*Visuals thanks to metaxdb.com and metax.toyboat.net/hashtool.php

The List:

Characters: 14              Events: 6              Battle Cards: 20

2x Firestorm – Nuclear Man (C6-JL)
2x Harley Quinn – Queen of Arkham (XR142-BM)
3x John Constantine – Occult Detective (R104-JL)
2x Nightwing – Adopted Son (XR143-BM)
3x Terry McGinnis – Batman of the Future (C8-BM)
2x Wonder Woman – Amazon Princess (R107-JL)
2x Assault (C15-GL)
2x Echolocation (C22-JL)
2x Gifts (U77-BM)
3x Intelligence 2 (C38-JL)
1x Special 1 (C33-JL)
1x Special 1 (R125-AT)
2x Special 2 (U88-BM)
1x Special 3 (C53-GL)
1x Special 3 (C44-JL)
1x Special 5 (C54-BM)
3x Special 6 (U97-JL)
2x Strength / Intelligence / Special 1 (U92-JL)
2x Intelligence / Special 3 (C48-BM)
3x Intelligence / Special 6 (U99-BM)

Deck Strategy:

Turn 1, I’m looking for John Constantine or Terry McGinnis. Eventually, you’ll want both characters on the board, but getting one in play during your first turn can really limit your opponent’s options. Shutting down cheap events can completely nullify your opponent’s Events package (Joke’s On You, Reinforcements, Rebirth, etc.). If I don’t see one of those two characters in my first draw, I will typically mulligan. However, there are always exceptions.

The deck suffers from limited recursion. That is why I have the Battle Card count so high–you need VPs to win, and this deck only gets them from attacking. Intelligence / Special 6 (U99-BM) becomes crucial as the only way to shuffle Battle Cards back into the deck, so I have to make sure it is knocking out my opponent’s characters when I use it.

In what we assume will be the standard format, 2 out of 3, this deck can really shine. If I’m playing against a Blue Beetle board flooding list, then John Constantine needs to be in play and stay there. Against a deck which contains various Rank 7 characters (such as Superman or Armored Titan), then Wonder Woman shines. By learning my opponent’s deck in our first match, I can adjust what cards I want from my first hand and what I want to draw with Nightwing’s scrying assistance.

Another downside to the deck is MP production. My events are expensive, and many of my Battle Cards cost MP to use, so managing MP is vitally important. With the help of Harley Quinn, I can leverage cards from my hand into the MP that I need to play an event or get a card draw if I’m digging for another Battle Card.

Events to Turn the Tide

These events can really push this deck into some victories. If my opponent is stockpiling their now-void events because of Terry McGinnis, then Assault can become an extremely helpful draw engine. On the other hand, if my opponent has no events in had, then for just 4 MP I can clear out one of their Characters to open up a lane to gain a VP.

Echolocation virtually speaks for itself. I have never regretted playing this card, and I wish I could fit it into more decks. If my opponent has 3 characters out, then sniping a Battle Card can leave them defenseless. Of course, assassinating a key Character for just 4 MP from their hand has eminent value as well. Batman Beyond isn’t always going to be around, and getting Events back from the discard pile is near impossible, so I never shy away from discarding any particularly harmful Events from my opponent’s hand.

Gifts is a great new addition from the Batman Set. As previously stated, this deck does not recycle too many cards from the discard pile, so a boon of 3 cards can get me the Battle Cards and Characters I need to press the attack.

Honorary Mentions: Cards on the Bubble

Final Thoughts

This is currently my second favorite deck. Its ability to limit my opponent is quite powerful. The innate control really outweighs the drawbacks of limited recursion and MP supply. Give this deck a try when you’re tired of seeing all of those pesky cheap events and play effects ruining your day.

Thanks for reading. We are looking forward to bringing you more MetaX content in the near future!

-Tommy