice that will benefit the entire player base! Congratulations! Upon closer inspection of his ability, we can see that he is a very type committed character, similarly to Wildcat at the same tier. But unlike Wildcat, he\u2019s forced to be able to play two specific card types in a single turn in order for his ability to fire. Outside of specific circumstances, this is a lot harder than it sounds, plus he won\u2019t have many partners to work with as a Tier 4, but that\u2019s certainly by design and testing. When his ability does fire, he\u2019s arguably the most explosive character in the game, getting to play the best non-Location card in the lineup in addition to being able to also buy it since his ability returns it back to the lineup upon resolution. But then, you\u2019ll very likely just be beating the Super Villain anyway. After all, who wants an okay 7-cost when you can beat a Super Villain?&nbsp;"},{"header":"BEST PARTNERS?"},{"text":"Being a Tier 4 character, Batman 12 won\u2019t have access to many configurations, so we\u2019re going to be looking for characters that can augment his strengths and enable him. Because that is the goal after all. We have to let Batman be, you know, Batman. There are a couple of partners I\u2019ve decided to focus on specifically, as I think they will be the best options of enabling Batman. I\u2019ll have some honorable mentions at the end along with some pros and cons for each of those characters, but I will choose not to put primary focus on them at this time. But, who knows? Maybe one of those teams will be the highest-performing Batman 12 team in Season 17! Up first, we have someone that hasn\u2019t gotten a proper Cube spotlight since he was introduced into the fold last year:&nbsp;"},{"image":[{"src":"sup795177superman.jpg"},{"caption":""}]},{"text":"With Flash moving up to a Tier 3 this season, Superman 9 has been put in an unenviable position of cleaning up after his mess and taking the throne of the &#34;fair&#34; VP farm character. He doesn\u2019t have the ramp clause that Flash does, but Clark will do plenty of good on his own, me thinks. The synergy here is actually two-fold, which is really cool. Here\u2019s why: "},{"list":[{"listType":"bullet"},{"caption":"By getting to dig through the main deck at one extra card per turn, you\u2019ll be a lot more likely to see the Equipment and Heroes that you want in order to use Batman\u2019s ability. No reason to get hosed by someone taking the types ahead of you, right? This is the best way of increasing our chances to hit what we want. "},{"caption":"Since Superman 9 gets to have an additional card in the lineup every turn, that gives Batman 12 the opportunity at another card in the lineup that may be better than any card that\u2019s currently available to him. Imagine flipping a Doomsday or a Constructs of Fear. Sounds great, right? Well, it is, so be on the lookout for those big toys that you\u2019ll want to play with!"}]},{"text":"I\u2019m not sure if this team deserves a name yet or not, but &#34;Public Enemies&#34; or &#34;Justice League&#34; might have a nice ring to them. PROS: Offers the best chance at seeing the cards you want to buy AND be able to play during your turn en route to killing Super Villains. CONS: On turns where Batman 12 doesn\u2019t fire his ability and you don\u2019t buy one of your types, this team kinda tends to not do very much. Also, adding a card to the lineup and not buying a card from the lineup (i.e. killing a Super Villain instead) will essentially give the player after you an extra card to try to obtain, so you\u2019re helping them by helping yourself. But that\u2019s a small price, I think. For our second choice, we have someone who\u2019s also spent a bit of time with Bruce in the past:"},{"image":[{"src":"red470343red-robi.jpeg"},{"caption":""}]},{"text":"Here we have the one and only Tim Drake, who\u2019s most well-known for being the third incarnation of Robin after Dick Grayson (Nightwing) and Jason Todd (Red Hood) and would you look at that? His ability happens to have both of Batman 12\u2019s types contained within as well! What a beautiful coincidence! While this team is a bit more lineup dependent than what Superman can offer you, you\u2019ll also be trading out consistency for Power. A lot of it, in fact. The turns where you managed to utilize Red Robin\u2019s and Batman 12\u2019s abilities are just going to explode with big hits and good times. An optimal sequence would go something like this:"},{"list":[{"listType":"bullet"},{"caption":"If there\u2019s an Equipment in your discard pile, you\u2019ll want to make sure you can play two Heroes during your turn, or even better, play a Hero while controlling an Ongoing Hero for the definitive EZ MODE. If you have the chance to buy an Equipment in this circumstance without having one in your discard pile, go for it. This team\u2019s all about the combos after all!"