Deck Doctor: Counter Abuse!

The Dr. is in.

Every once in a while, I will be running a deck clinic for proposed ideas in the vssystem facebook group or from comments on this blog. Let's get to it, shall we?

Niccolo Paqueo says:
Please make Doom Patrol great. (or the best counter generating deck)

As luck would have it, Niccolo, let's try both!
And we don't need to look much farther than DCL Titans and Doom patrol, as they seem to have a sort-of bro-mance with each other already. Something like... This!

Make my Beast-Boy GROW!

Locations:
    3 [DCL] Dayton Manor {DCL}
    2 [DCL] Metropolis Reborn, Non-Unique - Team-Up {DCL}
    2 [DCL] Titans Tower {DCL}

Characters:
    4 [DCL] Elasti-Girl, Rita Farr {DCL}

     4 [DCL] Argent, Toni Monetti {DCL}
    3 [DCL] The Chief, Niles Caulder {DCL}

    3 [DCL] Beast Boy, Garfield Logan {DCL}
    4 [DCL] Mento, Steve Dayton {DCL}

    4 [DCL] Negative Man, Larry Trainor {DCL}
    2 [DCL] Tim Drake <> Robin, Leader of the Pack {DCL}

    4 [DCL] Robotman, Cliff Steele {DCL}


    3 [DCL] Beast Boy, Freak of Nature {DCL}

    2 [DCL] Koriand'r <> Starfire, X'Hal's Fury {DCL}

Plot Twists:
    4 [DCL] Call of the Wild {DCL}
    4 [DCL] Freak Out {DCL}
    4 [DCL] Misfits {DCL}
    4 [DCL] Teen Titans Go! {DCL}
    4 [DCL] Total Recall, Team-Up {DCL}

We completely forgo several of the options Doom Patrol brings, if only because the price seems to high. yes manipulating counters is attractive, but far too often we see the team bring options that spend them for what I would consider a minimal return.
Case in point: Strange Days
-Just how important is it to lock down enemy plot twists? How many counters is too much investment? Because, remember, your opponent can freely chain to it's activation at no penalty, meaning you will generally never prevent a utility or search card. Of course by then you've kissed some valuable counters goodbye... so you can't even bluff with it.

It could easily be a legend deck if we maxxed out both apperances of Beast Boy, but in general you care so much less about his 3 drop version it feels forced.

In this version the idea is set up beast boy 6 with a full teen titans go combo and then hitting freak out to send them all to a small character you held back from the team attacks for a surprise faceroll (ideally going direct) The ever-so awesome Koriand'r finisher is there as well because... well... gift horses and mouths.

Where this build shines
BYOS I mean wow! does this do well in a BYOS format

For Doom Patrol, it is certainly up there for better counter-accruing options.
Assuming the PERFECT hand playing into the prefect opposing board (tons of characters), beast boy's 6 drop incarnation will accumulate 15 counters over 5 attacks! (initial team swing + 4 TTG) That leaves him  at 27/27 beating out Galactus himself! (This also assumes no other counter sources being used either!

However, for the remainder of the article, as I have become prone to do, I'll be going on a tangent...

Come with me if you want to live.

I'm going to take a flying leap and assume you are curious about a different kind of maximum counter-producing build!

It is a bit ironic that the typical offenders are not present here. No Doom Patrol, Teen Titans, or Age of Apocalypse cards are present in it. Heck, not even Devil's Due! And yet it will produce in excess of 20+ counters by turn 4 for some interesting shenanigans!

I present option B, or as I prefer to call it:

Death By Chocolate

Locations:
    1 [MOR] Avalon Space Station {MOR}
    1 [DJL] Slaughter Swamp {DJL}
    2 [MHG] Soul World {MHG}

Characters:
    4 [DCX] Superman Batman Robot, Supa-Mecha-Bat {DCX}

    4 [DWF] Harvey Bullock, Gotham Central {DWF}
    4 [DWF] Maggie Sawyer, Gotham Central {DWF}
    4 [DWF] Alfred Pennyworth, Faithful Friend {DWF}

    4 [DWF] Barbara Gordon <> Oracle, Hacker Elite {DWF}

    4 [DCL] Tim Drake <> Robin, Titan in Command {DCL}

Plot Twists:
    4 [DCX] Origin Story {DCX}
    4 [DCX] Teen Supremes {DCX}
    4 [DWF] Bat-Signal {DWF}
    4 [MVL] New and Improved {MVL}
    4 [EHB] B.P.R.D. Signal Device {EHB}
    4 [DCR] Return Of Donna Troy {DCR}
    4 [DCX] A Clash of Worlds {DCX}
    4 [MUN] Messiah Complex {MUN}

 Some of you see exactly where this is going. For the rest of you, here is the breakdown:

Abuse the living shento out of New and Improved. You remember that card right?

Seriously that's it. Everything else present in this build caters to the one purpose of spamming this card. HARD.
For this mission I look no further than Superman Batman Robot. A 0 cost character, it has a boost effect that also caters to the idea of being hyper-greedy with landing +1/+1 counters. Exactly what we want.

First hurdle: Dual Loyalty. 

Before we can reach the point where we perform a substantial series of recruit, ko to New and Improved, recur, rinse and repeat, we need to meet the dual loyalty restriction. Typically i'd look at team-ups and a solid mix of each team to ensure a reasonable chance to do so, but no. instead we're just going to run a full set of Maggie Sawyers. This 1 drop has both teams we need and an oft-overlooked effect as well while we set up our explosion of flavor! Mostly, we'll just play her the turn we go off.

Second hurdle: Targetting effects.

with Loyalty pretty much covered the deck sort-of plays itself, but as a 0 cost it is supremely targetable by just about, well... everything.
A full suite of B.P.R.D. signal devices come to the rescue here, giving some breathing room against mikado & mosha and other weenie killers. while also protecting them once stunned as well.

Cleaning up: Card Combos

The card that makes this deck go might be New and Improved, but the card that carries your endgame is Teen Supremes. Go ahead read it. I'll wait.

wait so... OOOH. Snap!

Exhausting 0 characters to ready a 0 cost character is so deliciously dirty. Especially if that 0 cost character is hitting like an 8 drop.

A Clash of Worlds is another endgame option, sometimes sparing an extra set of 2 +1/+1 counters, it's better off throwing down a second Superman Batman Robots! Maybe even a third! The options are as open as your situation calls for it to be. Play around with it!Improve on it!
This is a fun surprise in the legend block, standard (see: old) silver age format, or, it can flat-out be streamlined to scary proportions in a BYOTT event as well!

Until next time!