Deck: Undercover

As some of you know, I rarely get into the Big Guys. I'm not a particular fan of characters like Superman, Spider-Man, Wolverine, or Batman. I just don't understand the appeal, I suppose. Only the JLA and the X-Men have ever really appealed to me as 'Big Team' books, and each time, it was only because Grant Morrison was writing them. The Big Names are too static for my taste, too unchanging. I know some people like the whole thing, saying it keeps them iconic, but for me, it just keeps em stagnant. Meanwhile, things like Birds of Prey and Doom Patrol and Checkmate and Marvel Boy and Runaways and Young Avengers happen. And I care about those.

As you've seen, I've had to jump through a few hoops, on occasions, to get my pet decks to work. Gotham Knights or Team Superman or X-Men fans can complain all they want - and they do...endlessly - but they've at least got a cardpool big enough to build a deck with. I, on the other hand, have to team my people up. Often, and in bizarre ways.

I didn't get much World's Finest. I would've loved to, but the sad truth of it is that I couldn't afford to buy boxes, and the comic shop that would've gotten the game in my area burned down, so...no DWF for Cal. All I have, I have in singles. Thankfully, that includes almost all the Birds of Prey cards.

DCL came out around Christmas, when I was back at home. 60 hour a week job + comic shop I could walk to on my lunch break = two boxes of DCL built. And that's when I saw the hidden Injustice Gang stuff. I didn't think it would be very powerful - I was of course very WRONG about this - but I started thinking about teaming them up with BoP. Unfortunately, my Birds stuff was still at school, and there was Doom Patrol, and, oh things were just busy. But I recently bought a couple DVDs, and as I watched my purchases, I built decks.

And so, that lengthy prologue out of the way, I present to you...Undercover, my first Birds of Prey deck.

Undercover

1
3x Lady Blackhawk, Zinda Blake
4x The Shade, Ageless Enigma
3x Catwoman, Cat O' Nine Tails

2
3x Superwoman, Earth 3
2x Gypsy, Illusionary Operative
2x Johnny Quick, Earth 3
1x Huntress, Vicious Vigilante

3
3x Barbara Gordon <> Oracle, Hacker Elite
3x Owlman, Earth 3
2x Catwoman, Feline Fatale

4
1x Jemm, Son of Saturn
1x Ted Grant <> Wildcat, Nine Lives
1x Vixen, Mari Jiwe McCabe

5
1x Cassandra Cain, Death's Daughter
1x White Martian, Earth 3

Equipment
4x Aerie One

Locations
4x Earth 3
3x Birthing Chamber

Plot Twists
4x The Hook-Up, Team-up
2x Truth and Justice, Team-Up
4x Path of Destruction
4x Pathetic Attempt
2x Crushing Blow
1x Transmutation
1x Bat Got Your Tongue?

The deck can put up a decent offense and defense. You aren't afraid of underdropping - I've played games where I blew up an Earth 3 to play another one and won because of it. On characters like Vixen, you can build up a pretty big barrier to swing through, one that gets bigger with cards like Owlman and White Martian. Path of Destruction, normally not that great a pump, becomes fairly solid in this, if only due to the card-drawing power you have. And thanks to the size of the Birds and the manipulation of the hidden area, Birthing Chamber comes online fast and never really leaves.

Ultimately, it's a simple deck. But, they made the Birds a simple team, so...not much to be done about that. Still, it is fun, and it can win you some games. Give it a shot - it's cheap as hell to build and pretty fun to play.