},{"caption":"Playing a Hero(es) in this fashion will allow you to gain +1 Power and obtain said Equipment to play and enable Batman 12\u2019s ability to play the best card in the lineup for a Super Villain-beating good time!"}]},{"text":"The potential for Bruce and Tim is definitely a high ceiling, but just remember that you\u2019ll really have to believe in the power of the cards to make this one work. PROS: Both characters synergize off of the same two card types, and when one enables the other, you\u2019re going to have a massive turn of beating the Super Villain or just gaining a lot of VP. The world is pretty much your oyster. CONS: Being at -1 card in the lineup compared to using Superman 9, Red Robin is going to struggle to be a good partner if the main deck is uncooperative. You don\u2019t need much Equipment for him to be good, but you definitely are going to want a critical mass of Heroes, especially if they\u2019re Ongoing. With those two big bruisers out of the way, let\u2019s have a look at some of the cards you should always be on the hunt for."},{"header":"KEY CARDS"},{"text":"For this article, I\u2019ve chosen to categorize the cards you\u2019ll be hoping to see into some smaller sub-categories, based on how they can help you be more consistent. Because that\u2019s really what it\u2019s all about, right? Batman 12 inherently traded all of that away to be able to play a Demon Etrigan in the lineup every turn."},{"header":"The best"},{"double":[{"src":"ele805787element-.jpeg"},{"src":"gar865350garfield.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"sha191381shapeshi.jpeg"},{"src":"car336180card-bac.jpg"}]},{"text":"All right, let\u2019s get one thing straight\u2026 don\u2019t ever pass these cards. Ever. I\u2019m serious when I state that I would probably take any of these cards over a Super Villain. Per Batman 12\u2019s ability, you only need to play a Hero and an Equipment to fire it. The kicker is that there\u2019s no clause stating that you have to play them as separate cards! Snatch up one of these grand slams and you\u2019re getting to use one of the most powerful abilities in the game by playing only a single card! What is there to lose?? Garfield Logan is a special case. This card is a straight up bomb for Batman 12 regardless of who your partner is, because similarly to how Element Woman and Shapeshift work, Garfield can add a card type to a card that you play, which means you can play an Equipment that\u2019s also a Hero, and vice versa. The only real downside there is having to draw one or the other, but that still cuts the work in half, which is huge. Red Robin gets extra swag here since it\u2019s also a Hero with Ongoing, and it can allow him to play any card on his turn as a Hero, which then allows you to retrieve an Equipment from the bin. Don\u2019t forget that Shapeshift will also boost the VP of all of those Power Rings you have at the end of the game. *Wink Wink Nudge Nudge*"},{"header":"RECURSION ENABLERS"},{"double":[{"src":"air56090air-walk.jpeg"},{"src":"alf652790alfred-p.jpg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"cyb597254cyborg-h.jpg"},{"src":"r02606115r02-gree.jpg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"the239232the-bat-.jpeg"},{"src":"won26127wonder-o.jpeg"}]},{"text":"These cards all serve a similar purpose: play one of your types to get the other type you need out of your discard pile. Some of these are somewhat fringe, even though you\u2019ll still always want them: Cyborg can only retrieve Equipment cards of 4 cost or less; Air-Walk Shoes can only return cards of 1 VP or less and you pretty much always want it to be a Hero; and Green Lantern Power Battery can only return Defenses, of which there are only 21 total Hero Defenses in the cube, but thankfully returning any Defense to your hand to improve your turn, or to the top of your deck for reuse, is still a good play. These feel especially important for teaming up with Superman 9 since he doesn\u2019t have built-in recursion like our buddy Red Robin does."},{"header":"LINEUP ENABLERS"},{"double":[{"src":"eme645198emerald-.jpeg"},{"src":"r02558613r02-gant.jpg"}]},{"text":"These two beacons of perfection offer a similar purpose. Being that they\u2019re both Hero cards that can play other cards in the lineup, you\u2019ll almost always be targeting Equipment to play with them, assuming you don\u2019t have one in your hand, of course. Both are excellent at providing big plays and the occasional free VP from popping Ongoings, though playing other types generally won\u2019t yield as much. One thing to note: any card you play with either Emerald Knight or Ganthet and Sayd will be removed from the lineup for the remainder of the turn, which means Batman 12 won\u2019t be able to play it again using his ability since it\u2019s currently in his play area and not the lineup. Just remember: Play these cards, play Equipment, and profit. There might be some other stuff I forgot about, though..."},{"header":"GOING FOR BROke"},{"double":[{"src":"cap821600captain-.jpeg"},{"src":"glo244694globe-of.jpeg"}]},{"text":"The good news is that these two studs are always going to hit. But the bad news is that they may not always hit what you want. That said, don\u2019t pass them. Atom and Globe are two of the best cards ever printed for VP farming, and since they fit your types, you\u2019ll always have a solid chance of being able to get the other type that pairs with what you have! Getting an Equipment with Atom or spiking a Hero with Globe will lead to plenty of profit!"},{"header":"DRAW POWER"},{"text":"Before I list this handful of goodies, I will certainly imply that any Equipment or Hero that reads &#34;draw a card&#34; will always be very good here given that you want to dig to find the other type. So don\u2019t leave behind your Batwoman or Legion Flight Ring. You\u2019ll want those, too. But for this list we\u2019re looking to get greedy. Push for the stuff that lets you see two additional cards or more, and get the shovel ready, because we\u2019re here to DIG!"},{"double":[{"src":"aer22448aero-dis.jpeg"},{"src":"dnm478255dnm-md-e.jpg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"r02650290r02-gree.jpg"},{"src":"jes107576jessica-.jpg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"jet568126jetpack-.jpeg"},{"src":"min647441mind-con.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"sta756398star-sap.jpeg"},{"src":"the79250the-fast.jpeg"}]},{"text":"Ohhhh baby, now we\u2019re talking! Here we have the big guns of the game where everyone wants to draw cards. Cards like these will always be in high demand by players, so there\u2019s a chance you might not see them, but if you do, snatch \u2018em up. They\u2019re always going to do good things for you, and they\u2019ll do even better things when that other type you want is the second or even third card down. Don\u2019t forget to carry the knowledge that you won\u2019t see these often. Of the 8 cards listed here, only two of them have duplicates in the main deck (Green Lantern Power Ring and Jessica Cruz). I wouldn\u2019t suggest letting any of these slip through your fingertips."},{"header":"MULLIGANS"},{"double":[{"src":"r0298877r02-b-dg.jpg"},{"src":"bat73899batmobil.jpeg"}]},{"text":"These options could also qualify as draw power, but they\u2019re also very circumstantial and can also just be +1 Power when you need them. If I ever start my turn with one of these two in my hand when I\u2019m not holding its type counterpart, I\u2019m very likely going to get a new hand to see if I can hit an Equipment off of B\u2019dg or a Hero off of Batmobile to ensure that I have a better turn. Best part: they\u2019re cheap!"},{"header":"MORE POWER"},{"double":[{"src":"blu691228blue-lan.jpeg"},{"src":"cas291984cassie-s.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"hig370436high-tec.jpeg"},{"src":"ya-996680ya-wara-.jpeg"}]},{"text":"While having these cards in your deck will never feel necessary, they also happen to be type-committed cards that feed on Batman 12\u2019s opposite type for each card. There\u2019s no reason to pass these up, really, especially not the Blue Lantern Power Ring. Card is too good, but then again, it IS a Power Ring."},{"header":"MAIN DECK DIGGING"},{"double":[{"src":"got994675gotham-c.jpeg"},{"src":"hol334986hollis-m.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"son48197sonic-si.jpeg"},{"src":"the364448the-owls.jpeg"}]},{"text":"These will always be a welcome addition to your deck. Gotham City Docks and Sonic Siren are both solid, but the two 6-costs are cards that you\u2019re always going to want. In addition to being straight up bombs overall, they\u2019re especially useful for Batman 12 since Hollis and Owlship each dig for the opposite card type for your ability without destroying any that already exist, in addition to better lineup hits for his ability! That\u2019s some good value!"},{"header":"FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS"},{"double":[{"src":"sta81213star-sap.jpeg"},{"src":"war330524warhorse.jpg"}]},{"text":"Both of these cards will be fantastic for your Batman 12 team, though it isn\u2019t always likely that they\u2019ll improve your turn. They do, however, set up your following turn with a card to reuse or even one that you just bought. The bigger hits will occur when you can use one of these two beauties to get your opposite type and then follow it up with a draw spell like Force Field or Johnny Quick to get a Batman 12 ability activation! Can\u2019t ever let those draw spells go now!"},{"header":"ONGOING SYNERGY"},{"double":[{"src":"atl639275atlantis.jpeg"},{"src":"cad369394cadmus-l.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"cyb299428cybernet.jpeg"},{"src":"inf843446infinity.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"sil58100silent-a.jpeg"},{"src":"vic88902vic-ston.jpeg"}]},{"text":"Ongoings are all the rage in Season 17, so make sure you\u2019re not too keen to turn down the synergistic cards presented here! Some of these interactions are fairly specific, so let\u2019s have a quick breakdown. Atlantis is just an awesome card to have in general. It\u2019s phenomenal at allowing you to stack purchased Defenses, and it can allow you to stack a Hero or Equipment to try to spike on your next turn. Just don\u2019t forget that you can only use it once per turn; hopefully you have an Aquaman\u2019s Trident to let you stack the other one! Cadmus Labs is the definition of a pinch hitter. The one immediate downside is that it can only let you replay cheap Heroes, specifically to Batman 12; cheap Villains are fine as well, but stick with me here, because we aren\u2019t looking for those. Here\u2019s the upside: they work really well with cheap Ongoing Heroes like Bumblebee and Aqualad. If either of those have been in play for longer than a turn, you can use Cadmus Labs to return one to your hand and replay it as your Hero for the turn for Batman 12\u2019s ability, if needed. It\u2019s a pretty specific set of circumstances and luck that have to lead to this, but you can always just use Labs to replay great Heroes like Deadman or Plastic Man in a pinch. Infinity Island has similar applications to Cadmus Labs, but it does have quite a bit more reach due to not being type-committed. Like the Labs, you can replay Ongoing Heroes, but only those that discard themselves, for they will immediately return to your hand, plus you get the activation text. Island also lets you do the same with Detonator, which is the only Ongoing Equipment that can perform this trick, so you have an out to replay that type as well! In addition, the first Ongoing you buy on a given turn will go directly to your hand if you haven\u2019t used the Island already, so be prepared for more value! Cybernetic Enhancement and Vic Stone are your biggest payoffs once you have enough Ongoings; three or more should do it, and it\u2019s especially an easier path for someone like Red Robin who already wants Heroes with Ongoing. Cybernetic and Vic are also an Equipment and Hero respectively, so they match your card types and you can audible into this archetype without a problem. Cards like Ravager and Vixen might even be there to help you out along the way! Silent Armor is your other big Ongoing payoff, and it may even be categorized along with Captain Atom and Globe of Transportation in some regards. It is, unfortunately, a lot more random than either of those options, but getting free Victory Points is always great. It especially works well with Infinity Island since you won\u2019t lose the Ongoing you discarded!"},{"header":"RED ROBIN WANTS THESE"},{"double":[{"src":"aqu83855aqualad-.jpeg"},{"src":"bum399480bumblebe.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"tim352875tim-drak.jpeg"},{"src":"car985693card-bac.jpg"}]},{"text":"Right off the bat, I will outright admit that any of these cards are good for Superman 9 or whomever else you want to pair with Batman 12. But for Tim, they\u2019re going to be some of the most sought after cards in the main deck. Let\u2019s get down to brass tacks... Remember how Red Robin\u2019s ability only requires you to control two Heroes rather than play them? This is very important because in most instances, once you\u2019ve played either Aqualad or Bumblebee, they\u2019re probably just staying in play. You may activate them, you may not, but you more than likely won\u2019t. They cover half of your ability right away, which means you only need to play a single Hero during your turn to fetch an Equipment and get a free +1 Power to boot, which is pretty gnarly. Get two of them in play and the work is just being done for you from there, plus you get incentive to build the Ongoing archetype mentioned above! Tim Drake is just a fantastic card all around, even if it doesn\u2019t synergize specifically with Batman 12. It doesn\u2019t have the ability to play both a Hero and Equipment if your partner is anyone other than Red Robin, though it is still fine and can setup big plays of returning an Alfred Pennyworth or Wonder of the Night, nabbing an Equipment from the lineup, then playing the returned Hero to obtain the Equipment you just gained, netting you a Batman 12 ability to boot. Red Robin, however, gets to look past all that, since the card of his namesake will almost always allow the player to play two Heroes in a turn plus having an Equipment in their discard pile to boot. Don\u2019t ever feel the need to pass it."},{"header":"PROTECT YOURSELF"},{"double":[{"src":"aer387649aerie-on.jpeg"},{"src":"ast561579astro-ha.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"blu197735blue-bee.jpeg"},{"src":"jai131806jaime-re.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"kry146614krypto-c.jpeg"},{"src":"pow503186power-ar.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"ske106399skeets-.jpeg"},{"src":"dnm674971dnm-md-t.jpg"}]},{"text":"Can\u2019t ever forget about prioritizing these. Any Defense will be valuable to you, but I definitely hold Batman 12\u2019s two types in a higher regard, especially those that draw when played during your turn, remain in play for your next turn, or reveal Defenses so you can ensure that you can play them on your turn regardless. Skeets in particular is borderline bomb level since it can setup a Hero turn as either a play on your turn or as a Defense."},{"header":"OTHER TEAMS"},{"text":"The following options are all Tier 2 characters:"},{"header":"black manta"},{"image":[{"src":"bla694123black-ma.jpeg"},{"caption":""}]},{"list":[{"listType":"bullet"},{"caption":"PROS: Manta\u2019s ability to tuck can allow for some long term setup for really big turns, even as soon as Turn 3. If you can routinely put an Equipment and a Hero at the bottom of your deck in either sequence, you\u2019ll be getting your hits pretty often. It\u2019s also just a very fast build even without hitting your types, but you\u2019ve gotta make sure you\u2019re not buying Kicks. Did I mention this team also passes the Mother Box test? Very important."},{"caption":"CONS: This is sorta the very definition of a high roll. If you miss out on being able to put one of each type side-by-side in your deck, you aren\u2019t going to be doing too much. Sequencing is obviously important, but sometimes, you\u2019re going to be pretty reliant on luck to even get that far. It could have all of the makings of a solid team, but I still advise to try this one at your own risk."}]},{"header":"MISTER TERRIFIC"},{"image":[{"src":"mis10916mister-t.jpeg"},{"caption":""}]},{"list":[{"listType":"bullet"},{"caption":"PROS: Terrific lets you do incredible things, given that his ability allows you to discard a Punch to search your top 3 cards for one of the types you require the most, plus it lets you stack the rest of the cards you don\u2019t draw in any order, so an Equipment that draws a card, such as Birdarang or Nth Metal Mace can draw right into the Hero you need with proper deck setup. Terrific also works very well with Ongoings that can manipulate the top card of your deck such as Tamaran or New Genesis, and Daughter of Gotham City and The Dark Multiverse become must-buys if you\u2019re lucky enough to see them."},{"caption":"CONS: I\u2019m personally not huge on characters that have to keep Punches to function, and Terrific definitely has that problem. Also, he can only really help you out with one type, plus the turns where you whiff on an Equipment in your top 3 cards is the worst feeling and I wouldn\u2019t recommend it to anybody. "}]},{"header":"SAINT WALKER"},{"image":[{"src":"sai447139saint-wa.jpeg"},{"caption":""}]},{"list":[{"listType":"bullet"},{"caption":"PROS: The quintessential destruction engine. Saint Walker allows you the chance to destroy Starters and pesky Weaknesses out of your deck at a rapid pace with no cost to your hand, as long as you\u2019re playing blue cards, which Batman 12 incidentally wants. With enough fortunate hits, you\u2019ll likely cut your Starters down by 50% pretty quickly. You can also get good information from the top of your deck via midrange all-stars like Madame Xanadu or Oa. Oh, also, Super Heroes work well here, just like any other Hero."},{"caption":"CONS: Similarly to Mister Terrific, Saint Walker only really helps you out with one type, while the other is going to kinda just sit there waiting to do something. Also not different from Terrific, playing Heroes in the early game and whiffing on Starters to destroy is just a horrible feeling. Saint Walker doesn\u2019t play the randomness game very well, turns out. I\u2019m also not personally a big fan of Heroes that read &#34;draw a card&#34; in their text with SW unless I have knowledge of what my top card is, and that\u2019s a shame because there are a lot of Heroes in the main deck that contain that text."}]},{"header":"ROBIN&nbsp;"},{"image":[{"src":"rob316647robin-mc.jpeg"},{"caption":""}]},{"list":[{"listType":"bullet"},{"caption":"PROS: Baby Robin has a few things going for him here. Just like Red Robin, he synergizes off of the same card types that Batman does, but you\u2019re generally going to do better with a 50\/50 split of your two types, if you can manage it. You\u2019re also going to have a really good chance at maxing out your turns by playing one of each of your two types in a turn, or if you happen to get one of the aforementioned bombs in Shapeshift or Element Woman or Garfield Logan. Also, big powerful TURNS!"},{"caption":"CONS: Here\u2019s the part that cooks my goose. Baby Robin has a powerful ability, but because of how the timing works, you\u2019re essentially playing a team where Batman 12 has to enable Baby Robin, and that\u2019s just not where Bruce wants to be. Master Wayne needs to be the character being enabled, not the character enabling someone else. There are some exceptions: obtaining any Hero or Equipment that\u2019s an Ongoing will take you a long way since Baby Robin can then draw you into the other part of your combo."}]},{"header":"BABY ROBIN WANTS THESE"},{"text":"I touched on some synergy cards for the previous three characters, but I wanted to list some cards for potential Baby Robin players specifically so that they could know what they\u2019re getting into when trying to hunt down Ongoing Equipment cards. Most of them are quite good and usually get snatched up pretty quickly."},{"double":[{"src":"det95227detonato.jpeg"},{"src":"mot710552mother-b.jpeg"}]},{"double":[{"src":"sam25763samurai-.jpg"},{"src":"won359486wonder-w.jpg"}]},{"text":"Detonator also has some synergy with Red Robin in that it lets you have an Equipment in your discard pile at any time to return with his ability, assuming you have a card in your discard pile to destroy. Don\u2019t activate Detonator if it ends up being the only card in your discard pile! It\u2019s not a &#34;may&#34;!"},{"header":"CONCLUDING REMARKS"},{"text":"Phew\u2026 that was a long one, but it looks like that\u2019s gonna do it for me this week. It\u2019s not hard to go into lengthy detail about something that you love, you know? I hope this article was enlightening and that some of you out there are willing to give a spin for this potentially busted character."},{"image":[{"src":"cap325375capture.png"},{"caption":""}]},{"text":"Until the next article, remember to always be yourself. Unless you can be Batman (12). Then always be Batman (12)."}]